The Ideal School for Seniors

In my last post I discussed the huge health problem that falling represents for seniors, in particular those 65 and older.  And I discussed the potential benefits of martial-arts training, among them the ability to build leg strength and improve balance -- two key factors in healthy, fall-free aging.
    This led us to an important and practical question: what would the ideal senior-friendly martial arts school look like?  So today's post is an exercise in thinking out loud -- or perhaps dreaming -- about the perfect training hall for martial artists of a certain age.  If the school of my dreams exists, I haven't found it.  My online searches have led me to schools that mention "adults of any age" and a couple that specifically advertise classes for folks 50 and over, but I haven't found one that exists solely to serve senior citizens.
    Let me say up front that I understand why most schools are eager to serve students of any age -- from small children to teens to seniors.  The broader the market, the greater the potential to attract students and turn a profit.  And right now in America there's a vast opportunity for martial-arts instructors to generate a profit by teaching children.  Look, if you don't turn a profit, you end up closing the doors.  Very few instructors get rich teaching martial arts, so I applaud all those who manage to keep the enterprise afloat by serving the age groups that are available to them.
    But if you could find a dream school for seniors, what would it look like?  Here are some of the things I would want:
      1.  A minimum age of 50 or 55 for all students.  In the best case, I would like to see a 50-59 group and a 60+ group.  Believe me, there's a big difference between 55 and 65.  I've lived them both.  And if the school had enough students 70 and older, I'd have another group just for them.
      2.  Classes would be offered in mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and early evening.  Asking most seniors to participate in martial-arts training early in the day would be a mistake; and many, if not most, seniors are not able to handle serious workouts in the late evening.  7:00 p.m. is too late for most of us for a variety of reasons.
      3.  The instructors would ideally be seniors themselves, because to anyone else the phrase aging process is probably no more than an abstract concept.  If you're 60 or 70, aging process has real meaning.  You truly understand that, for example, your "high kicks" are closer to the ground than they once were. 
      4.  The program would focus heavily on gentle stretching, balance, forms, and basic self-defense techniques.  Sparring?  Maybe not.  Breaking boards and bricks?  Definitely not.  This doesn't mean that seniors can't break a board or brick; it simply means that requiring everyone to prove his or her ability in this area is inviting injured egos and broken bones. 
      5.  The head instructor would personally interview each prospective student to explain how this senior-friendly school will differ from traditional martial-arts schools, to understand what the student hopes to gain from the training, and to make sure that the student has been cleared for training by his or her physician.
    Well, that's just five short items on what could certainly be a much more exhaustive list.  And, as I said at the top, this is my dream school rather than a school I expect to find anytime soon.  In terms of the real world, I'd settle for a school that incorporates as many of these components as possible.  Simply offering a seniors-only class once or twice a week would be a huge step forward for most of the schools I've looked at online.  That's because most schools define an "adult class" as 18 and over.  Someone who is, say, 68 does not need to train alongside someone who is 18.
    Do you belong to a senior-friendly school?  If so, tell me about it, and I'll gladly help spread the word.