If you're a Taekwondo senior and live within striking distance of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, now's the time to sign up for the 20th Annual New England Open Taekwondo Championship. The event is being hosted by Kwon's Taekwondo, which has two schools in the area, and the tournament's chairman is Grandmaster Young A. Kwon.
The tournament's events include forms, sparring, breaking, and power breaking -- in other words, something for everyone. And the great news is that the top age division is 53+. Since many tournaments list a top age group of only 35 or 40, I think it's important for us seniors to support events that recognize that 55 or 60 isn't 35. At 66 I don't mind competing in forms against someone who's as young as 53 -- and I'll definitely be competing at Grandmaster Kwon's tournament -- but I'm not interested in competing against 35-year-olds. Yes, the rumor is true: flexibility doesn't improve with age. So my high kicks aren't quite as high as they were 30 years ago. I definitely need the "old guy" division.
If you can make your way to Tewksbury, MA, you're welcome to participate in this major Taekwondo tournament. You don't need to be a Massachusetts resident, and you can hold any Taekwondo rank whatsoever. Each area of competition offers both age and rank divisions. Although the top age group is 53+, some of this blog's readers may fit into the 43-52 age group. Either way, it's time to get out there, make some new friends, and challenge yourself in a way that only a tournament can do.
You can pre-register [and save money] or register on the day of the tournament. For all the facts, all you need to do is click over to http://www.kwonstkd.com/newsletter/2012NETKDPoster_InfoPacket.pdf, where you'll find a registration form, fee schedule, and other useful tournament information.
Ready to compete? Then sign up today. But if you're still thinking about learning Taekwondo or perhaps "unretiring" after a long layoff, then just come out to watch the tournament. For a small admission fee you'll enjoy hours of competition featuring students ranging in age from under 5 to . . . well, at least 66.
Hope to see you on October 20th!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Where are you?
Yesterday I competed in an important New Jersey martial-arts tournament [sponsored by UMARA, the United Martial Arts Referees Association] and was pleased to take home a silver medal for empty hand forms. That's the good news. The bad news is that I competed in the 50+ category, which meant that I was giving away as much as 66 years to those who were actually 50. I was, in fact, the only 60+ competitor who showed up.
Instant replay: last March in a large Mercer County, NJ, tournament held at Rider University I was also the only 60+ competitor, so I had to drop down to the 50+ division. Now a question: given the size of this state, and the likelihood that there are hundreds of 60-something black belts around, why are they not entering competitions?
Let me say something else about the two recent tournaments. In both cases I met competitors who were there for the same reason I was: to stay in shape, to challenge themselves, and to honor the commitment that they had made many years ago to their martial art. I made new friends and experienced the joy of competing with like-minded folks who cared more about the camaraderie -- the spirit, if you will -- of the martial arts than about whether or not they carried home a trophy.
Here's why I'm writing today. If more 60+ martial artists don't get in the game, we'll all be out of the game soon. Did you know that many tournaments now have a top "old guys" division of 35+? Seriously. Try giving up 31 years in competition. Not fun. Look, I'm not competing because I expect a medal every time out, but it would be nice to be reasonably competitive. And it's tough to be seriously competitive when you're required to give up 25 or 30 years because of the tournament rules.
Okay, so what to do? If you're a New Jersey black belt in any style [or a black belt anywhere in America, for that matter], get back in the game. Search the Internet for tournaments. A great place for you to begin your search is http://www.karatetournaments.com/index.asp. See what's available near you. Then speak with the tournament director to ask whether there's a 60+ division. If not, suggest that he or she add one.
If I were a tournament director and couldn't find 60+ competitors, I wouldn't bother offering a 60+ division. What's not to understand? But if 60+ martial artists are willing to compete, I'm betting that tournament directors will be glad to accommodate us.
If you're a 60+ black belt who has "retired" to the couch, get back in the game. And if you're still training but don't attend tournaments, rethink the idea. The tournaments are fun. You'll make a few new friends. And you'll challenge yourself to push just a little harder than usual. Hey, that's a good thing, isn't it?
Instant replay: last March in a large Mercer County, NJ, tournament held at Rider University I was also the only 60+ competitor, so I had to drop down to the 50+ division. Now a question: given the size of this state, and the likelihood that there are hundreds of 60-something black belts around, why are they not entering competitions?
Let me say something else about the two recent tournaments. In both cases I met competitors who were there for the same reason I was: to stay in shape, to challenge themselves, and to honor the commitment that they had made many years ago to their martial art. I made new friends and experienced the joy of competing with like-minded folks who cared more about the camaraderie -- the spirit, if you will -- of the martial arts than about whether or not they carried home a trophy.
Here's why I'm writing today. If more 60+ martial artists don't get in the game, we'll all be out of the game soon. Did you know that many tournaments now have a top "old guys" division of 35+? Seriously. Try giving up 31 years in competition. Not fun. Look, I'm not competing because I expect a medal every time out, but it would be nice to be reasonably competitive. And it's tough to be seriously competitive when you're required to give up 25 or 30 years because of the tournament rules.
Okay, so what to do? If you're a New Jersey black belt in any style [or a black belt anywhere in America, for that matter], get back in the game. Search the Internet for tournaments. A great place for you to begin your search is http://www.karatetournaments.com/index.asp. See what's available near you. Then speak with the tournament director to ask whether there's a 60+ division. If not, suggest that he or she add one.
If I were a tournament director and couldn't find 60+ competitors, I wouldn't bother offering a 60+ division. What's not to understand? But if 60+ martial artists are willing to compete, I'm betting that tournament directors will be glad to accommodate us.
If you're a 60+ black belt who has "retired" to the couch, get back in the game. And if you're still training but don't attend tournaments, rethink the idea. The tournaments are fun. You'll make a few new friends. And you'll challenge yourself to push just a little harder than usual. Hey, that's a good thing, isn't it?
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Taekwondo: Mind, Body, and Spirit
For those who have never studied Taekwondo, or who have studied only briefly, it probably seems to be nothing more than a powerful self-defense system or an exciting Olympic sport. It is both these things, of course, but to have the story end there would do a grave injustice to those who over roughly 5,000 years have nurtured Taekwondo and carried it to its present stage of development. To all of the masters who systemized, preserved, and modified this elegant Korean martial art over the millennia, Taekwondo was and is a way of life -- a way of becoming a whole person whose mind, body, and spirit operate in perfect harmony.
During my 40 years of Taekwondo training I have learned that the mind and body account for only a portion of what most of us would think of as a complete life. Some people are wise but physically weak. Others are physically strong but mentally weak. Yet even those who are strong both mentally and physically may not understand who they are or why they are on this planet. What they lack is an understanding of the spirit, the essential life force that resides within each of us and whose power waits patiently for us to harness its full potential.
A computer can be programmed to analyze and process billions of bits of important data, but it doesn’t live. A large boulder rolling down a mountainside can generate tremendous force, but it doesn’t live. Likewise, a man who believes that his capacity to think and his ability to move about from one place to another are all that matters is missing the great lesson of Taekwondo: if we truly wish to live, we must unify mind, body, and spirit. Developing a full life -- bringing mind, body, and spirit into harmony -- is not at all easy. But the Taekwondo Life can get us there.
To begin the journey, visit a Taekwondo school near you. Remember, it's never too late.
During my 40 years of Taekwondo training I have learned that the mind and body account for only a portion of what most of us would think of as a complete life. Some people are wise but physically weak. Others are physically strong but mentally weak. Yet even those who are strong both mentally and physically may not understand who they are or why they are on this planet. What they lack is an understanding of the spirit, the essential life force that resides within each of us and whose power waits patiently for us to harness its full potential.
A computer can be programmed to analyze and process billions of bits of important data, but it doesn’t live. A large boulder rolling down a mountainside can generate tremendous force, but it doesn’t live. Likewise, a man who believes that his capacity to think and his ability to move about from one place to another are all that matters is missing the great lesson of Taekwondo: if we truly wish to live, we must unify mind, body, and spirit. Developing a full life -- bringing mind, body, and spirit into harmony -- is not at all easy. But the Taekwondo Life can get us there.
To begin the journey, visit a Taekwondo school near you. Remember, it's never too late.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Easing into the martial arts
If you're 50, 60, or perhaps 70 you have already figured out that your body behaves somewhat differently from the way it did when you were, oh, 25. You may still feel 25 at certain times, but reality comes creeping in now and then -- especially if you decide to take up some new physical activity. So there's a right way and a wrong way to begin a new training program if you're a "mature" 66, as I am.
Let's begin with the wrong way. I love taekwondo and have studied this Korean martial art for over 40 years. But if I hadn't trained for, let's say, five years, I would be a fool to walk into a school and attempt to pick up where I had left off. That's a prescription for multiple potential disasters: lower back, hamstrings, hip joints, shoulders, and just about every body part you can name. Yes, you could lay off and bounce back quickly when you were 25. But you're no longer 25.
So let's consider the right way. First, see your primary care doctor and let him or her assess your body's preparedness for serious training. If you've been working out regularly at the gym, you're probably ready for a martial-arts program. But check with the doctor anyway.
Now here's an important consideration. If the doctor says it's okay for you to begin the martial-arts program, ask for a referral to a local physical therapy clinic. Why wait until you've damaged something before seeing a physical therapist? Isn't it smarter to have a qualified professional assess your strength, flexibility, and stamina? That's what physical therapists do on a daily basis. Your primary doctor does not. He or she knows all about your blood pressure, heart rate, medications, and such, but your doctor is not generally well equipped to assess the "active ingredients" of a training program that calls for strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance.
For those of us who were born "flex challenged," the first thing a physical therapist can do for you is gently prepare you for kicking. A "high kick" is one thing when you're 25 and something else when you're 65 -- at least at the beginning. Can you achieve greater flexibility when you're a senior? Absolutely. But if you don't ease into the stretching program under the watchful eye of a professional, you stand a great chance of injuring yourself. And this could result in a long recovery or a decision to quit training. Avoid both: see the professional first.
A physical therapist can also provide you with written directions -- complete with photos -- on how to do your stretching or strengthening exercises properly. Working hard but wrong is a common problem and the cause of many unnecessary injuries.
So you've seen your doctor, and you've had perhaps 10 sessions with a physical therapist. What now? Visit some martial-arts schools in your area to see which ones seem to care most about helping seniors achieve their fitness and self-defense goals. I'm partial to taekwondo, because it relies heavily on kicks rather than upper-body strength. This is an important consideration for seniors. You don't want to be grappling with a 20-year-old mugger when you could be remodeling his groin with a well-directed front snap kick instead.
If you've "retired" from the martial arts, "unretire." Get back with the program. And if you haven't trained before, there's no time like the present. It's not too late.
Let's begin with the wrong way. I love taekwondo and have studied this Korean martial art for over 40 years. But if I hadn't trained for, let's say, five years, I would be a fool to walk into a school and attempt to pick up where I had left off. That's a prescription for multiple potential disasters: lower back, hamstrings, hip joints, shoulders, and just about every body part you can name. Yes, you could lay off and bounce back quickly when you were 25. But you're no longer 25.
So let's consider the right way. First, see your primary care doctor and let him or her assess your body's preparedness for serious training. If you've been working out regularly at the gym, you're probably ready for a martial-arts program. But check with the doctor anyway.
Now here's an important consideration. If the doctor says it's okay for you to begin the martial-arts program, ask for a referral to a local physical therapy clinic. Why wait until you've damaged something before seeing a physical therapist? Isn't it smarter to have a qualified professional assess your strength, flexibility, and stamina? That's what physical therapists do on a daily basis. Your primary doctor does not. He or she knows all about your blood pressure, heart rate, medications, and such, but your doctor is not generally well equipped to assess the "active ingredients" of a training program that calls for strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance.
For those of us who were born "flex challenged," the first thing a physical therapist can do for you is gently prepare you for kicking. A "high kick" is one thing when you're 25 and something else when you're 65 -- at least at the beginning. Can you achieve greater flexibility when you're a senior? Absolutely. But if you don't ease into the stretching program under the watchful eye of a professional, you stand a great chance of injuring yourself. And this could result in a long recovery or a decision to quit training. Avoid both: see the professional first.
A physical therapist can also provide you with written directions -- complete with photos -- on how to do your stretching or strengthening exercises properly. Working hard but wrong is a common problem and the cause of many unnecessary injuries.
So you've seen your doctor, and you've had perhaps 10 sessions with a physical therapist. What now? Visit some martial-arts schools in your area to see which ones seem to care most about helping seniors achieve their fitness and self-defense goals. I'm partial to taekwondo, because it relies heavily on kicks rather than upper-body strength. This is an important consideration for seniors. You don't want to be grappling with a 20-year-old mugger when you could be remodeling his groin with a well-directed front snap kick instead.
If you've "retired" from the martial arts, "unretire." Get back with the program. And if you haven't trained before, there's no time like the present. It's not too late.
Friday, July 27, 2012
The ultimate mind/body program
In recent years Western physicians and researchers have begun formally acknowledging what folks in Asia have known for hundreds if not thousands of years: the mind and body are intricately linked and must be developed as one. And one of the most profoundly effective methods of achieving this mind/body unity is by practicing what martial artists generally call "forms." In taekwondo, the martial art that I have practiced for over 40 years, these formal exercises are called poomse. In essence they are highly choreographed battles against several imaginary opponents, and they require intense physical and mental energy when executed properly.
Beginning martial artists start out with simple forms that contain relatively few basic techniques: blocks, kicks, and punches. As simple as these beginning forms may look, they require something that many people lack: the discipline to execute the form or poomse precisely as it was designed by the masters who created it. In theory, at least, if two martial artists are executing the same form -- one of them in the United States, the other in Australia -- they will do so in exactly the same way.
As you might expect, the poomse grow more complicated as you advance up the ladder to and beyond first degree black belt, or first Dan. The techniques incorporated in the poomse grow more complex, and there are more individual movements -- sometimes vastly more than you find in the beginning forms.
So where does the mind/body link come in? Well, the first step in mastering a form is simply memorizing the sequence of movements. In this early stage you're basically repeating the sort of exercise you went through when learning multiplication tables back in elementary school. All that matters is knowing which move follows another.
Once you've done this, oh, perhaps 50 times, you begin to enter a different realm of mastery. You already know the movements, so now the goal is to achieve what you might call a meditative state in which the mind and body flow through the poomse with intense focus but without the constant annoyance of troublesome thoughts. Stated differently, you attain a level of performance at which you no longer think about what move comes next; your mind and body simply deliver the entire poomse without your active control.
The taekwondo poomse offers practitioners the same sort of "mindfulness" that many people seek to achieve through seated meditation. You are aware of the present moment, but the moment requires nothing of you. The more you practice the poomse, the closer you come to achieving a freeing of the mind that permits the movements to flow without your customary habit of controlling events. It's an "active meditation," naturally, since the body moves and can grow tired, but throughout the exercise you should find yourself at peace -- almost outside yourself but aware of what seems to be happening on its own.
How many repetitions of a given poomse will it take to achieve this sort of mind/body union? If you refuse to give up control, it will never happen. But if you give yourself over to the poomse and allow it simply to happen, perhaps you will get where you want to be after a few hundred repetitions. That may sound like a tremendous commitment, but consider that the typical taekwondo poomse takes about a minute to execute. Is keeping your mind and body in balance worth an investment of 200 minutes? Certainly. Surely you can find a few minutes even in a busy day. And it's precisely a busy day that would benefit most from the "active meditation" offered by a taekwondo poomse.
If you haven't begun studying the martial arts, now's the time. And if you've "retired" from the martial arts but are still healthy, get back in training. Your mind and body will both thank you.
Beginning martial artists start out with simple forms that contain relatively few basic techniques: blocks, kicks, and punches. As simple as these beginning forms may look, they require something that many people lack: the discipline to execute the form or poomse precisely as it was designed by the masters who created it. In theory, at least, if two martial artists are executing the same form -- one of them in the United States, the other in Australia -- they will do so in exactly the same way.
As you might expect, the poomse grow more complicated as you advance up the ladder to and beyond first degree black belt, or first Dan. The techniques incorporated in the poomse grow more complex, and there are more individual movements -- sometimes vastly more than you find in the beginning forms.
So where does the mind/body link come in? Well, the first step in mastering a form is simply memorizing the sequence of movements. In this early stage you're basically repeating the sort of exercise you went through when learning multiplication tables back in elementary school. All that matters is knowing which move follows another.
Once you've done this, oh, perhaps 50 times, you begin to enter a different realm of mastery. You already know the movements, so now the goal is to achieve what you might call a meditative state in which the mind and body flow through the poomse with intense focus but without the constant annoyance of troublesome thoughts. Stated differently, you attain a level of performance at which you no longer think about what move comes next; your mind and body simply deliver the entire poomse without your active control.
The taekwondo poomse offers practitioners the same sort of "mindfulness" that many people seek to achieve through seated meditation. You are aware of the present moment, but the moment requires nothing of you. The more you practice the poomse, the closer you come to achieving a freeing of the mind that permits the movements to flow without your customary habit of controlling events. It's an "active meditation," naturally, since the body moves and can grow tired, but throughout the exercise you should find yourself at peace -- almost outside yourself but aware of what seems to be happening on its own.
How many repetitions of a given poomse will it take to achieve this sort of mind/body union? If you refuse to give up control, it will never happen. But if you give yourself over to the poomse and allow it simply to happen, perhaps you will get where you want to be after a few hundred repetitions. That may sound like a tremendous commitment, but consider that the typical taekwondo poomse takes about a minute to execute. Is keeping your mind and body in balance worth an investment of 200 minutes? Certainly. Surely you can find a few minutes even in a busy day. And it's precisely a busy day that would benefit most from the "active meditation" offered by a taekwondo poomse.
If you haven't begun studying the martial arts, now's the time. And if you've "retired" from the martial arts but are still healthy, get back in training. Your mind and body will both thank you.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Free: "Self-Defense for Seniors"
If you're a senior who happens to live in West Windsor, NJ, or thereabouts, you can take part in two free "Self-Defense for Seniors" classes offered on August 8th and 10th by the West Windsor Senior Center. Each session will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Since I'll be teaching the classes myself, the self-defense techniques you'll learn are those associated with Taekwondo, the Korean art of self-defense. I learned my Taekwondo under Grand Master Bobby Kim, a former Taekwondo champion and martial-arts film star. I believe that Taekwondo is the ideal martial art for seniors, since it relies heavily on kicking techniques. And since your legs are longer and stronger than your arms, they give you the best chance to defend yourself against a younger, larger attacker.
Will most seniors ever be assaulted? Not if they avoid being in the wrong places at the wrong times. If, let's say, you're riding a subway in Manhattan at 3:00 a.m., you're asking for trouble. So you can greatly reduce your chances of becoming an assault victim by being smart about where you go and when. But an attack can take place in a grocery store parking lot at noon if you happen to encounter the wrong individual. The odds are greatly against this, but why not be prepared to handle the situation just the same?
In my two upcoming classes you'll learn that the first response to an impending attack is to talk. If there's any way you can talk your way out of the attack, do so. Plead, beg, or be sweet. If that fails, scream for help. If you're in a busy parking lot, there's a good chance that someone will come to your aid. But if help doesn't arrive quickly enough, you need to be prepared to keep from, let's say, getting punched in the face. So in the two West Windsor Senior Center sessions you'll learn basic blocking techniques as well as follow-up strikes that can help buy you precious time. And time is what you're after: time to turn and get away from the attacker and to dial 911.
Should you consider taking a couple of basic self-defense classes? If you're in reasonably good physical condition and don't have serious balance problems, why not? Naturally, if you haven't been physically active for some time you absolutely should consult your physician before embarking on any sort of fitness-related program. This just makes good sense.
If you take a short self-defense class and find it stimulating, then by all means consider enrolling in a senior-friendly martial arts school near you. In this blog I am happy to help publicize senior-friendly schools, so if you know of one, just tell me something about it.
It's never too late to take self-defense seriously. And since I've spent the last 40 years of my life studying Taekwondo, I know that this is a martial art that is perhaps ideally suited to those of us who are 60 and older.
For more information about the West Windsor Senior Center self-defense program, call 609-799-9068.
Since I'll be teaching the classes myself, the self-defense techniques you'll learn are those associated with Taekwondo, the Korean art of self-defense. I learned my Taekwondo under Grand Master Bobby Kim, a former Taekwondo champion and martial-arts film star. I believe that Taekwondo is the ideal martial art for seniors, since it relies heavily on kicking techniques. And since your legs are longer and stronger than your arms, they give you the best chance to defend yourself against a younger, larger attacker.
Will most seniors ever be assaulted? Not if they avoid being in the wrong places at the wrong times. If, let's say, you're riding a subway in Manhattan at 3:00 a.m., you're asking for trouble. So you can greatly reduce your chances of becoming an assault victim by being smart about where you go and when. But an attack can take place in a grocery store parking lot at noon if you happen to encounter the wrong individual. The odds are greatly against this, but why not be prepared to handle the situation just the same?
In my two upcoming classes you'll learn that the first response to an impending attack is to talk. If there's any way you can talk your way out of the attack, do so. Plead, beg, or be sweet. If that fails, scream for help. If you're in a busy parking lot, there's a good chance that someone will come to your aid. But if help doesn't arrive quickly enough, you need to be prepared to keep from, let's say, getting punched in the face. So in the two West Windsor Senior Center sessions you'll learn basic blocking techniques as well as follow-up strikes that can help buy you precious time. And time is what you're after: time to turn and get away from the attacker and to dial 911.
Should you consider taking a couple of basic self-defense classes? If you're in reasonably good physical condition and don't have serious balance problems, why not? Naturally, if you haven't been physically active for some time you absolutely should consult your physician before embarking on any sort of fitness-related program. This just makes good sense.
If you take a short self-defense class and find it stimulating, then by all means consider enrolling in a senior-friendly martial arts school near you. In this blog I am happy to help publicize senior-friendly schools, so if you know of one, just tell me something about it.
It's never too late to take self-defense seriously. And since I've spent the last 40 years of my life studying Taekwondo, I know that this is a martial art that is perhaps ideally suited to those of us who are 60 and older.
For more information about the West Windsor Senior Center self-defense program, call 609-799-9068.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Sixty and silver
In my June 29th post I introduced you to 60-year-old Dennis Schaefer, a taekwondo black belt who was preparing to compete in the U.S.A. Taekwondo Championships in Dallas, TX. So it's time to wrap up this story with the results of his most recent Olympic Sparring contest.
Dennis came home to Dayton, OH, with a silver medal after finishing second to a 51-year-old competitor. Although he gave up nine years to the eventual winner, Dennis stood tall in what he had told us might be his final competition. And if he does indeed retire after this year's major event, Dennis leaves the competitive arena with two important victories: a silver medal in USAT's most prestigious tournament; and the knowledge that he competed with honor while most guys his age were home flopped on the couch in front of a TV.
The martial spirit doesn't need to fade because of age. And you don't need to be a championship competitor in order to exhibit that spirit in the martial art of your choice. All you need to do is take up a martial art for the first time -- and, no, it's never too late -- or come out of "retirement" and begin training again. Whether you're 50, 60, 70, or older, all it takes is the willingness to commit yourself to the discipline of a senior-friendly school in your area.
Look, those of us who are in our mid-sixties know that we're not 25. And if your brain doesn't get it, your body sure does. Perhaps you tire sooner than you once did. And maybe your high kicks aren't as high as they once were. And it's entirely possible that your sense of balance isn't as sharp as before. All of this would matter greatly if the goal was to win an Olympic medal. But that's not what this is all about. The goal is to be as fully alive as possible, and the martial arts represent one of the most powerful mind-and-body training programs ever created.
So in today's blog I offer three messages straight from my heart:
-- A rousing "two thumbs up" to Dennis Schaefer for taking silver at 60.
-- A glad salute to all seniors who are still practicing the martial arts to the best of their ability.
-- And to everyone else a warm invitation to get in the game by visiting a senior-friendly martial-arts school in your hometown.
Are you already training at a senior-friendly school? Please send me the name so that I can tell readers about it here on "Seniors in the Martial Arts." Don't keep the good news to yourself.
Dennis came home to Dayton, OH, with a silver medal after finishing second to a 51-year-old competitor. Although he gave up nine years to the eventual winner, Dennis stood tall in what he had told us might be his final competition. And if he does indeed retire after this year's major event, Dennis leaves the competitive arena with two important victories: a silver medal in USAT's most prestigious tournament; and the knowledge that he competed with honor while most guys his age were home flopped on the couch in front of a TV.
The martial spirit doesn't need to fade because of age. And you don't need to be a championship competitor in order to exhibit that spirit in the martial art of your choice. All you need to do is take up a martial art for the first time -- and, no, it's never too late -- or come out of "retirement" and begin training again. Whether you're 50, 60, 70, or older, all it takes is the willingness to commit yourself to the discipline of a senior-friendly school in your area.
Look, those of us who are in our mid-sixties know that we're not 25. And if your brain doesn't get it, your body sure does. Perhaps you tire sooner than you once did. And maybe your high kicks aren't as high as they once were. And it's entirely possible that your sense of balance isn't as sharp as before. All of this would matter greatly if the goal was to win an Olympic medal. But that's not what this is all about. The goal is to be as fully alive as possible, and the martial arts represent one of the most powerful mind-and-body training programs ever created.
So in today's blog I offer three messages straight from my heart:
-- A rousing "two thumbs up" to Dennis Schaefer for taking silver at 60.
-- A glad salute to all seniors who are still practicing the martial arts to the best of their ability.
-- And to everyone else a warm invitation to get in the game by visiting a senior-friendly martial-arts school in your hometown.
Are you already training at a senior-friendly school? Please send me the name so that I can tell readers about it here on "Seniors in the Martial Arts." Don't keep the good news to yourself.
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