Though not unique to the martial arts this can apply to any activity that requires discipline over time.
I think I am very lucky to be in constant contact with people who have been training in martial arts for many decades. Although we are all getting older, there seems to be no let-up on the urge to tie on the obi and step out into the Dojo and continue to work and learn.
There was a time when I used to refer to some of these individuals as ‘lifers’, because you just knew that whatever happened to them, over time, they would find it impossible to resist the pull of martial arts training and even if circumstances caused them to take a break, they would be back. But, I came to the conclusion that ‘lifers’ is such a negative word and have since tried to restructure and clarify my definitions.
Tribe.
A while back I wrote a blog post about how people find their ‘tribe’. This was inspired by Ken Robinson’s book (blog post link here ‘Finding your Tribe’ )
I think people tend to gravitate towards the activities that tick their boxes; disciplines which yield the most positive of feedback. It’s almost as if their DNA resonates with the inherent qualities of the chosen activity and the aspirations and ideals align with their personal urges for fulfilment.
To stop or to quit.
There is a difference. I have met many people who have found themselves in a position where life has just gotten in the way of the things that they would love to pursue, the most reasons obviously being family circumstances or work responsibilities, and martial arts training has just had to take a back seat or be put on pause. Of course, there are other situations as well, including illness or injury or having to move away and relocating to another place where the facilities and opportunities are just not there. But you somehow just know that, in some form or another, they’ll be back. In many cases they return with renewed vigour or with a greatly elevated maturity and perspective. These are the people who stop (or press the ‘pause button’).
The quitters are another category. I don’t want to be hard on the quitters.
Maybe, for some, it might just be that quitting is a courageous decision to make and comes out of a sudden realisation that they are chasing the wrong rabbit? As such, they never return.
Perspectives shift.
I have often said that people continue training in the martial arts for very different reasons than the ones that made them start. The ego transforms over time, particularly as maturity sets in. Also, the reality of the discipline of martial arts often reveals itself to have depth that the beginner could never have imagined. Or sometimes it’s that the deep dive into training brings out forms of latent potential they never knew existed in them, and I am not just talking about physical potential.
I mustn’t ignore the possibility that martial artists don’t quit; they might just move into an alternative discipline. I think at the early stages there are people who shop around until they find something that fits. Sometimes that decision takes a while to arrive. It might be that a particular martial art is only suitable for young people, and that the older practitioners no longer have the physical attributes to keep up and so take up something that involves less stress on the body.
Perhaps, just stubbornness causes people to hang in even if the discipline no longer aligns with their needs. It has been said that it is a tragedy if someone spends their whole life trying to reach the top of a ladder only to discover that it’s propped against the wrong wall.
Physical limits.
Many of our most popular sports seem to have an accepted shelf life. Gymnasts and other athletes have a peak; often defined by the propensity for injury. Of course, injury can occur at any point in an athlete’s career, whether they are involved in professional or recreational sports. As an example; there is a general acceptance that professional footballers (soccer players) will tend to retire at an average age of 35. Players of less physical sports can go on for much longer. At pro level, golfers go on until their 40’s or 50’s.
Injuries in martial arts.
I was always told that judo guys end up getting mashed knees and shoulders and weirdly that any karate style that involved forced dynamic tension in kata, ran the risk of inflicting high blood pressure (hypertension) and even haemorrhoids on its practitioners, but as yet I have seen no scientific data to back that up, so put it in the category ‘old wives’ tales’.
What there has been recent research on is modern (Olympic style) karate fighters. The data says that serious (career ending) injury is rare at that level, but that athletes suffer on average one injury per eleven ‘exposures’ (bouts) which is approximately twenty-five minutes of competition. But all of these are categorised as ‘superficial’ and there is no difference between male and female athletes. Source.
I have looked at a few other sources for data on martial arts injuries but they all suffer from the same problem; no reliable or consistent data, just snapshots.
I am of the opinion that in karate there is a tendency for people to quit or retire because of injury related issues. But that over the timespan of the modern forms of karate training the data is skewed, partly because in the earlier days of karate there were so many stupid reckless things going on, any form of health and safety considerations were stripped to the bare minimum. This meant that the attrition rate was high, which was counterbalanced by an even higher take-up rate, so there was never any shortage of cannon fodder.
Final thoughts.
Whatever happens to people over time, nobody is in the position of wagging a judgmental finger in their direction. These are highly personal things and should be respectfully acknowledged. However, this doesn’t mean that we have to suppress our curiosity, as long as we remain courteous and maintain a polite approach, and within your own Dojo, ensure that the door remains always open.
Header image: Tim Shaw via AI.
One of the reasons I picked up iaidō is the longevity of its practitioners. My instructor is in her mid-70's and it's not unusual to find people who are still practicing to a high level at around that age or older. I was very fortunate to train with an instructor in his 90's (he even helped me design the sword I currently use). Unfortunately he passed away last year but he had very good innings. Iaidō is not too hard on your body and does a lot for your posture and for providing a level what could be considered dynamic (but light) weight lifting/strength exercises.
I also train with a gentleman who is ex-Kyokushin and trained with Sosai Oyama on multiple occasions. He's hard as nails but is also being held together by scar tissue. He would absolutely wreck most people half his age but he has a lot of issues with chronic injuries. I doubt he'll be stopping any time soon but according to him, "everyone" in his generation have grown up to be hard as nails but physical wrecks.
I'm not young, but I'm not old by any stretch of the imagination (I'm 40 this year). I'm quite thankful that I've managed to get to this point injury free and am still pushing my limits. I'll be doing a 118 km ultramatathon this year thanks to taking care of myself, despite the fact that I know people my age (and younger) that couldn't run around the block due to not taking care of themselves.
Having a long term plan and sticking to it is important in my opinion.
My senior sensei is in his late 60s, lots metal joints, but is very motivated and committed. Other Senior is late 50s, still moves well and dynamically. One is great for detail and micro technique,other is more kumite aligned. Good combination.
As for me my youthful exuberance has faded a tad as has the glow of kumite competition. Kata holds its fascination, if not more so; and I like more one step with tai sabaki.
All things for all people.