Combat Arts After the Age of 40

[FPS]

I am coming off a year of boxing and looking for something new. Finally was able to compete and check that off the bucket list but racked up 4 broken ribs and a concussion in the process. I'm ready to try something different this year and hopefully keep injuries to a minimum to avoid work disruption. Also feeling burnt out since boxing is really the only thing I have done off and on the last 22 years. The conditioning is fantastic and a great benefit but I think I need a break and maybe revisit it again later when my interest comes back.

I've been looking at BJJ for the conditioning and defense skills but after reading some of the threads here and elsewhere, have heard injuries can be fairly common. Traditional martial arts all have their strengths and weaknesses and I really haven't found anything locally yet that has seemed like a perfect fit but maybe I just need to try some things out. Aikido has some interesting wrist locks but I keep hearing how impractical it is and has kind of gotten a bad rap. Plus it kind of seems like a thing for middle aged buddhist dudes with ponytails. Maybe not the right fit for me but willing to try it out if it is worthwhile. Judo is fairly inexpensive and has a competitive aspect that might be worth a shot but have only had limited experience in college and only thought it was kind of meh then but maybe I would be more interested now. We have a local Krav Maga gym but I am uncertain about the quality.

Wondering what all of you have settled on to keep yourself in shape, what has kept your interest, and what might provide some decent defense skills as an added bonus and what you feel the positives and negatives are of your particular choice. I would say my particular priorities are interest and fitness primary (and injury avoidance) and defense secondary.

[Totem Polar]

As you know, I am reasonably familiar with most of the good options available to you. PM inbound.

[MGW]

I can only talk about BJJ but I’m over 40 and didn’t start until I was a little past the 40 mark. Jits can be rough on the body but if you get into a respectable gym you’ll be okay. Just do your homework first. There are several people that hang out here that can probably point you in the right direction for your area.

Jits and boxing go very well together as a self defense base.

Any training involves risk. You’ll learn a lot in a very short amount of time in BJJ and your conditioning will ramp up in a hurry too. New white belts are often more likely to hurt someone than the more experienced guys. New white belts often go for a submission a little to aggressively because they are trying to hit something fast before they lose it.

I plan on doing Jiu Jitsu for the rest of my life.

[Clusterfrack]

I've got 10 years on you. I've been doing BJJ for almost 3 years. Grappling with dudes 10-30 years younger who weigh 20-100 lbs more is tough to say the least. I've broken 5 ribs, sprained both thumbs twice each, have a chronic shoulder injury, and a bunch of other minor issues. I'm really glad I stuck with it. I'm able to take much more abuse without getting hurt, and when I snag the occasional submission it's really rewarding. Beyond increasing my physical toughness, my willpower and mental toughness have increased as well. My last match was a stalemate lasting 5 min, against a bigger, younger, stronger but less skilled opponent. I didn't submit him, but I didn't lose either, and fought harder than I've ever fought before. It was a win in my book.

Anyway, I agree about finding the right gym, and about watching out for spastic white belts. A good gym will pair new students with more experienced students who will help you learn your limits and how not to get hurt. Didn't really work for me, but that was probably my fault.

I'm going to try Systema next week, just for something different.

[BJJ]

I started BJJ in December. I’m over 40. About 5 years ago, I had trained BJJ at a different gym. I knew it was going to be a little rough starting back and it has been, but not too bad. Grappling is hard on your body if you are not conditioned to it. Once you are conditioned to it, you have a huge advantage over other people.

There are a few things about where I’m training now that have made it easier to start back. You have to spend the first few months in what they call a foundations class. You are only allowed to drill and do situational sparring. Rolling is not allowed until you finish the foundations program. This is supposed to take 4 to 6 months. At first I found this pretty frustrating but I am starting to see the logic. Many of the injuries in BJJ gyms come from strong white belts. For example, a 200 lb 20 year old who starts trying to do can openers on people because he is allowed to roll his first ever day training BJJ.

My point is, finding a gym that has some sort of on ramp program might help. Another thing to look for is how varied is the demographic of people training there? Are there middle aged people, kids, male and female Training there? Or is all tattooed dudes under 30?

If you have a lot of experience with boxing, you could delve into BJJ while maintaining your boxing and wind up really well rounded.

Paging @Cecil Burch and @Paul Sharp

[Casual Friday]

I'll just say it. 99% of Krav Maga out there is shit. Pure shit. It's much easier to find a reputable BJJ gym. I take boxing, Muay Thai, and BJJ a couple times a week. I'm not 40 yet but I'm on final approach. I've had bumps and bruises, some sprains, but no major injuries. I have a wrestling background which helped starting out in BJJ since I had the basic idea of how to take people down and attempt to control them but I still got taken to school.

@GreggW brought up a good point. It's safer to roll with purple belts and higher as you're far less likely to be injured by one of them than a white or blue belt. White belts often feel as though they have something to prove, especially young dudes, and a lot of blue belts are white belts with more skill who feel they have something to prove. Certainly not all white and blue belts fall into that category though.

[jc000]

I'll just say it. 99% of Krav Maga out there is shit. Pure shit. It's much easier to find a reputable BJJ gym.

Yeah without meaning to bash, I would have to agree. If I were in your situation, having a boxing background I would just find a great BJJ school. Not sure where you are, but if you can let us know someone here will be able to help you find a reputable one, I'm sure.

After doing about 15 years of western / thai boxing I can see doing hard sparring ending soon for me –*just can't process things fast enough with some of our top fighters. I'll probably transition to just BJJ with some more technical striking / MMA only with guys I trust. BJJ really is fantastic way to train full speed / effort yet still keep things "safe". So far (knock on wood) I've managed to avoid any major injuries in BJJ.

Again with your boxing background keeping those basics sharp alongside some strong BJJ, and then working in some entangled fighting / ECQC stuff will give you a great base.

[Robinson]

I'm 55 and still train in Okinawan Goju, though I don't push it as hard as when I was younger. Things were a little rough at the school around the time I advanced to senior ranks and the years definitely took a toll on my body. Wouldn't do it differently though in retrospect.

[NickA]

I started BJJ in December. I’m over 40. About 5 years ago, I had trained BJJ at a different gym. I knew it was going to be a little rough starting back and it has been, but not too bad. Grappling is hard on your body if you are not conditioned to it. Once you are conditioned to it, you have a huge advantage over other people.

There are a few things about where I’m training now that have made it easier to start back. You have to spend the first few months in what they call a foundations class. You are only allowed to drill and do situational sparring. Rolling is not allowed until you finish the foundations program. This is supposed to take 4 to 6 months. At first I found this pretty frustrating but I am starting to see the logic. Many of the injuries in BJJ gyms come from strong white belts. For example, a 200 lb 20 year old who starts trying to do can openers on people because he is allowed to roll his first ever day training BJJ.

My point is, finding a gym that has some sort of on ramp program might help. Another thing to look for is how varied is the demographic of people training there? Are there middle aged people, kids, male and female Training there? Or is all tattooed dudes under 30?

If you have a lot of experience with boxing, you could delve into BJJ while maintaining your boxing and wind up really well rounded.

Paging @CecilBurch and @PaulSharp

This x1000. If the gym I trained at had a solid fundamentals program (or any organization to the curriculum for that matter) I might still be training. Instead I spent 3 years and a ton of money to figure out that I'd never learn as much as I should in that program. (And I'm not totally bashing the place, it was just entirely geared to a different kind of student and has some high level guys).
All that to say- give any gym a good solid test drive before you commit too much time, energy and $.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Peally]