Peak age for martial arts?
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Out_of_Bubblegum
Posts: 2,220 Member
Here's a question that has been on my mind recently...
What do you think is the peak age for your martial art?
(At what point does the effects of age start to overtake additional experience?)
What do you think is the peak age for your martial art?
(At what point does the effects of age start to overtake additional experience?)
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Hmm. Good question. I think it has as much to do with the individual as it does with the style. Plus the age you start at - starting younger keeps the body in shape whereas starting later you will always be trying to catch up. I can feel how much I lost in the decade I wasn't training0
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I didn't start until I was 40, so I my peak age will be different than my kid's peak ages.0
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I wish I had started when I was younger. For wushu I think the flexibility and jumping really is optimal for people to start in their youth, peaking I think in the 20's - kind of like gymnastics. I don't think however, that it's too late to learn - if it's just to learn something new and keep fit and have fun. I do find that I really have to pay special attention to aches and pains and not push too hard. Healing injuries in the mid 40's is definitely not the same as when you're 20..0
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Not Sure on "Peak" but I trained with a man that started his TKD Training @ 68 and got his black belt at 74. I watched him win the 40 and over division at a tournament in sparring at age 75. That dude is a Bad@ss!!3
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25. This is a young man's game. I'm just there for fun and fulfillment.0
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Eh, well, if you want to represent your country internationally, probably 18-25. I certainly lost a lot of hip mobility between 19 and 29, and it's not so easy to kick above head height now. In the decades to come, I will lose more, obviously.
But. I'm not in it for international comps, so I'm not going to worry about it. Dwelling on it might just lead to nihilistic despair and angst over the futility of continued effort.
Besides, my forms are way better than they were at 17, and I've been assured that they were pretty good back then. My sparring erm, wasn't but that improved out of all recognition too. I think it's quite possible 31-year-old me would kick my 19-year-old's self's *kitten*.2 -
I think it may have something to do with the level of training. ...
Assuming that a student starts at young age (<10) and...
Has an aggressive training schedule (12+ hours/week) and...
Has access to top level instructors
Then peak is likely to occur early - meaning that the demands of that pace of training, that level of instruction, and that level of dedication is going to cause an incredibly sharp rise in abilities in a very short period of time. These are the kind of people we see showing up at top level world competition and Olympics.. Typically in their teens and 20's, in top physical condition.
I believe this type of training has a high price - the chance of injury is very high at this level of training, and even assuming no acute injuries take them out of the training loop permanently. The wear and tear of pushing a still-growing body through such rigorous training will cause eventual long-term injuries.
Now taking a different approach to training:
Assuming the student starts at later age (15+) and..
Has a moderate training schedule (5-10 hours/week) and...
Has access to good instructors (not former top level competitors, but long-term practitioners with decades of experience)
I believe this approach will have a much longer ramp-up to peak performance... It allows the student to grow at more of a self-pace, as it removes the necessity to hit peak performance during the young age competition window, reduces the chance of acute injury and overuse injury, and potentially can lead to higher skill levels than those of the first group, but due to an aging body and less than perfect training regimen, a slower reaction time.
Much like @HeliumIsNoble - I'm pretty sure I could wipe the floor with my 19 year old self, even though that self was a top level competitor. I was faster then, but now I am stronger and much more skilled fighter.
My forms - well that's another story. I am not at the level I was at 19 - my relative strength in some areas just isn't the same.. but I think that is more of a lack of conditioning than it is age related degeneration. I think I can overcome it.
Bottom line is that there are potentially 2 peaks.
One which is achievable through youth, high capacity training and top level training, and the other which is through years or even decades of training and experience.1 -
I'd have to disagree and say it correlates more to peak physical maturity, especially for men that seem to top out in their mid 20s. Peak knowledge and skillset might be a different thing entirely, but raw performance definitely correlates to stage of life. After men hit 30 we slowly lose speed and strength. We can lift weights, exercise, eat right, offset it, but physically our peak hormones are mid 20s.
Look at the ages of most olympic competitors for almost any sport.0 -
Wouldn't it depend on what you were trying to get out of it? Martial arts is a pretty broad umbrella. Sure if your focus is on the sport side of it and competition, then it would probably be the same as most other athletes. Self defense side? Are you ever too old to defend yourself? I'm sure the same would go for the exercise part too.3
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jamespatten3576 wrote: »Wouldn't it depend on what you were trying to get out of it? Martial arts is a pretty broad umbrella. Sure if your focus is on the sport side of it and competition, then it would probably be the same as most other athletes. Self defense side? Are you ever too old to defend yourself? I'm sure the same would go for the exercise part too.
That's a great point. When I posed the question, I was thinking more on the competitive side, but also just peak physical abilities, even if not competing. At some point as we age, there comes a time when additional experience does not necessarily translate into additional ability - but you are right, there is likely different "line in the sand" moments for different aspects of the arts!0
