Martial Arts for those of us over 60

reply to post by voiceoreason
You should look up Morihe Ueshiba, the fouonder of Akido. He could take on multiple attackers when he was well into his seventies. It's not necessarily about numbers. Yes, I will most likely get hurt if I am attacked by a gang of thugs. What I want to do is send them on their way experiencing a little pain and a lot of humilation.,

reply to post by EyeHeartBigfoot
You ask why I feel the need/desire for further training. Part of it is self defense. I have an intense NEED to be able to protect my family in any situation. And I don't hesitate to do so. Just ask the punks who harrassed my wife at a music festival a couple of years ago.
I have the desire to continue so that I can be the best I can be, not just physically, but spiritually as well. I find that martial arts helps along that path as well.
I will give tai' chi a chance. I have studied the form, and it is easy to see the elements of combat moves in it.

reply to post by kettlebellysmith


Heya, KettleBelly. From your screen name it sounds like you are open to all sorts of training methods.

I would like to direct you to, Warriors of Stillness by Jan Diepersloot.

Wuji Qigong is a great way to train if you are by yourself. Are you interested in Chinese Martial Arts?

I will kick down a couple of things that might pique your interest a little more.

In Gong Fu training there is a saying. It goes roughly like this; "When confronted with the choice between 'Chuan' and 'Gong'; Choose Gong first".

See, Chuan is all the external movements and forms and technique. But Gong is all of the power and structure training. The idea being that the Chuan is not much good without the Gong. Plus most of the profound health benefits of Chinese Martial Arts arise from Gong training.

Training alone is highly underrated because folks just do not know how to prioritize their training when alone and their options are often limited by lack of knowledge and stingy teachers.

Diepersloot's book takes care of all of that. The reason for that is because Diepersloot's teacher is GrandMaster Cai Songfang and He is totally cool and Open Source about the whole thing (an act of God) and so therefore is Diepersloot Open Source as well.

It may take you several readings to start to get it but it is probably the best place to go for the knowledge considering that it is actively hidden by avaricious CMA teachers. Bummer huh? But things are changing in Taiji. Many of the great masters did not move to United States but to Australia and Malaysia and some incredible Taiji players are developing there (I will add video).

American Taiji is very myopic and can't see beyond its borders very well so it is missed.

So maybe check out the book if you are able and just find the Taiji teacher or CMA teacher that you dig the most in your area. And go to work.

This of course, is considering that you have any interest in CMA in the first place.

If you are than you are in for some good stuff because it operates to help improve the organism on all levels.

They don't call it Grand Ultimate Fist for nuthin'.

www.warriorsofstillness.com...



These videos from Micheal Phillips are awesome...


Love this guy. Wish I lived in Australia or Thailand.
This is Adam Mizner. If you can believe it these guys all come from Cheng Man ch'ing



The girl in the video is reciting the Ti Chi Classics. They are universal regardless of 'style' that is why you can just pick one. Don't get caught up in making comparisons. Teachers and 'styles' only differ based on where you are at as a Taiji player.

Through Cheng Man Ch'ing via this guy, Huang Sheng Shyan. He chose to live in Malaysia so we missed him...



Anyhow, I hope all that is useful if you are considering Taiji.
Have a great day.

Originally posted by voiceoreason
No offense to my elders; I have the utmost respect for you all...

But there is no martial art that will prevent a group of brigands from having their way with a senior citizen unless you are protected by a group of people who have your back.

Guns are great, but I'd recommend that you invest in a social structure that has plenty of able-bodied young folks to protect you.

a 60 year old bruce lee would not be able to protect himself in the face of 3 motivated young attackers.

a 60 year old Chuck Norris, however... :-)

As already mentioned Bruce Lee schooled Chuck Norris. Taekwondo is weak when a person is willing to invest years of their life towards training. It is very strong however for those who want to compete or just be able to kick some rear after a little training.

Any of the martial arts that do not rely on strength rather form and movement would serve an older person well. These are known as soft style arts. Tai Chi Chuan being the primary I have experience with and a combination soft / hard would be most of the Kung Fu styles. These however take lots of dedication to make an effective combat technique.

People like you laugh at this because they aren't sparring, they aren't sending their masters to MMA competitions and the Shaolin monks putting on acrobatic demonstrations is about all most people see.

The older you are the more dangerous you are in as much as training and perfecting your body and style in these arts.

If I had to lay a bet the top MMA fighter would be schooled by an 75 year old Shaolin Monk. I've been in workshops with some of these old soft style guys and I'm no slouch; but I must say if you can ever find a demonstration go check it out. They rarely recruit and when they do it is even more rare to see a demonstration of force from one who is truly accomplished. But if you ever get the chance check it out..

reply to post by voiceoreason


So your Kung Fu is Facebook Flash Mob Style?

Ah young warrior, watch the last guy in this short video. He is in his 70's. No CGI here

reply to post by Frater210


Great post!

Just so everyone is aware the guys in these videos being tossed around are not pretending. I've been the guy getting tossed and it is absolutely amazing!

It kinda looks like they are just over exaggerating, really they are just experienced enough not to fall on their butts and look stupid.

Either way I reinforce that anyone who finds a good exhibition of a Soft art should attend. The good ones are usually only for students of other schools but I'm sure you could find something.

reply to post by kettlebellysmith


** Not another martial arts thread!

reply to post by voiceoreason

a 60 year old bruce lee would not be able to protect himself in the face of 3 motivated young attackers. a 60 year old Chuck Norris, however... :-)

, , ;


, Chuck Norris!

reply to post by Jinglelord

The good ones are usually only for students of other schools but I'm sure you could find something.

I'd rather be number two than number one.

Originally posted by brindle
I recommend the ancient art of pepper spray,it requires no training and will save you big gas money traveling back and forth to the karate studio.You dont have to wear those ridiculous white suits either.

I agree with this, but at the same time I must say Aikido. The two combined would be perfect.
Morihei Ueshiba once remarked that one "must be willing to receive 99% of an opponent's attack and stare death in the face"

Jeet-kune-do is a form of martial arts that one can incorporate any move from any school. its all about how your body flows and what moves are best suited for you. maybe study some other schools of martial arts to pick and choose executions you know your body will handle. Bruce lee was a brilliant man, maybe take a look at some of his philosophies.

Tai Chi is the best, in my humble opinion...
people with disabilities can also enjoy it

reply to post by kettlebellysmith


Hey mate! So its good if you have experience on stand up game and you feel like counters coming from your spine However, if the fight goes to the ground as they tend to do often, then I highly recommend BJJ (helped me with my bad back also).
Even being on your back and the opponent on top of you, you can still make him regret coming on top( break his shoulders, strangle him..). And you dont have to be a strongman to do this.
Early UFC is a good example of strenght of the BJJ.

To every one who replied: thank you for your input. I have received excellent input from almost everyone. I have learned about a couple of arts I had never heard of before. I intend to spend some time researching some of these new ones, and I'll probably try incorporating some of the styles I am slightly familar with. I look forward to further input, and I am actually looking forward to working out again.

I used to do Wadi Kai Karate. Shodokan was a big fad around that era and ninjitsu.

I am more leaned towards Tai Chi and other ehm "slow and graceful" techniques ( arts ).

They may look like simple slow but that is very wrong. Ever seen a Tai Chi master really use the skill? Awesome.

Seeing a very old person master of Tai Chi work it at full speed in a "situation". Gob smacking.

I say screw Karate and all that, after witnessing it lol.

It is a very very unerestimated technique. pitty.

I found DEFENDO as taught to Canadian/Law enforcement forces, to be a very quickly learned effective set of techniques.
It is designed to be usable by anyone, anytime, any age.

I have over 20 years in the bar business as a testament to its effectiveness.

best weapon-BRAIN

PS star for Bruce Lee's philosophy
IMHO jeet koon do is very valuable
it was invented by a woman who challeged an unwelcome suiter to a dual
to avoid marrying the bully
she won

For your everyday selfdefense needs there's only really one choice: Systema (Система in Russian).
Relatively easy to start out with. I highly recommend it to anyone, i have been practising it for 5+ years now and it's certainly the most potent, although krav magra comes very close.

Check it out:

reply to post by zookey


This is brutal, but it makes me wonder the power of Chi, as this Master claims he has 200 victories and no losses..before this happened Kiai master vs MMA

Hopefully the link works(Im no wizard with computers). Anyway it should give some thoughts..

a reply to: voiceoreason

I dont know about that, I am 61 years old and have faced multiple attackers in situations beyond my control, alot younger then myself. I have defended myself in a quick fashion. EVERY martial artist knows that the fight must be ended quickly.If you know where to strike each shot can put your opponent down. I have no belts I have trained in different ways and weaknesses in the body. I also have all the things that come with age so all i can tell you never under estimate an older man at any age the art of war with your hands and feet are mighty weapons never forget what you learn and pray that you never have to use it. plus do as I do practice I teach kids how to defend themselves for free and it keeps me going. PASS ON YOUR KNOWLEDGE.

i am 68 and use a mix of Bo staff, Philippine stick fighting, and cane fu.

my hardwood Bo staff brakes down into two smaller fighting sticks with a zap boy connector and with a little work it looks just like any other hiking/walking staff.

www.zapboy.com...

www.canemasters.com...

And the best part is i have never had any problem with TSA about any of my play toys they don't see any of them as weapons when carried by a old guy