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Thread: Give it up to the elderly!!!!!

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by lkfmdc View Post
    maybe I'm just bored, this place is dead on Good Friday

    It needs a good resurrection.....

    (see what I did there?)

    Not Dead, asleep at the wheel maybe, this should bring some wake up for the Holidays! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q9ZPT3psEA
    Last edited by PalmStriker; 03-31-2013 at 11:42 AM.

  2. #32
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    Kung Fu Grandpa gone viral

    Kung Fu Grandpa in the Food Lion parking lot!

    Over 5 million hits in 2 days.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  3. #33
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    On a more serious note

    Black Country wrestler Saleh Ghaleb still fighting fit at 83 years old
    21 Mar 2013 09:47

    West Bromwich pensioner, known as The Amazing Kung Fu, is Britain's oldest martial arts fighter


    King Fu pensioner Saleh Ghaleb, from West Bromwich

    Grappling grandad Saleh Ghaleb is known as the ‘Amazing Kung Fu’ for a reason.

    At 83, the wrinkly wrestler is the ring’s oldest pro.

    The pensioner, who made his debut in 1970, is still prowling the mat at an age when most settle for a gentle tai chi session to stay in shape.

    And next Friday the silver body slammer once again dons his famed kung fu mask for a show at Kings Norton Ex-Services Club in Cotteridge.

    Saleh, Yemen-born, but a West Midlands resident since 1955, promises an awesome display of OAP power.

    He may be only eight stone, but push in front of the judo black belt at the post office queue and you’re asking for trouble.

    He’s also a kung fu, karate and jiu jitsu expert.

    “If the young wrestlers get nasty, I kick their ass,” growled Saleh, who runs three times a week and works out in the gym.

    “I’m very fit – I wouldn’t step into the ring if I wasn’t. Be fit and you live longer.”

    The former foundry worker, now living in West Bromwich, made his wrestling bow when the sport enjoyed heavy TV coverage, though none of his contests, which run into thousands, have been screened.

    He made his debut under the guise of the Bengal Tiger, then changed his name to the Arabian Gentleman.

    His career stalled for three years in 1984 when he returned to the Yemen to train the national Olympic judo team. Since returning to the ring two years ago, divorced Saleh claims to have lost only one bout.

    Paul Jenks, promoter of the Cotteridge bill, said: “You have to see him to believe it. He is truly amazing.

    "When Saleh first walked into the gym and said he wanted to make a comeback we laughed. Then we saw him working out, doing backdrops...

    “He says he wants to continue until he’s 101. I wouldn’t put it past him.”


    Saleh Ghaleb, aka The Amazing Kung Fu, from West Bromwich Saleh Ghaleb is still getting his kicks from kung fu

    They may have to use a chairlift to get him over the ropes or even splash out on the world’s first walk-in ring.

    An opponent for this month’s bout has yet to be found, but that doesn’t bother Saleh.

    “He’ll probably be younger,” said the grandfather, still breathless after completing his road work around Sandwell Valley Park.

    “My children support me. They’ve told me to just carry on.”

    “I’ve got all my own teeth,” he boasted. “I haven’t lost one.”

    That’s vitally important. When not wrestling, Saleh raises cash by using them ... to lift children off the ground.
    Sounds like quite a character.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  4. #34
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    Go Kung Fu Grandpa!

    See the post two posts up. There's a vid if you follow the link below. Bell has the right attitude. I'd rock one of those shirts. Get your nunchucks here.
    HOLMBERG: ‘Kung Fu Grandpa’ message packs more than a punch
    Posted on: 12:39 am, April 3, 2013, by Mark Holmberg, updated on: 12:48am, April 3, 2013

    RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR)–Tom Bell of Richmond has only been the “Kung Fu Grandpa” for a few days, but he’s already known by that nickname by well over 7 million people around the world, and counting.

    And yes, the 52-year-old salesman took some karate classes as a youngster, but he’s only been swinging his now-famous nunchucks for a little more than a year.

    “My mom passed away and we were going through some of the stuff and I found an old wooden pair (of nunchucks),” Bell recalled. “I started playing with them. First thing you know, I had knots all over me. So my fiancée bought me foam ones.”

    He’s the star of the viral Youtube video titled “Kung FU Grandpa in the Food Lion parking lot!” that showcases one of his high-flying workouts, filmed by a local pastor who provided humorous and spontaneous commentary that has helped the video soar through cyber space.

    The pastor, Rev. Aamon Miller of Swansboro Baptist Church, formally met the man he dubbed “Kung Fu Grandpa” Tuesday afternoon in the Food Lion parking lot.



    And he brought a T-shirt he has made in honor of the message he sees in the runaway clip, which has been also been made into a music video.

    “If you drop one chuck, pick it back up, and keep chuckin –Kung Fu Grandpa,” the shirt reads. Rev. Miller said the shirts will soon be available online.

    “That’s what I do a lot,” Bell said of dropping his chucks.

    He can be seen chucking in parks and parking lots all around town. It keeps him in great shape. Local filmmaker Lucas Krost recently made a polished video starring Bell – shot in Richmond – for a Super Bowl commercial contest by Doritos. It didn’t win, but many believe it’s worthy of airing.

    But late last week, it was the Rev. Miller’s first look at the silver-haired martial artist.

    “When I came out of the store, he’s chucking by my car,” Miller recalled, laughing. “And I’m nervous. I’m like, ‘Oh, man, is this the repo man? Do I owe him money? What’s going on?’”

    He said he got in his car, moved it around so he could get some over-the-dash-video with his cell phone, kind of ducking down in case the man with the nunchucks didn’t like being filmed.

    But as he watched, he felt there was more to the story.

    And like any good preacher, he found a mighty message in the unusual and funny video he shot.

    “His mom passed away,” he said, watching the Kung Fu Grandpa have another workout on the Food Lion parking lot. “He was down. So he needed something to pick himself up. And he found it in this activity. And the whole thing of dropping the chuck . . . In life, we’re going to drop all kinds of things. But the key is not to stay down with the thing that you dropped. Pick it up and get back to what you are doing.”

    The Kung Fu Grandpa approved of that message, happily accepting the T-shirt, his new name and fame and the idea that his healthful pastime has given so many so much pleasure.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  5. #35
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    Ho Kuo-chao

    Sheer awesomeness. And I love those axes.
    Ninety-year-old wins martial arts championship
    UPHOLDING TRADITION:The retired physician said he has practiced martial arts for more than 70 years after his father advised him to learn the traditional Chinese sport
    By Hsieh Wen-hua and Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with staff writer


    Ninety-year-old Ho Kuo-chao displays his martial arts skills in Taipei at a competition on Sunday organized by Ministry of Health and Welfare.
    Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

    Ninety-year-old Ho Kuo-chao (何國昭) has proved that being old does not always mean acting old by wowing a panel of judges at a talent competition on Sunday with his sophisticated martial art skills, bagging the championship.

    Leading a group of younger martial artists, Ho confidently brandished traditional weapons while doing five consecutive splits before performing drunken boxing. His performance also included several forward rolls and an ending pose of a left split, drawing a round of applause from audiences and judges and outperforming 11 other groups of elderly finalists.

    The contest was organized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Taiwan Catholic Foundation of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia.

    Veteran actor Chin Shih-chieh (金士傑), who served as a judge for the competition, said jokingly that watching someone as old as Ho doing consecutive splits was a “horrifying” experience.

    The skills staged by the younger performers also captured the essence of classic martial art movements and were equally fascinating, Chin said.

    Taipei Jen-Chi Relief Institution director Tai Tung-yuan (戴東原), who joined the competition as a guest, said for a 74-year-old man who even had difficulty standing up from a tatami mat when visiting Japan, Ho’s flexibility was rather impressive.

    As the founder of Chien Hsing Martial Club in Greater Tainan, Ho said he has practiced martial arts for more than 70 years after his father advised him to learn the traditional Chinese sport to help boost his immune system.

    After retiring as a physician several years ago, Ho followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both of whom were doctors, and started teaching martial arts and Song-Jiang Jhen Battle Array (宋江陣) — a form of performing arts that combines elements of kung fu, dance and drumming — at local schools and temples.

    According to one of Ho’s students, winning the competition is a bittersweet moment for the 90-year-old, who had thought about retiring from the martial art circle after his wife of 63 years passed away about six months ago.

    “It is the words of encouragement from my students that have reminded me of my mission to reinvigorate and pass down the national sport,” Ho said.

    Ho said he has decided to donate half of his NT$100,000 prize money to the Alzheimer’s foundation, in a bid to help more elderly people who have also lost their “better halves” to walk away from the grief.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  6. #36
    Awesome axes from World of Warcraft.. He's level 90 warrior

  7. #37
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    Grandmaster Emil Bautista

    I've met Grandmaster Bautista. I had no idea he was 75. He moves like a much younger man.
    A GRANDMASTER’S JOURNEY
    75-year-old martial arts expert credits students for his success

    Martial Arts Grandmaster Emil Bautista
    Lisa James/Register

    FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2013 - VALLEJO, CA - Martial arts Grandmaster Emil Bautista, a 9th degree black belt and long time American Canyon resident, has operated his school, Kajukenbo Martial Arts in Vallejo, for 45 years. Bautista, who just turned 75, still provides hands-on instruction to students of all levels. Lisa James/Register

    October 23, 2013 11:50 am • MICHAEL WATERSON

    AMERICAN CANYON — At first glance Emil Bautista might not look like a formidable opponent in a street fight, but would-be muggers better look again.

    The 75-year-old longtime American Canyon resident is a martial arts expert, a senior grandmaster, and has taught at his school, Kajukenbo Self-Defense Institute of Vallejo, for 45 years.

    Bautista, who looks much younger than his age, said his journey in martial arts began at age 23 when he started attending karate classes at Travis Air Force base. Bautista said he worked on the base as a civilian physical education instructor.

    After several years of training, the East Bay native gravitated to instructor Antonio Ramos, one of the early masters of Kajukenbo, a hybrid martial arts form developed in the late 1940s in Hawaii that combines karate, judo, kenpo and boxing.

    Before acquiring the building on Benicia Road in 1968, Bautista trained in a single-car garage, at private residences and other places.

    “We used to train anywhere and everywhere,” said Bautista.

    Like a dance studio, his school has a full-length mirror running along one wall for training purposes. Above the mirror are the words: “Yes, sir, No, sir” and “Yes, ma’am, No, ma’am.”

    “Students have to learn diplomacy and courtesy,” Bautista said.

    His students come from all walks of life and a wide variety of occupations, among them law enforcement, technology, even public school teachers. One of his former students is the principal of Vallejo High School, Clarence Isadore, he said.

    Bautista credits his students with his success, noting that several have gone on to open their own martial arts schools.

    “It wasn’t me, it was these guys that did it,” Bautista said, indicating the half-dozen instructors and students of varying ages in combative stances around the room.

    Nowadays Bautista mostly lets other instructors in his school do the teaching while he critiques.

    The school has never been his sole support, Bautista said. Over the years, he worked for a vending machine company, a furniture store and as a bartender while teaching self-defense in his off-hours.

    “I don’t call this a business,” Bautista said.

    While his calling may be violent, Bautista’s home life is stable and peaceful. He and his wife, Betty, have two adult sons and have lived in American Canyon since 1974.

    “I’m very blessed,” said Bautista.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  8. #38
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    Bjj bb @ 74

    APR 08
    Bad a** grandpa: Ohio man, 74, earns Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
    12:22p ET
    Posted by Marc Raimondi


    Brazilian jiu-jitsu is one of the most physical forms of martial arts. And it's a sport that James Terlecki has spent many years perfecting, no matter how late in life.

    Eddie Bravo and Royler Gracie aren't the only old dudes making news in Brazilian jiu-jitsu these days.

    A 74-year-old Ohio man recently earned his black belt, according to a report by WKBN. James Terlecki has been training in BJJ for 13 years and just earned the prestigious honor.

    "I still feel very strong," he said. "I feel as strong as I did when I was 20 years old. My bones don't break or nothing. I roll around and everything. They're strong. This keeps your bones strong."

    Terlecki, who trains at his son's gym Next Level Martial Arts in Austintown, isn't a novice. He's been training in martial arts for 30 years. Terlecki might have gotten a late start -- in his 40s -- but he's no slouch.

    "At first I thought you had to be gentle with Mr. T, but that lasted about one minute until I was unconscious I think," training partner Rob Sullivan said. "And then I started going after him. I tell you, you can't ease up one bit."

    Just the opposite, says Terlecki. People in BJJ class don't want to get tapped by a septuagenarian.

    "It's almost like, 'Oh I'm not going to let that old man beat me,'" Terlecki said. "So they roll harder with you than they would normally with their buddy."

    Terlecki's son, James Jr., has a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under the highly regarded Marcello Monteiro and has trained kickboxing with well-known coach Duke Roufus. The 38-year-old is thrilled to have the ability to hang out with his dad on the mats.

    "How awesome is that?" James Jr. said. "How many people get to do that with your dad?"

    That's a guy who probably grew up saying "my dad can beat up your dad." Now he might be able to say: "My dad can beat up your son."

    "I'm not bragging or anything, but my wife never felt like she was afraid to go anywhere with me," Terlecki said. "She always felt like she was protected."

    Still rolling with them young'ens. Impressive.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  9. #39
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    Helen Dugan, 80

    14 pix in this gallery. I'm only posting #1. You can follow the link if you want to see the rest.

    Photo gallery: 80-year-old martial arts instructor
    Helen Dugan, 80, is a great-grandmother and a martial arts instructor. She holds a third-degree black belt.


    1 of 14
    Helen Dugan, owner of karate school Champs Achievers in Lenexa, quiets the class as 3-year-old Aiden Degnan tries to get Dugan's attention on Monday, March 9, 2015. The 80-year-old grandmother is a third-degree black belt and teaches karate classes exclusively to people with special needs.
    ALLISON LONG The Kansas City Star
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  10. #40
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    Meenakshi Gurrukkal

    Very impressive! What a treasure. RESPECT!

    Defying age with a sword: Meenakshi Gurrukkal, Kerala’s grand old Kalaripayattu dame
    At 74, she is possibly the oldest woman exponent of Kalaripayattu, the ancient martial arts from Kerala.
    Saturday, February 6, 2016 - 14:19



    By Supriya Unni Nair

    Meenakshi Gurukkal crouched low, sword poised; her eyes unblinking as she faced her opponent in the mud-paved 'kalari' or arena. From the tree tops, a mynah's call resonated in the silence. In a flash she moved to attack, twirling her sword; metal clashing loudly as it made contact with a shield.

    At 74, she is possibly the oldest woman exponent of Kalaripayattu, the ancient martial arts from Kerala. She has been practising Kalaripayattu for no less than sixty-eight years - training and teaching.

    Around 150 students learn Kalaripayattu in her school Kadathanadan Kalari Sangam, in a tiny hamlet in Vadakara, near Calicut, Kerala. From June to September every year, classes are held thrice a day teaching the Northern style of Kalaripayattu, including "uzhichil" or massages for aches and pains. Techniques have been passed down through generations, written in a palm ‘booklet’, grey and delicate with age. When school term is over, Meenakshi takes part in performances. “Nowadays, apart from teaching, I practise only when I have a show,” she says nonchalantly. This, from someone who on an average performs in 60 shows a year.

    More than a third of the students are girls, aged between six and twenty six. Meenakshi’s school welcomes children from all walks of life. "Gender and community are totally irrelevant. What matters is age. The earlier you start, the more proficient you are," she explains.

    The school runs on a 'no fees' principle. At the end of each year, students give her whatever guru dakshina they chose to. Today, some of her students are now Gurukkals or masters themselves.

    The kalari walls display weapons - fist daggers, shields, spears, thick wooden rods, tusk-shaped 'ottas' and 'urumis' - long flexible blades used in combat. Among them is a shield, polished, but old with use - one that Meenakshi herself had trained with as a young girl.

    She started learning Kalaripayattu at the age of six, when her father had taken her and her sister to a local kalari. "There were only a handful of girls in our class. But my father wasn't bothered. He was determined we learn Kalaripayattu," she says.

    Meenakshi turned out to be naturally gifted, and her father encouraged her to continue training even past puberty, when girls normally stopped.



    It was then that she met and married Raghavan Master, a school teacher with a passion for Kalaripayattu. Shunned from joining a local kalari because he was from the backward Thiyya/Ezhava community, Raghavan Master had built his own Kalaripayattu training school in defiance. Kadathanadan Kalari Sangam was set up in 1949; a place where anyone and everyone who had a passion for the martial art could join. "His goal was to make Kalaripayattu accessible to everyone. Today we have done that," explained Meenakshi, who started teaching Kalaripayattu at his training school at age 17.

    Oral folklore in north Kerala, known as Vadakkan Pattu or Northern Ballads, is rich with tales of Kalaripayattu champions. Among them are the Thiyya/Ezhava warriors of Puthooram tharavad in North Malabar- heroes and heroines such as Aromal Chekavar, an expert in 'ankam' (duelling) and Unniarcha, a women skilled in 'urumi' combat who singlehandedly took on vagabonds to ensure safe passage for women in that area. Ironically, Raghavan Master, from the same Thiyya/Ezhava community, had to fight discrimination in the late 1940s and set up a separate kalari to train and teach.

    Historians stress that Kalaripayattu was popular in medieval Kerala.

    "Each 'desam' or locality had a kalari or gymnasium with a guru at its head and both boys and girls received physical training in it," noted historian Prof A Sreedhara Menon in his work 'A Survey of Kerala History'.

    Portuguese traveller Duarte Barbosa, wrote of how he saw Kalaripayattu students in North Kerala in the early 1500s, who "...Learn twice a day as long as they are children... and they become so loose jointed and supple that they make them turn their bodies contrary to nature.." (exerpt from The Book of Duarte Barbosa, Volume II, Duarte Barbosa)

    Mythology credits Parasurama being the father of Kalaripayattu having learnt in from Shiva himself. Historically, it finds mention in early Sangam literature. Kerala historian, Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, in his book Studies in Kerala History, opined that the northern form Kalaripayattu practised today came into existence in 11 th century, in the wake of the strife between the Tamil Kingdoms of Cheras and Cholas.



    Later, colonial rulers were quick to ensure that locals did not pose a threat to them, and strongly discouraged Kalaripayattu. Their prudish sensibilities also prevented women from learning such skills. Prof Menon noted that after the 17 th century, interest in Kalaripayattu declined.

    Restrictions on carrying arms ensured that most Kalaripayattu weapons were kept in cold storage.

    Kalaripayattu was revived in the 1920s, but practitioners had to ask authorities for special licences to use weapons.

    “It was well past Independence that things really picked up. Now it's a way of life for us," says Meenakshi. Her children, two sons and two daughters, also started training in Kalaripayattu at six, and today her son Sajeev is a Gurukkal. "I will practise Kalaripayattu for as long as I physically can," she adds.

    This grand dame of Kalaripayattu is determined to prove the cliché that age is just a number.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  11. #41
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    The elderly

    Quote Originally Posted by geneching View Post
    very impressive! What a treasure. Respect!
    awesome thank you gene
    Visit the past in order to discover something new.

    [url]http://wahquekungfu.proboards100.com

  12. #42
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    Edward Diget at 71


    © Getty

    Britain's Oldest Personal Trainer
    Fitness Tips From Britain's Oldest PT That (Literally) Stand The Test Of Time
    Matt Chappell

    Meet Edward Diget. He's 71 and he's Britain's oldest personal trainer. He's a former Royal Navy man, represented his country in the 1962 Commonwealth Games, is a two-time British natural bodybuilding champion, was awarded 'Master' status by the Shaolin Warrior Monks of Mainland China and recognised as a Kung Fu Master by the World Martial Arts Organisation. Eddy has achieved a lot throughout his life. He's been weight training for 35 years and martial arts training for 55 years. His clients include a British heavyweight cage fighter, South african rugby player, British gymnasts... man, we need to meet this guy.



    And, well, that's just what we did. The guy was bodybuilding at the age of 58. He's got some stories to tell, right? Rather some advice to give, we thought, because – with many years of fitness under his belt – Ed is bound to have some fitness tips worth paying attention to. Fitness tips that have stood the test of time (literally). So here he is...

    I have been working out for over 60 years now. My father was a very aggressive man towards my mother and I, so to keep out his way I became interested in various sports. The first time I won a trophy was when at Primary School and the PT Teacher said, “The the first individual to swim one width under water (back then the length of the pool was 33 yards long by 10 yards wide at Balham Swimming Pool) will win six pence.” I won it!

    What's your secret? How are you still so fit?

    I think that I have been genetically blessed with the aptitude of being able to train in many sporting disciplines over many years. This diversity of sporting interests has never let me down physically, and kept my mind always open to learn more. Being competitive too, I have always challenged my abilities and competed, normally training my peers on more than one occasion in that discipline.

    Currently, I’m so fit due to the number of clients I have trained – 11 a day last three years as a Master Trainer, until recently when I came back from holidays in August last year, when I cut this figure down to seven a day. I have not trained myself really other than to maintain.

    What are the main training principles you've lived your life by?

    I compete with myself! I will be stimulated by something I read or see and say to myself, “I would like to do that,” and do it. If I fail, then at least I have tried and learned something new! I educate my muscles, and get to do what I am doing correctly, either by asking guidance, or by 'feel' and progress slowly, thus understanding why I am doing this and what effect correct technique is bringing to my chosen environment. This is true to any client or member I work with. One of my Chinese Masters said to me once, “For every three people that walk past you, one or all three could be your teacher, regardless of race, colour, religion or age" – you have to be able to learn from that person or all three. I do! I am not fazed by saying, “I do not know, will you help me!”

    The other point to be made is on weight training. With my clients, I don’t want to see how much weight they can lift, I want to see how they do it. It’s the exercise [movement] that’s important. The key is to make people think about their training – there’s no point in simply adding more weights to your workout if your form and technique aren’t right.



    Nutritionally, what do you eat? Again, what principals have you lived your life by?

    When I was young, about 12, (wow that seems ages ago now!) I ate hamburgers, fish and chips, whatever Mum would put on the table. But, as I was young and very active, I was always a whippet! However, when I began to get more into sport my eating habits did change, so for protein I ate steaks, chicken, fish, cheese, drank a bottle of milk. For carbs it was potatoes, pasta etc. Just good old basic foods. Food nutritionists and food science was not around then, you ate cleanly and trained hard! You never saw, as you do today, shoppers and gym users picking up products and looking at the balance displayed of this and that on the label. I eat pure foods, proteins for repair and growth, carbs for fuel, fats to help burn fat! Also, I still love fish and chips!

    This might sound strange, but there’s no need to get technical with food. I hear a lot of sport scientists telling people to eat so many milligrams of this and so many milligrams of that. I say, unless you’re going to compete, keep it simple.

    My rule of thumb is the days you train, eat approximately 70% protein and 30% carbohydrates. You need the building blocks to repair the work you’ve done [through protein]. The day prior to your workout, you reverse it (70% carbs/30% protein), as you need the fuel to get you through your training. It’s fine to get more sport-specific as you prepare to compete. Also, remember that people like [former middle-distance runner] Roger Bannister never had fad, high-protein foods and they were world champions.

    How has exercise changed for you over the years? What are you doing now that you weren't doing then (and maybe should have)?

    Over nearly 60 years I have trained in one format or the other, always trying to diversify what I do so I can learn more about the human body, if you like. Over this period of time I have added bits and pieces to my, and [my clients] repertoires to give a wide as possible 'explanation' of training to suit the individual. I still use the basics for training in the various sports I do, as these are what have helped me, and others, reach their goals. It is great using the new training techniques that have come into vogue these last 12 years or so, but, in most cases, the same exercises are being used throughout the UK that we did back in the '60/'70s, under different names.

    I’ve also noticed that we’re becoming isolationists, which is a worrying trend. Many workout programmes are designed to concentrate on certain muscle groups. We’re focusing too heavily on very specific parts of our bodies, and it’s too restrictive. Because some workouts are so prohibiting, people run the risk of injury. Free weights, however, allow for a full range of movement, which means you’re working various muscles at the same time.

    So what are you doing now?

    I am still watching my peers do exercise and learning from them, and adapting sometimes what I see for my clients. Still studying anatomical charts, learning about a syndrome or ailments of a new client before I begin to train them and asking questions of them. I learn how to train my clients through [these] questions; seeing movement and understanding their past experiences, it gives me a very good basic understanding on how I will train them. I don’t have a set routine as everyone is different in training, no matter what level they are at! My 'sporting life' if you will has given me the tools to be successful to have this amazing career in the fitness industry. Every day is different in so many ways – I have a career by default, whereby, without being precious I can give something back to those I work with at 71 years of age!

    How important is mobility?

    Paramount! You have no idea what having either a limitation of movement or lack of mobility is like until you lose it! For me, having such a dilemma would kill me off quicker than if I was in hospital having been hit by a car! Having always been active, my sincere heartfelt feelings go out to those soldiers who are highly trained, fit and ready to do their duty, and come back with a loss of limb or sight. Their world is shattered, and it takes a very strong individual to get up from this situation as they do. In athletics, an International Gymnast recently hurt her neck/back in a TV show [The Jump], and she has withdrawn from the Olympics because of it. For three years plus she has trained for such an event and now can only watch – how do you think she feels with her lack of mobility?

    And recovery?

    I have been privileged in my career as a Master Trainer, to cry with clients and member(s) when I have relieved pain or [helped them to realise] real change in a painful situation they have endured for months or years. I have never experienced such a humble feeling as when this occurs – it's very hard to put into words.

    Does working on these things stand you in good stead for your later years?

    In my chosen career I shall retire when my body tells me it’s time to stop, until then I shall be with my clients until I’m no longer employable or/and I am training them with my walking frame or a guide dog by my side!

    What fitness tips have been the constant throughout your 50 or so years in fitness/keeping fit?

    Look forward to training. While you may hate doing it, you leave with a feeling of achievement and a smile on your face.
    That's a pretty bad ass build for 58. Looks like I got a few more years...
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  13. #43
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    Liu Xiuying @ 87

    There's video if you follow the link.

    Doing the splits at 87! Woman who took up Kung Fu to recover from debilitating stroke stretches out in impressive video

    Liu Xiuying from China completes the splits on the floor of her home
    She stretches out against a pole near Wuhan in the Hubei Province
    After taking up Kung Fu to recover she is now remarkably flexible

    By FRANCIS SCOTT FOR MAILONLINE VIDEO
    PUBLISHED: 07:31 EST, 19 March 2016 | UPDATED: 08:38 EST, 19 March 2016

    A remarkable video shows an 87-year-old woman completing the splits with ease after she took up Kung Fu to recover from a stroke.
    Liu Xiuying from China raises her leg well above her head as she stretches against a pole near her home in Wuhan, in the Hubei Province.
    She is then seen holding out her hands which she confidently kicks before completing the splits on the floor of her home.
    Elderly woman does splits and Kung Fu after suffering stroke


    Stretching out at 87: 87-year-old Liu Xiuying from China completes the splits on the floor of her home

    Her eyes are also still clearly in great condition as Liu shows she can still get the thread through the eye of the needle without wearing glasses.
    She also practices boxing, planting vegetables on her roof garden, and cooks all by herself.
    This is all the more remarkably as a while ago Liu suffered from a stroke leaving her bed-ridden and completely dependent on her husband.


    Astonishingly flexible: She stretches out up against a large green pole near Wuhan in the Hubei Province

    But after taking up Kung Fu she made a quick recovery and is now amazingly flexible.
    The term Kung Fu refers to the martial arts of China.
    According to legend the practice emerged around 4000 years ago in a semi-mythical dynasty under the Yellow Emperor.


    Going for the high kick: The woman is then seen holding out her hands which she confidently kicks


    That's one way to recover from a stroke: Liu took up Kung Fu in order to recovery from a debilitating stroke


    The eyes are in good shape too: In the video the woman can still thread a needle without the need for glasses
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  14. #44
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    CA, USA
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    4,900
    That's awesome. It doesn't say how old she was when she suffered her stroke, so I wonder how many years she's been practicing. Anyway, very inspirational.

    BTW, that link sucks. All that kept coming up for me was commercial after commercial.
    Last edited by Jimbo; 03-22-2016 at 11:43 AM.

  15. #45
    Greetings,

    Since she is 87, wushu was a part of her physical education when she was a child. That she was able to fall back upon the training to rehab herself stresses the importance of training in physical health modalities from an early age. I have met some people who are completely out of touch with their bodies as a result of not having such training at a young age. It is awfully sad to see them grapple at exercise and wellness after health related events take place in their lives.

    mickey

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