Originally Posted by
ginosifu
For those of us that have spent our youth in MA and are now suffering with nagging injuries and other ailments. This is for MAists that are 40ish and above.
Will be 40 in April.
[QUOTE=ginosifu]
How do you train now? Can you or do you still fight? How do you keep your skills up with your injuries?
[QUOTE]
Training has not changed, although the variety of it keeps increasing. I usually continue to train with injuries, although sometimes there are certain things I can't do according to the specific injury. One of the benefits of training a lot of different things is that there are always things I can still do.
[QUOTE=ginosifu]
Have you gained weight with age? How do you keep in shape? Can you run or do cardio? Have you tried supplements for energy or weight loss? Has your diet changed? What do you eat?
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I have not gained weight, in fact have lost a bit. When I'm doing BJJ competitions and paying a lot of attention to my weight, I eat a great deal of chicken and eggs. Otherwise I usually eat what I want- which is not the greatest fare- but portion control keeps the weight in check.
[QUOTE=ginosifu]
How many injuries do you have and what types? Torn ACL's? Meniscous? MCL's? souAnkle's or feet? Hips or back? Head, Neck or Spine? How do you deal with them?
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My bad knees are the worst, although this is a congenital kneecap misalignment and not an injury or old-age problem. They can be pretty bad, though, and I worry that if I get arthritis on top of it, I could be in a real pickle.
I've had a few broken toes and fingers, including one broken finger that didn't heal up correctly and the knuckle is all gnarled and painful. A rather serious ankle sprain, more sprains of toes and fingers, a few "rib out" injuries (I hate those). The worst "rib out" injury has lingered with some rib and shoulder pain. Cauliflower ear. Some back pain that may be misaligned vertebrae. Really been fairly fortunate so far. The frequent toe and finger injuries are very frustrating, since they really hamper function and take a long time to fully heal... but if that's the worst of it, I think I'm doing pretty well. Most of me seems unbreakable.
I mostly deal with injuries by ignoring them. I keep training, modifying around the injury if I absolutely have to, and most of them go away sooner or later.
Originally Posted by
ginosifu
Have you retired from competition? Are you just teaching now? What are your future plans as you age in MA.
The only competition that was ever relevant in my training was BJJ. I have done a few (all my opponents were young enough to be my daughters), and figured out that the main reason I was doing them was to try to please my instructor... so I skipped the most recent one, and am undecided if I'll do any more. Not because of age, though.
I intend to keep training until I'm dead, although if the body starts to break down, there will eventually be some things I'll have to moderate. The BJJ seems to be kinder to my body (esp knees) than the Kung Fu and Tai Chi, so if I have increasing physical issues, I will probably be doing more BJJ than the other stuff. (If only I can protect the **** ribs from getting squooshed, which I hope to get better at with more experience.)
Mixed feelings about teaching. I've done a bit, don't rule out doing more in the future, but it's not a driving goal.
I gotta say, after reading this thread, that I hope the NOT over-the-hill MA'ists are a little less misogynistic. It is sad.
Last edited by Taryn P.; 12-31-2011 at 08:02 AM.
The moment they ask us to choose between two different paths, the implicit message is that we can only follow one. -Daniele Bolelli, On The Warrior’s Path