Can MMA be an art for life?

[Silent Giant]

Its not the age, its the attitude. I've seen 50+ year old men and women in martial arts classes that are just as intense as their younger counterparts. They don't get as physical as most, but the spirit is their. I believe that if you take proper care of yourself and make adjustments along the way, you can train as long as you want.

[Bjjexpertise@be]

Its not the age, its the attitude. I've seen 50+ year old men and women in martial arts classes that are just as intense as their younger counterparts. They don't get as physical as most, but the spirit is their. I believe that if you take proper care of yourself and make adjustments along the way, you can train as long as you want.

I'm afraid i'll have to differ. Attitude means next to nothing when you're over 50. You can have THE attitude and still lose in a fight and also not do as well as the younger counter parts. An example of this would be in one of the begining UFC matches when this 50 yearold guy was paired up with royce. Didn't stand a chance. If he was 30 years younger would he have won or held up a good fight? Sure the posibility is out there. But 50 yearsold? No, just no...

[Sean Dempsey]

It is hard enough to fight 4 people standing let alone laying on your back

Rickson Gracie is quite good on his feet. Not only that, he is very accomplished at more than just BJJ, he's got Combat Sambo, freestyle wrestling, and of course the whole line of STAND UP Gracie Self defense.

Take a trip to an actual Gracie Academy. The last 2 months of my school have been stand up training.

Rickson doesn't just lay down and pray someone falls into his guard. He can stand up fight, and do it well. Anyone who has done TRADITIONAL, old style Gracie training will know that stand up is important. Just today my teacher was talking about how you got the split between competitive BJJ people, and the people who held true to the original Gracie self defense. What Rickson does in the ring is NOT what he does in a streetfight or for self defense.

[crosstrainedwar]

Some people definately can remain competitive into their later years. Some Muay Thai guys in their 50's have soundly defeated guys half their age. Larry Holmes soundly defeated Butterbean at 52 years of age. Lou Bartfield went back into professional boxing at 63 years old, frequently sparring against guys in their 20's. Some guy, I forget his name, does full-contact stick fighting in his 60's, the oldest person ever to do so. Some judo guys in their 60's and 70's have tapped out guys much younger than them. Helio Gracie is still doing well at 90 years old. I believe Master Chang still competed in Shuai Chiao tournaments when he was in his 80's. I have read that, no matter how old you are, you can still box in the amateurs, although I think you are only allowed to spar for three rounds. Still, it is better than nothing. In the case of the full-contact striking arts, I think you need to have superb defensive skills in order to remain competitive.

[IPON]

BJJ - The guy Royce fought was Ron Van Cliff and you are right if he was 20yrs younger itg would have been a differnt fight although I think the end would be the same.

Sean I agree 100%


I think the problem with MMA is that it is competition driven versus other martial arts where competition is just one aspect. Age is certainly a factor especially if you are getting punched.

[crosstrainedwar]

I forgot to mention that I think somebody once told me that a kyokushin karate guy in his 60's won a full-contact karate tournament. Also, many kung fu people do iron body/ golden bell training which helps to improve your ability to take blows, so I would think that somebody who has done that training for many years would better be able to remain competitive in full-contact bouts later on in life. You should only do such training under a qualified instructor, though.

[RYO9]

MMA is one of those things that you can do til you can't walk, unlike MT (no offense guys) MMA fighters are good for 15+ years. MT fighters are the best fighters in the world for 4 years, then their legs just can't take it anymore, or they've broken them and can't contiue. But even if you get too old to compete their is always the best form of learning, teaching. that will always be plan B in MA.

Mullins

[chicken legs]

Middle age is not old age.

A few people can do MMA in their mid or late 40's. Some people can do BJJ in their late 50's. Very few can still roll hard in their 60's. But, by the mid or late 60's it's probably time for most of us to take up Tai Chi. That gives me about 25 more years for BJJ training.

so do you think it would be a good idea to start tai chi now, then by the time your 60 you will be pretty damn good? that is the main reason I'm studying internal arts.

[macaco]

Is posible my teacher in Boxing have 60 years and is Ok and cometimes do boxing sparrings very good timing but of course dont compete.
I think the same is in Mmarts mixture BJJ ,MT,Boxing,Wrestling depends of course the intensity and good fitness if you train a lot of years your body mantains stronger more time.
Of course take care of your body with the ages little sparring against agresives and youngers men.
Tai chi like a complemente will be OK too.

[lopezma]

Inspired by the other poll started before this, but slightly different in focus. Some people feel MMA is only for the young and when you grow old, you have to quit practicing it. How many of you feel this is true? And why is that? What kind of age do you feel is "too old"?

Can you TRAIN in MMA into your old age? Yes, I believe so! Can you COMPETE in MMA/NHB fights? I don't think so! I compare it to boxing, some of the best trainers are the old fighters. They are great trainers, and if you lightly spar a bit with them, you may be surprised. Too old to compete may be in your 40's (ie...Couture - Shamrock), but NEVER too old to continue to train. We must not stop the training! We must continue to pave the way for the future. I will be 32 this year and I feel I'm in the generation that will continue to teach and keep on training into my 70's and 80's, or as long as God allows me to be on this earth.