Erm..people definitely become less flexible with age, it's a known thing. Tendons, ligaments lose elasticity as we age. That's not some kind of old wives tale, it's fact.

Now there is alot that can be done to stave that off, and maintain flexbility later in life.. and good on your for doing so. Personally when picking a style as someone a bit older I would definitely keep that mind, it's going to get harder as you get older if you pick something that requires a youthful body to easily do.

No matter a martial art or a fitness gym, age will be a factor upon deciding what to do

Ah, come on guys! All you got out of my post was the issue about flexibility? I thought there was some other good stuff in there.

Okay, here's the thing with the flexibility. Yes, we lose some flexibility with age. In particular the collagen in our tendons and ligaments binds together and thus we lose about 20% of the flexibility in our tendons and ligaments over the course of our lifetimes from age 20 to age 80. Those changes are not, imo, significant enough to prevent one from beginning a martial arts program at age 40, even one requiring significant range of motion.

Loss of muscular flexibility is commonly thought to be a result of the normal aging process. There are some changes in the muscle structure which may support this. However, other studies have shown that most changes in flexibility have to do with disuse. More than 66% of women and 55% of men do NO exercise after the age of 65. Absolute zero. They literally sit or lie down most of the day. Those of this age and activity level who enter a training program of around 6 weeks that involves stretching or other exercise can improve their range of motion significantly. This leads many who study aging to believe that loss of flexibility with age is a function of disuse rather than physical changes.

I am not aware of any studies on the elderly who have continually trained as they aged (probably a very limited group), though there is much anecdotal evidence to show that, barring injury or disease, there are many older martial artists who retain their range of motion. I personally know several martial artists in their 50's, 60's and one who is nearly 70 who can still kick over my head.

My point to the original poster was not to limit himself before he even began a training program or martial art. He shouldn't walk into a school and be thinking, "I'll never be able to do that." That is what training is FOR. To teach you to do that. A good training program will give you the tools you need to perform the martial art according to its standards. That includes developing your flexibility which is absolutely proven to improve with training, whether at age 20, 40 or 70.

If the school he visits has a number of older adults who are actively training and performing well then he can be assured they have gotten that way through following the school's program and he will be able to do it too.

I am not in the age range but I have helped adults with TKD and I have a black belt in TKD. Its great for heath and fitness(even if you don't go on the tournament circuit)and the forms and techniques you learn are well balance for old and young artist.
I always thought karate would be best since they don't do a lot of kicks you can save your knees.
still your call though, I love both arts as well as all martial arts.

I am not in the age range but I have helped adults with TKD and I have a black belt in TKD. Its great for heath and fitness(even if you don't go on the tournament circuit)and the forms and techniques you learn are well balance for old and young artist.
I always thought karate would be best since they don't do a lot of kicks you can save your knees.
still your call though, I love both arts as well as all martial arts.

Shusha, you make some good points, I think you are erring a little far on the side of minimal changes to the musculature from aging...but that's ok, I get your point.

Okinawan Karate has some long lived folks, guys that are in their 70's that are still quite healthy and mobile.

However...TKD kicks are a different deal, the level of flexibility required for TKD kicks is WAY beyond the normal range of motion for human beings old or young. So sure, you might be able to get away with it for a long time but two things are sure to me:

It WILL get harder for you to maintain that kind of flexibility and be injury free as you age. For all the TKD guys I've known personally, they seem to give up on the head kicking so much in their 40's and beyond. I'm sure there are extraordinary individuals who make it work, but then there are probably guys who kick my ass with Capoeira too, says nothing about the practicality of the art or training.

For someone deciding on an art, it's worth asking whether they are willing to spend alot of time on the conditioning to acheive kicking like that, when there are styles out there that don't require so much work on being hyperflexible.

Not trying to put down TKD, just how I see it in terms of the original post.




Absolutely, but in most cases this is normal human ranges of motion which as I said, much of TKD kicking goes way beyond. Joints in old age have a hard time with things like high side kicks..I have personally known a number of people who have injured knees and hips by repeated high yoko geri...



Again yes, within reason. Modern TKD kicking is well outside that range, and having a 70 year old try to kick like that would be ridiculous, as well as risky.



That is not correct, it is agreed upon by most of the medical community that elasticity of tendons, ligaments, mobility of joints decreases with age. That is not a command to not do anything, nor a claim that we are all doomed to inactivity.. just food for thought to be rational about training, and frankly having a 60 year old do TKD (at least TKD with ballistic high kicking) would be a very irresponsible recommendation.



There are all kinds of schools out there teaching stuff that is insane, and terrible for you in terms of exercise. What is healthy and ok for a 40 year old may not be for a 60 year old etc. I don't think he should limit himself, but he is right to ask whether something fits him or not, and not just assume that because it works for the people in class, it will work for him.

Well, I being someone in my 50's who had studied TKD amongst other arts can tell you, I have not "lost" flexibility. I still have the same.

I am no longer interested in high kicks, because I am more reserved about kicking, as I also came to the understanding that high kicks are pointless

I can still kick high, and "cold" without stretching

If someone is "starting" martial arts at a old age, I would not recommend a art with high kicking

Indeed, I was laid up for a few weeks one time by a... (oh god, I don't believe I'm saying this)... a TAE-BO injury (Oh god, yes, I've said it!). The instructor had us doing some crazy stretches at the end and my back went.

Wow heh, I remember a girl I worked with years ago that was literally constantly injured from her Tae Bo class. Whatever happened to that dude?

That dude, Billy blanks is probably counting all his money from his Tae-Bo stuff. He found his way to make money, but wow! that was hard to watch.I'm sure there are people out there that took some of that and thought that it enabled them to defend themselves.Ha!Ha!The thing is Billy Blanks was a pretty good tournement fighter in the day.Point fighting...but he was pretty fast.


keep training, Mark