OK, you martial artists… what's next?

[ronin]

So Nords, any updates on this?

 

[Nords]

So Nords, any updates on this?

Nords, sounds like you do have enough enjoyment to keep going.

Nords, I think you'll work it out over time.

You guys give good advice.

I've added more aerobics and weights and cut back on the sparring, and I'm seeing the improvements. However I'm still keenly aware that I have a certain amount of daily energy and I need a certain amount of recovery time. If I maintain a balance between them then I'm fine. If I bust those limits then payback is a bitch. If I'm not feeling a minimum level of energy then I skip a class or two until I'm interested in being there.

My ACLs are still torn but my knees are strong enough that I have full rage of motion and no swelling. I realized that my orthopedic braces were no longer necessary for sparring, and they were even hurting my knees under some moves. So I started sparring without them and that's much better. It was fun to spar an entire tournament without them, too. But if I stumbled or took a bad shot then I'd be facing reconstructive surgery with no alternatives, so I decided I had to grow up. I sparred in my final tournament last month (http://www.early-retirement.org/for...-geezer-martial-artists-45850.html#post855176) but I'm pretty sure it's just an intercostal muscle and not a broken floating rib. I'm almost healed.

A few months ago I chatted with a 57-year-old 3rd dan from a Maui dojang. Manny took nationals in his age/weight bracket and will probably go for his 4th dan in a couple of years. He still enjoys competition but he's going to stick to forms instead of sparring. We agreed that it was still worth trying for 2nd dan.

The same week I decided to "retire" from sparring, our dojang started an adult sparring team for next July's nationals. I stayed clear until one of the other black belts asked for a sparring partner. The master agrees that I can help out without obligating myself to any tournaments. So now instead of Friday-night sparring I spend 90 minutes at Saturday-afternoon adult team. Right now it's very little actual sparring and mostly tactics drills. I'm a heavy bag wherever I'm needed but ironically my sparring skills have also improved as that reflex muscle memory gets its groove. What's even better is that my daughter enjoys the team practices too, so we have another 20 or so quality Saturday afternoons together before she starts college.

I've only been a black belt for six months, but I'm the dojang's oldest. At the last tournament the other judges kept implying that I should start hauling my share of the load by being a head forms judge and a sparring referee, so I'll be spending more time on the mat in sneakers instead of a dobok. Everything I need to know is on USAT's website anyway, and apparently the [-]balding[/-] gray hairs are more important than actual experience. I can fake the latter!

Our daughter turns 17 in a few weeks and she's grown a lot in the last year. Last summer's government-sponsored workouts at USNA taught her how to push herself harder than she ever believed possible, and she's packed on the muscle. At age 15 she was totally unable to meet the physical criteria for the black belt test, and she barely made it when she was 16, but I think she'll do fine on this year's qualifiers for second dan. She hasn't shared her plans yet but I've been doing my situps/pushups, and we'll probably take the 2nd dan test together next spring. (I think she wants the 2nd dan belt for when she joins her college taekwondo club.) The test will be 6-8 hours of sheer endurance hell but it won't get any easier if I wait any longer...

 

[ronin]

Excellent!!

 

[tuixiu]

I vote you start training harder in other disciplines, and fully expect to see you taking on Machida by end of next year.

 

[Nords]

I vote you start training harder in other disciplines, and fully expect to see you taking on Machida by end of next year.

That's exactly why I seek the discipline of martial arts yet need to stop sparring competitively.

With all the adrenaline and testosterone poisoning sloshing around in my system, my high tolerance for pain & injuries, and my nuclear persistence, I become my own worst enemy. I may not be the fastest or highest kicker out there, but I know how to apply mass & force and I have a reputation for diminishing my opponent's will to fight...