I practiced martial arts as a teenager. I’m now over 30 and haven’t practiced in 10 years. As a teen, I reached purple belt in Shotokan Karate.
Is it practical to restart training after 10 years? How much am I likely going to need to re-learn?
There is a Shotokan Karate center near where I live. If I show up there and register for classes, would I wear the last rank I held as a teen? I’m guessing that, considering my act of dropping out so many years ago and my lack of interest over the years with no study or practice, combined with a general (but not anywhere near total) decline in physical fitness, I’m not up to the level of purple belt anymore. Would I just put on the belt and register for the adult newbs class with white and yellow belt people until I pick up what I lost, would I just pick up a white belt again, or would I take a skills test and “test into” a belt somewhere between white and purple, inclusive?
I suppose I could just call the dojo and ask. What do doper martial artists think?
And also - is a dojo going to have kept my 10+ year old records? If it closed, would the records have been transferred to a regional HQ or something, or would they be occupying the municipal dump?
It’s certainly practical to take up martial arts at any age. Your fitness and learning curve will be different than a teenager, but that’s true of anything.
Call your prospective dojo and ask. My WAG is that you may be able to “test thru” the lower ranks quicker than normal as you re-learn and re-train your body but you will start out with a white belt.
You said so yourself that your skills and fitness are nowhere near what they were then. Putting you in an advanced class without testing would risk injury or at the least put you in the position of punching bag during sparring.
I know myself having not attended formal classes in a great while has degraded my skills and knowledge in that particular art. Having a job that requires physical confrontations on a fairly regular basis has kept my overall abilities decent but I’ve incorporated many techniques from lessons in other arts and skill sets. No way I could manage a formal “kata” series these days in any of the forms I studied.
I’d say it’s highly unlikely that your old dojo, if it even still exists, would have records. It’s not like they’re legal documents or medical records. They were probably tossed a couple years, at most, after you stopped paying for classes.
It is not only probably but certainly possible. My wife took up Tae Kwon Do at 36 and became not only a 3rd degree black belt, but a National Champion several years running. She is now 42 and doesn’t compete any longer, but that is by choice not mandated by age.
Now, her ex-husband and her owned a Tae Kwon Do school, so she had the motivation of not only wanting to become a black belt, but of doing it for business reasons. However, if you have the desire and drive, age (up to a point) shouldn’t be a factor. I might also add that my wife is in great shape and has always been athletic, so I am sure that helped quite a bit.
Interesting. I do plan to contact the dojo directly.
Anyway, anyone have knowledge of cases where this has happened, or do you know of dojos that have policies or practices in place?
I was thinking about how I would “fit in” so to speak. I do have a vague memory of the katas (formal forms) and probably could relearn the early ones after only a short time, and I remember some of the vocabulary and move forms, but, as I mentioned before, I feel that I’m rather rusty and am not likely to be very good at performing them, but would probably get my skill back quicker than a first-timer of my age and physical condition would learn them initially. Would I likely be taking classes with the beginners? I could see it being awkward to be wearing my old rank but struggling with the correct timing for a basic front kick alongside white belts.
I took up judo at 28, and made sho dan in my mid 30’s. I did compete a little, but it really wasn’t something I was serious about, nor really competitive with. We had a number of people over the time I was actively training come along after long breaks from training. A good club should be able to accommodate anyone. As to what belt, well that is probably open to any amount of negotiation. Remember a belt is the way you know what level to train with a partner, and what to expect of them. It should help both you and your partners get into the right mode of training as a pair without a second’s thought. If you put on a white belt and clearly have much more advanced skills you may annoy people. But the converse is also true, and you become a danger to both yourself and others in such a case. A good coach should be able to guide things as he feels appropriate.
In general I would expect that you will recover skills quite quickly, but be mostly limited by your body’s ability to adjust to the training. And that will depend upon how often you intend training.
I would say this depends most on the philosophical orientation of your old and new dojo. To use Karate Kid: was it a Cobra Kai dojo or a Miyagi dojo? That is, was the emphasis on winning tournaments and getting belt grades, or on learning the art and being humble?
Originally, martial arts didn’t have a belt grading system with colours, and some schools still use only white for beginners and black for masters, nothing else. Even with colours, those are only for students, masters all wear black, whether it’s 6th Dan or 1st Dan. In Jiu-Jitsu, the highest Dan degree wears white again, to symbolize that we must learn again and be humble and not puff out our chest at achieving a certain rank.
Therefore, it would be much better and safer and more accurate for you to wear a white belt and start with the beginners if you have forgotten too much. If you remember and therefore learn quicker than the real beginners, you will either advance quicker to your old level - if your sensei doesn’t notice it, you can say directly that you feel ready to take the test - or you can use the chance to deepen the basics.
Regardless of belt level, some people are slow learners and others fast, so in a class with other people, some people may advance faster and others need extra time. If you learn faster, people won’t think automatically “You’re a high-belt who flunked and was sent back”, they will think you’re a fast learner. If you are a slow learner, this is a good opportunity to learn it better than the first time.
Both for your own safety and for the reputation of the dojo outwards, belt should reflect actual skill level at this moment. Taking a lower belt because you’re rusty shows proper humility towards the higher goals, a good self-assessment instead of over-confidence and is safer for you.
Oh, to add: if your new dojo is a good dojo, they should do fitness/ warm-up appropriate for your current fitness level. That is, a dojo where you train 5 times/week with 1 hour aerobic would be over-exertion if you haven’t done anything recently. Start with 1 or 2 times/ week and aerobic/ warm-up of 30-45 min. to slowly build your fitness.
Non-competitive martial arts is a good sport that can be done til high age, because aside from warm-up, it’s low-stress, and helps with agility and balance, and (if miyagi dojo) with meditation/ relaxation. This means (when you get older) listening to your own body/ having good senseis so you don’t overstretch/ overexert your joints.
I started studying American Kenpo at 40 and have kept it up through my 50’s. Anybody can learn more about self defense at any age. Some of the TKD flying kicks would be impossible for me now, if I was crazy enough to try them, but as you age you look at martial arts differently. Rather than learning how to overcome your opponent with brute force and agility you have to learn to use technique and focus. There’s something for every age in a good martial art.
Then you’re not legitimately earning the belt. I would be very very surprised if they belonged to any kind of national organization, because that would not be allowed.
Not just that, but she was National Champion “several years running” AND “no longer competes”. So that would mean that she attained her belt and was the best in the country in the span of two years of training.
Hmmm, well it seems that you are correct on one point. My wife was a 2nd degree black belt. After your comment on this I asked her again and she confirmed that she was a 2nd degree. She told me my confusion came in the fact that when we met she was preparing to take her testing for 3rd degree and of course talked about that all the time. I apologize, the TKD was her thing and not mine. Not to mention that I met her at the tail end of her involvement in it.
I did question her a bit more about rank and time to achieve. She told me that on average a brand new TKD student can reach black belt rank in about 2 years. And that once black belt has been reached that 1 to 2 years in between degrees is about right. Of course this depends on several factors including (but not limited to): Your instructor, time to train, dedication, money (for testing/lessons),etc. She told me that her ex-husband was a very fast mover up in ranks. However he lived and breathed TKD. On the other hand her motivation to proceed up the ranks was due to her being an instructor at their school. Also the fact that she is VERY competitive. Something I can vouch for.
Anyway, I apologize if I was less than perfect on my facts. Like I said, TKD is something that she was into. I am very proud of her, but TKD to me is like watching paint dry. I couldn’t tell you the first white belt pattern, nor could I tell you the names of any famous people involved in the sport.
Many martial arts programs have separate programs for children and teens than for adults, so your rank as a teen may very well not count for anything even if there were records (which is unlikely).
It’s worth telling the dojo that you have some prior experience, but I’d expect to start with a white belt in the beginner class. If you remember enough/ are capable enough that the beginner class is inappropriate for you, they may move you up a level or two right away. Or they might want you to go through at least a set of classes in every rank as a refresher, in which case you can practice your basics and help the other students (teachers love that!). It’s pretty common for adults to come back to activities they participated in as kids, you won’t be the first one the dojo has seen. Just work hard and have fun, even if you’re technically more skilled than your new belt color indicates. Good luck!
I got up to Brown Belt, ready to test for Black, in Taekwondo when I was a teen. For a variety of reasons, I didn’t. Fast forward to age 38. I restart martial arts in a different style. I chose to go back to White Belt and start from scratch, but I moved through the colored belt ranks fairly quickly because my body still remembered the previous training. I’m now 62 and planning to test for 6th Degree Black Belt next February.
Hello everyone again. For some reason the whole “calling BS” comments on my post have been bothering me. I can’t seem to sleep tonight so it is as good as time as any to clarify my post. I have to say that the opinions of strangers have never meant much to me, however as a frequent visitor and poster on the SD boards I have no desire to be taken at less than face value. So to answer a few comments:
Where you got two years for her last belt is beyond me. She started when she was 36 (early, late 36 I really don’t know) and her last competition was at the age of 40 (almost 41).
As far as best in the country, I am not sure if you understand how Tae Kwon Do works, at least the sanctioning body she competed in. There isn’t a “Grand Champion” like in boxing or NASCAR. Rather there are several tournaments held per year at the regional and then national level. When you participate in these tournaments you are participating in your belt level and then it is further divided into age groups. She finished 1st in many, many competitions. In fact I can distinctly recall the term “never lost” being used quite often when discussing her accomplishments among her peers. She won not only in the regional tournaments, but in the nationals in her belt and age group (actually in not only her age group, but I will highlight that in a bit). When winning a national tournament the term “Champion” is used to denote the winner. Unlike other sports the winners of various belts and age groups do not then all compete against each other for Grand Champion. A reasoned look will tell you why. It is not “fair” to put a 18 year old competitor up against someone who is 40 or 50 years of age. The younger person will almost always have the advantage in speed and endurance.
As far as not competing there are several reasons for this and they are as follows:
1: The main reason is that her ex-husband who owned the Tae Kwon Do school with her was in a tragic accident that no longer allowed him to compete or continue to run the school. My wife quit her career to run the school full time. However as noted in my OP, she didn’t “live and breathe” TKD. It is one thing to participate in a sport and quite another to have to do it 7 days a week for a living. Not to mention the tragedy I spoke of was disruptive enough that memories of her husband lingered. She had enough, sold the school and returned to her own career.
2: TKD is a great sport, but not one like boxing, racing, football etc… in that you cannot (maybe a few do, but not many) make a living competing in TKD. There (once again, in the sanctioned body she competed in. Perhaps others are different) is no “prize money” for winning a tournament. There are trophies, awards and personal satisfaction, but this isn’t a sport that one makes a living at. Other than personal satisfaction, there was nothing to walk away from. No income being left behind. I am positive that if she made millions like some sports players make, the decision would have been different.
3: Age. TKD like most sports is a young persons game. While I will give my wife credit for being in great shape, she is still 42 years old. Injuries were becoming more common place and just not worth the risk to her any longer. The other problem with age is that TKD is very much a male dominated sport. At her level there wasn’t very many competitors. So few in fact, that at the tournaments they would have her competing against black belts sometimes 20 years her junior. This was done so she could compete, there were no other competitors her age at the tournaments. The kids were faster and had more endurance. She still won, but the age difference was catching up to her. She knew it and it factored into her decision to stop competing.
4: She told me when she came to the decision to no longer participate in TKD that she wanted to “go out at the top of her game”. Has discussed above, her age was making it harder and harder to compete and the risk of injury kept rising as she got older. Recovery times were getting longer and longer after a tournament. Many, many athletes bow out of their game prior to the long downward slide that always comes once their prime has past. She didn’t want to experience this and I can’t blame her.
As far as her completing her 2nd degree black belt and going on to win National competitions in what some are calling “too short” of time. Well, I guess you don’t know my wife. If you did it wouldn’t surprise you. She is the definition of competition and if she starts something you can be assured that she will do her best at it. She was an athlete in high school and college, lettering in both. So, sports were not new to her.
Also, her training exceeded what a normal student would experience. Most students would attend a class two or three times a week. That class would consist of maybe 15 or 20 other students. My wife had the luxury of many hours of one on one (private) instruction. One doesn’t have to think too hard to realize that moving up in anything can be accomplished quickly if you have a private tutor working with you. Remember, her and her husband owned a school. He was much more advanced than she and taught her. I am sure that the instruction was not only at the school, but done at home as well.
Anyway, it is getting late and possibly it is time to sleep. I have purposely left out my wife’s name and the organization that she belong to. I have done this because my wife is an extremely private person and a very humble one at that. She has never bragged about her success in TKD and rarely mentions it unless the subject is brought up by others. I on the other hand am very proud of my wife and have no problems in “bragging” on her at times. I think what she has accomplished is amazing and thought that it was quite relevant to the OP. With enough dedication, time and money it is quite possible to pursue TKD, even to the point of becoming good enough to compete on a national level.
I apologize for the long post. As mentioned above, I have grown quite fond of the boards here and want to assure all of you that I would never mis-represent myself (or my family) just to make a good story. Goodnight everyone.
To add to Obbn’s post, it’s worth keeping in mind that modern Tae Kwon Do and its various branches are more sport than traditional art, at least when it comes to sparring competitions. You may not consider someone to truly have ‘mastered’ a martial art in ‘only’ a few years, but I have no trouble believing that an athletic woman in her late thirties could rank nationally in her division with a few years’ intensive practice. That’s what’s being claimed here, not some mystical mastery of an ancient Eastern art.
To add a somewhat contrary data point, I tried taking up Judo at the age of 32 and had to quit six weeks later after incurring five cracked ribs and a separated shoulder. So it doesn’t work out so well for everyone.
