Tomislav Zivanovic, Author at MiddleEasy

As humans, it is in our nature to always be on the move and explore new things regardless of age. But many people still think age plays a factor when it comes to training martial arts. These people believe the classes are for young people only and that their bodies just can't keep up with hard training. Yet, this couldn’t be further from the truth as martial arts are known to be popular among all ages and genders. You’re never too old to start with any sport, including martial arts. So if you are thinking about joining a martial arts school, don’t hesitate for a second. Age is just a number when it comes to training. Of course, you can’t expect to go on and dominate in the BJJ or Muay Thai competition. But you will experience a lot of other benefits. Trust us, joining martial arts school at any age is one of the best decisions you can make. The classes and the people in them can change your life for the better. But some people haven't made up their minds yet, believing they are too old to start. So, we're bringing you a list of six reasons to prove you wrong. We firmly believe our list will convince you to pack your bag and sign up for the martial arts classes. 1. You’re never too old to learn how to defend yourself No matter if you are 70 or 15 years old, you can’t be too old to learn how to defend yourself. It also doesn’t matter if you are living in a calm or violent area, the danger is present all the time. And as we all know, the bad things happen when you least expect them. So it's crucial for every person to learn how to defend or escape from a dangerous situation. Martial arts training will help you develop great fighting skills you can use to defend in a real fight. For instance, fighting styles such as BJJ or Muay Thai will teach you how you can use both your mind and body to defend. These are very realistic styles as they include a lot of sparring sessions which will give you a sense of how it is to be in a real fight. Sparring is always done under the close eye of the instructor, and it is very safe. Further, martial art training is all about repetition and applying the techniques in sparring. After some time, your muscles and mind will memorize all the moves. They will become stamped deep into your muscle memory. So once you find yourself being in trouble, you will execute those moves without thinking about them. Your body will react like a machine since it already knows what to do. And on top of that, you will know how to keep your mind calm. This is because you have already gone through these types of fighting scenarios in the gym. Instead of panicking, your mind will stay calm as you’ve trained it for these types of situations. Don't be delusional thinking you are too old to learn how to protect yourself or the loved ones. The Black Belt Myth: How Long Does It Take to Get a Black Belt? 2. Martial arts improve your health There are many people who think their bodies are too old to keep up with the intense martial arts classes. They have the wrong perception that students are hurting each other all the time and that their bodies are too old for that stuff. Yet, this is far from being true as joining the classes can only help your body and mind to become stronger. And no, martial art students have no intention of hurting each other. You would not believe how many people train boxing or MMA just to improve their health. First of all, martial art training is a form of aerobic activity. It will raise your heart rate which will result in better cardio and endurance levels over time. Further, training also reduces your blood pressure which makes your heart even stronger. All of this may prevent heart and other diseases from happening. Most of the fighting styles will also make you more flexible which keeps the muscles healthy and body strong. This is crucial for people who are in their 30s or 40s as these are the times in which we all start to feel weak and fragile. But, training a couple of times per week can make you feel like you’re in the 20s once again. 3. It’s never too late for you to have some fun Unlike in some other sports, you will have a lot of fun attending martial arts classes and playing on the mats. Whether you are 40 or 20 years old, there’s not a person in this world who would not have fun rolling on the BJJ mats or hitting the boxing pads. For instance, we can often see people in their 60s or even 70s attending the BJJ classes and having a lot of fun. I mean, the training sessions are very dynamic and every class is different from the previous one. There's no time for being in any type of comfort zone as you have to learn new techniques all the time. This is great since it stops things from becoming monotone and boring. Further, sparring sessions are the most exciting part of training and something that will give you an adrenaline rush like nothing else. You will have a lot of fun executing the techniques in the live-action with a partner and don't think for a second you are too old to experience this. 4. You’re never too old to explore new things It is in human nature to always explore the unknown by stepping out of the comfort zone. This is what allows us to move forward and improve the quality of our lives. Being passive and not challenging yourself can make you feel stuck in life and even depressive in some cases. So you must find a way to challenge yourself, and martial arts might be a perfect choice. A few things in this world will allow you to challenge and learn about yourself as martial art does. Trust us, you will learn something new about yourself after just one week of training. Martial arts classes are very hard and training sessions will put both your mind and body to the test. You have to overcome many physical and mental barriers to become a master in any type of martial art. Even though this doesn’t sound encouraging, trust us, this is one of the best things about training martial arts. The method of hard training allows you to challenge yourself and do things you thought you are not capable of. By doing so, you will conquer many fears and limitations that will make you feel proud of yourself. This is a very addictive feeling and something that will force you to keep coming back to classes. 5. Martial arts will get your body in a top shape Martial arts training is a great form of activity and something that will get you in the best shape of your life. Feeling good in your own body is the base for everything else you want to achieve or become in life. Every training session is a form of a full-body workout that activates all the muscles in your body. This is very important as it allows you to improve the strength in both upper and lower body segments. Your mind and body will feel much stronger after just a few months of training. Yet, one of the reasons why the classes are so popular is because they allow you to burn fat and lose weight. The training sessions are very hard and you have to perform at a high pace which can be exhausting at times. But, this will burn your calories and boost metabolism. For instance, one hour of Muay Thai training burns between 600-1000 calories, which is a lot. I mean, hitting the pads and throwing hard kicks really melts your fat. Try our TDEE Calculator to find your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. 6. "I’m too old" is just an excuse In this article, we gave you many reasons why you are never too old to start with martial arts. But for last, we have to say that “I’m too old” is just another excuse you can use to stay at home. In fact, it's one of the best excuses your mind can come up with to stop you from joining the classes. To be honest, nobody cares how old are you or how you look as long as you have a passion to learn new things. Old or young, we all come to classes to pursue the same goals and we are always there to help and support each other. As martial artists, we are one big family, and once you feel that connection, you will live and breathe martial arts for the rest of your life.

Tomislav Zivanovic

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