Am I just too old?

[jcninja]

Okay, here it goes . . . I've been training now for about six months - at a great school - but the question is still lingering on my mind - am I too old to be starting this at 32?
When I first started I herniated two disks in my back - since then I've rehabbed well - I train hard so I can train and keep up with the 20 year olds (vinyasa yoga 3X/week, weightsX2/week and cardio another 3X/Week). The back is in great shape now- but here is my problem . . . my shins just aren't holding up. I'm constantly destroying them - they stay overly sensitive and keep having to miss class due to recovery time. We spar a lot - about eight to ten rounds a class and my shins "blow out" in the first round or so. Then I end up closing and making all of my sparing a boxing match - I just close so no one can kick. (Which I'm sure makes me a crappy training partner.)
My hands can take the abuse (Five years of Ving Tsun in your early 20's will do that) but my shins - no dice.
And no offense to the guys that show up injured - but some of these guys are limping through class every class - and they never seem to recover - I respect that - but I don't want to be limping around seven days a week/52 weeks a year - I don't know how some of these guys do it - one gent keeps showing up and basically hasn't been able to check a kick in weeks. (And he's in so much pain visibly that I worry for him.)
So my question is - I love Kyokushin and the spirit of kyokushin - but at 32 - are my shins able to toughen up anymore? I keep hoping that they will - but I don't know - I'm having my doubts . . . thoughts/advice?

[Nix]

You're "never" too old to practice karate. We have a blue belt at our dojo well into his sixties. Checking kicks with an injured shin will do no good, though. I suggest you buy some hard plastic footballshins to wear under your normal shinpads while injured, and work on some shinconditioning at home.

[BigAl]

I'm the youngest guy at my school at 26. My two instructors were 50 and 42 respectively, and both could easily whip my butt up and down the dojo. Big John is almost 50 as well and is still in his mid-kyus and is a tough guy to fight as well. For his nidan, my instructor Harvey had to fight 50 minutes straight and managed to win a big majority of his fights.

You're never too old in my book. The shins can maybe be rectified by seeing if your instructor will let you wear soft shinguards. If you're training mostly for fun, I don't see a problem with that. If you do want to try a tournament or two, you might need to try strengthening them at home while using pads at the dojo for a while.

[meguro]

Osu! I'm with Nix, you're never too old. You will need to take some time to recover. Be generous with ice and massage.

With regard to your aching shins, is the pain related to shin splints or banging? I've found rolling my thighs, shins, back over a foam roll helpful in speeding recovery from muscle strain or bruising from heavy contact. A golf ball is perfect for digging into those muscles along the sides of your shinbone. Read-up on mysofascial release.

[Kareyn]

Too old for WHAT? You've only been training for six months and spar eight to ten rounds a class? That's a good amount of sparring. I believe it takes many months of light damage to the shins, recovery, light damage, recovery, light damage recovery. By blowing them out, they don't properyly de-sensitized. It's a process. I always suggest heat, not ice. It's a miracle really. Get those stick-on therma heat things. I think your heading should be more along the lines of "How to de-sensitize shins" rather than "Too old?" Why, I oughta!!!!! And, please, get some shin guards!

[jcninja]

Why heat instead of ice? Also, I do wear shin guards - I often spend my time on my train commute fantasizing about real shin guards to save my shins instead of my flimsy white elastic thingys I got for free that every one at my school wears - but then I'd feel like a wimp if I actually wore the fancy ones - but then that's my own ego thing. I want to hang with the big dogs . . .I really do. And thanks for the not too old thing -I'm definitely the oldest newbie there and when I see the "kids" suffering I wonder to myself,"Am I cut out for this?" But then I hit someone and its waaaay too much fun.

[Picasso]

A lot of people say they are too old to do this or this, but I believe that you really are what you think. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but Age really is just a number.

I've done Kishi Karate when I was a teenager, but then I migrated from Trinidad to the US when I was 18, and haven't trained in nine years after that (mostly because of difficulty in finding a Kyokushin or Kyokushin-offshoot dojo.) So at 27, I would sometimes think that I'm too old to start all over again. But you know what? There is never a better time to start than NOW. I've been training for about six months so far, so we may have started at around the same time, and yes, I get busted up a whole lot in class (guess why my nickname is "Picasso" lol).

But I try not to get discouraged. I just train for training sake, and because I love Karate. Injuries are a part of life, so I just roll with the punches (and kicks!)

[meguro]

Originally Posted by jcninja

Why heat instead of ice?

Ice to reduce the swelling, which will speed recovery. Heat, after swelling has been reduced, promotes blood circulation in the affected area and thereby promotes healing.

[Tameshigiri]

NEVER TO LATE...NEVER TO OLD.

Open your mind.

Train Smart, do thinks acording your age, do not follow the youngest, help to bild an strong Dojo, be a pilar of a great Kyokushin style in your area. Be close and help your Sensei.

I was 15 wen I star train Kyokushin, now I'm 45, training hard to be good at my 60.

I'm not training like I did at my 20's.

Try to do your best for your age and remember be young in you heart.

OSU.

[Nix]

Forget the crummy shinguards, and buy some real ones. Ignoring injury may be macho, but will also make matters worse. I wouldn't take the risk, were I you.

[MilkManX]

Im 31. I just restarted Martial Arts about 10 months ago. Yeah my shins hurt. I let them recover fully. My sensei understood as he is 60 and doesnt force kumite if you cant. I do other drills. After they healed I went right back in. So far they are okay!

I also condition them at home on the heavybag every week.

[kakatootoshi]

Dear jcninjia,
If you want to learn Thomas Flair so as to be qualified for the Olympics, 32 is too old. For Kyokushin training 32 should present you no age problems (and from your self description you should be a relatively fit person). As for avoiding injuries protective gear is your friend and spar with control. Do not fight like an idiot.

OSU!

[supergroup7]

Originally Posted by jcninja

So my question is - I love Kyokushin and the spirit of kyokushin - but at 32 - are my shins able to toughen up anymore? I keep hoping that they will - but I don't know - I'm having my doubts . . . thoughts/advice?

Osu
I started training in Kyokushin at the age of 40 years. Through dedication, patience, and consistency I have helped my shins to condition. It was a slow process, but now I have stronger shins than 4 years ago. I am forecasting that my progress will continue as I continue to train. Our body works to meet the demands that is placed upon it. The key is to not overstress the body's abilities, and thereby damaging it. Follow the advice of the others on this thread, and work towards building yourself up. I wish you the best in your future training.
Osu

[Dent]

Osu!

Originally Posted by Nix

Forget the crummy shinguards, and buy some real ones. Ignoring injury may be macho, but will also make matters worse. I wouldn't take the risk, were I you.

Originally Posted by kakatootoshi

Dear jcninjia,
As for avoiding injuries protective gear is your friend and spar with control. Do not fight like an idiot.

OSU!

There is more advice here than just the words as written. Don't think of it as losing face to get better gear, think of it as wisdom earned with age.

Osu!

[Azimuth]

Read a bit through these threads
Kyokushin4life - Search Results
Osu

[ANTSAN]

Shin guards not holding up? get better ones. Muay thai style ones are thicker, made of leather and will give you more protection. Fairtex, Windy, Twins, MTG are brands you can look out for. Once your shins heal go back to the cotton ones to start conditioning again.

And for what it's worth, sore shins are a common complaint, and not restricted to your age.

Osu

[tmd]

One of our best ex fighters now has to wear two sets of shin pads to 'spar with the big bogs' no one thinks less of him as they know what he is capable of and they are still learning form him.

Shin injuries are a bugger and really need R&R to recover - if you wanna keep sparing try taking the hit and don't check the kicks or evade the kicks by working on your footwork (you should be doing this anyways) or wear two sets of pads, the tough ones under the soft elasticated ones so that your not injuring your sparing partners while you recover.

You're certainly not to late, nowhere near but age does make a difference to the amount of time we need to recover from injuries; what used to take 6 weeks now seems to take 6 months to not heal 100%

[medguy]

I have to echo what some of the other folks said. Why try to be "macho" at the sake of your own personal safety. No one will think less of you for wanting to protect your shins from further injury.
Personally, I think 8 to 10 rounds of fighting every class is way way too much--unless class is 2 or three times a week, then ok. Also, you don't need to be going all out during kumite.
As for the age thing--nonsense.
The male physical prime is between 25 and 40 anyway, so why worry.

We are only as old as we want to be.

Osu!

[blackdog]

Too old?

I started at 33.

Smashed my leg to bits at 34.

Doctor told me i would be lucky to walk without a limp forever, and i would have to stop karate (yah right Doc, tell someone who cares)

39 next month, and aiming tackle 3 rd kyu in October (if i am ready)

So, sore shins? Of course you have, if i read correctly you are pretty new to Kyokushin (although not new to martial arts).

A lot of good advice above (not sure about the heat thing, i am always told Heat before training, Ice after training - but hey, whatever works right?)

I say -

1 Too old? HA! I should be insulted you young buck!

2 Sore shins? Talk to your instructor and ask their advice, they are not just there to teach you to fight, do you think maybe they may have had sore shins once or twice maybe?

3 Stick with it - as your technique improves (blocking, checking and kicking) the amount of punishment you get will lessen, and also over time you will get conditioned to it - conditioning takes time and small doses works best

This old 38 yo did a fight night last week, 30 fights, and ok, there was a lot of kids (non contact) fights, and a few beginner (very light contact), but i reckon 10-15 were at a pretty good rate.

I only had one sore egg on my shin from that (no pads) and that was my own silly fault from a poor kick that i got an elbow with.

Keep at it! Little bits of conditioning, work out a plan to deal with soreness and swelling, ask for help at your dojo.

Bren

[shinobijesus]

im not gonna say anything thats already been said since i agree with much of it already, but have you considered researching your diet? how are your eating habits? most people overlook that. or people think all they need to know is "high protein diet to speed muscle growth" and disregard foods that actually speed healing of ti