My son has moved into a new group in his karate club ( he’s 8 and an orange belt) It’s the same group that beginner adults start in.
I’m thinking about going along myself and having a go.
Had anyone else taken up a martial art as an early middle ager (42) 🙂

My brother started doing BJJ at 46.

I am going the same route once I get my shoulder sorted.

I know you’re doing Karate as your kid is doing it, but I’d say there is a lot more rewarding martial arts out there.

Started Thai boxing about 7 year ago, trained for 2year,,,,,, never been as fit or toned.
Gave it up due to work complaining about black eyes etc ( worked at wigan college at the time)

New job nowadays, soon as little oreetmons old enough I will be training again.

Apart from the fitness side of it I gained a lot of confidence knowing that I could litterly knock **** out of ANYBODYwho fancys a go, I’m not a violent person but Thai defo better/more interesting than other MAs I tried.

Anybody can throw a punch, but when you know how to do it properly and when and to follow it up with a leg Sweep then a knee to the head and an elbow to the collar bone then a ,,,,,,,,,,,, oof

Karate = yoga,,, Thai = street fighting

I took up Teakwon-do in at 37, still going now at 44.
I really enjoy it.
I still remember the day after my first session. I couldn’t walk 🙂 cycling meant my cv fitness outstripped my muscle fitness 😮

Daft idea tbh.

I took up Karate at about 12 to stop the bullies and kept it up for several years.

It hurts. It really hurts. Many of the adults who turn up are bellends who just want to hurt folk.

Take up boxing after you drop the wee man off.

I live in the back of beyond and am limited to a choice of 1 martial art (unless I want to drive for an hour)
I think that all the adults who go to my local club are really decent people , the instructor is also national Welsh team instructor so he knows his stuff. I think I’ll give it a go .

Im 54. In contrast to user removed i’ve recently started going to a karate class to support a client who wants to go. They can be a bit shouty and ‘of course on the street you go for the throat’ but at the class they seem a very friendly bunch and don’t seem to want to hurt each other. They do seem to pick up a fair few non malicious injuries tho.

Apologies, I’m not slating your MA ofchoice.

I took up Thia after an incident that I didn’t want to face again, like you I found class mates decent reasonable people who I would not want to mess with 😀

What ever you do, it will be a bonus both fitness and confidence wise. You have inspired me to maybe look into starting training sooner than I thought.

Another vote for boxing. Loads of clubs around, most if not all will do non-contact training.

Thai/ kickboxing I feel you need tremendous flexibility for which takes a long time to develop. In my opinion better for the younger man. Boxing on the other hand anyone can have a go at. And it keeps you fit as hell, and also very good for the mind.

did it for a couple of years(+) as a family, kids were 6 and 8 and fast learners and their friends did it – as a 50ish dad I took Sensei’s comment that it was good to see someone with poor coordination progress as some sort of compliment 🙄

good workout quite enjoyed the regular routine of it but for me got progressively harder to enjoy

I took up karate at 46 when my kids started, as did my wife.

2 1/2 years on and we are working towards our purple belts.

I find it hugely rewarding. Give it a go.

Regarding the “adults are bellends” comment. That isn’t necessarily the case. The adults in our club are mostly there with their kids. It very much depends on the demographic.

I won’t lie though, it can hurt. A lot.

A symptom of a mid-life crisis.

You will suffer.

Also…

The idea that Karate is a form of self defence is an indication of the way that Western culture has reduced an immersive Way of Being rooted in an almost impenetrable Eastern culture, to a self-defence class.

If you want to convince yourself at this late stage that you’re the new Bruce Lee then prepare for a world of hurt and no useful outcome.

If you want to learn how to stay safe, go to a self-defence class.

If you want to exercise your late-blooming inclination to testosterone boosting, join a boxing club.

All just my humble opinion, of course…

Carry on.

How about Krav Magar for a 40 yr old? There’s a club near me.

Wow Woopy, you come across like you have some issues. How about joining a Marshall Arts class and channelling them?

Thanks for the comments all.
I don’t think I’m ever going to be the next Bruce Lee lol, it’s more about sharing something with my son, keeping fit and having a new challenge.
I was very keen to get my son involved as soon as he was old enough, I’m hoping it will give him a sense of confidence , pride and instil a bit of the theory that if you put a bit of work in to things which are seemingly impossible, you can achieve.
He is loving it and as it’s something I wished I had taken up as a kid , I’m thinking ‘ why not now ‘ .
I’m a Hatton boxing for fitness instructor currently , so have an idea of how it may hurt physically

Ignoring the comments about whether it is a midlife crisis or not and assuming that you want to join in because your son goes. Our class is very much mums, dads and kids. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it is going to be a bit soft. One family has 3 black belts (mum and 2 girls aged 13 and 10) and a brown (the dad) in it, and if the mother belts you will know about it. One of the instructors is also our kids’ head mistress (4th Dan) so the dynamic of the class is interesting as the kids love her but the parents are terrified. I did once kick her glasses off and was expecting to get terminated, but she complimented me on being able reach that far but said that maybe I should consider a little more control. She too started in her 40s with her kids who are both instructor now.

We mostly learn stances, kata and kumite but occasionally we have a self defence session when where it is sweeps, elbows and using the other person’s weight against them. Interesting stuff but I wouldn’t want to have to do it for real.

As there are quite a few “older” student we spend a lot of time on warm up and stretching and do a fair bit of core strength stuff.

Injury wise –
Achilles tendon during kumite (sparing) – Old age
Busted toe during kumite – Poor technique
Rib cartilage whilst holding a pad and being kicked – The other guy (a mate of mine) caries a lot of energy
The occasional smack in the mouth – Shit happens

I took up Karate at 41, when my son started. I took him along for his first session and Sensei said “why don’t you just join in”. I kept going, eventually taking all three children, until my work made it impossible to get to the sessions.
I did it because it helped me with fitness, coordination and because it was simply an enjoyable thing in itself which was good to share with my children. Ignore all these savages who are saying ‘if you really want to learn to hurt people choose martial art x’, that really isn’t what it’s about.
It does depend on your Sensei, some seem somewhat unhinged. But assuming yours is OK, do it!

its decent for coordination and being able to defend yourself against a clueless opponent and good fun to do with the family

Personally I prefer to do something a little more real with less time spent fighting air and training moves and stances you would never actually do in a fight.

I still go with my kids

Depends on how seriously you will take it and goals and the specific club.

I taught and did a lot of competition when I was a LOT younger… I broke almost everything possible to break… and at my age (nearly 50) I wouldn’t want to be doing that now.

I’ve found that in karate that if there are bell ends they get sorted out pretty quick by the senior grades in the club.
I did it from the age of 10-18 and started again 6 years ago at 35y/o. I love it and yes it does hurt at times and certainly does at first but i have always found you feel so sharp and flexible.

Personally I prefer to do something a little more real with less time spent fighting air and training moves and stances you would never actually do in a fight.

Again this depends on the club. I’ve been to places where all they are doing is training you to pass gradings (as that’s where the money is) and you spend all lesson repeatedly doing the techniques and kata. Gets really boring very quickly. Clubs where a good portion is spent free sparring and attack and defending means you learn to how to look after yourself (this of course depends on the quality of your opponents) and it’s a lot more enjoyable

who are saying ‘if you really want to learn to hurt people choose martial art x’, that really isn’t what it’s about.

+1

The people who really want to hurt others will be carrying a knife / bottle of acid. They’ll just throw it in your face before you even know you’re being attacked.

geologist – Member

Had anyone else taken up a martial art as an early middle ager (42)

Lots of people joined my bjj/mma club in their late 30s, some in their early 40s. Even a few late 50s. Nothing strange you just have to go at your own pace. It’s good to do something aside from cycling – just be sure that your time (and money) is spent wisely and that your expectations are realistic.

If you want improved strength and fitness and the ability to maybe defend yourself against a drunk you’ll probably achieve that. If you want to learn how to actually defend yourself, restrain people or be calm in extremely violent situations – you wont. A Karate Black belt (like most traditional martial arts) is about as relevant to fighting and genuine self defense as a Cycling proficiency test is to downhill racing. Not very.

iantalkali – Member

How about Krav Magar for a 40 yr old? There’s a club near me.

Seems to have been a victim of its own success and has now spawned a lot of bullshido spin off schools all over the world. The head instructor of my nearest KM school trains at my BJJ club full time. His co-instructor came once and couldn’t hack it. Make of that what you will.

My son and I started 5 years ago (4 and 34 respectively). It was great fun although as we progressed he did find it hard to keep focused during the 90 minute classes at times. Our Sensei has 4 kids and is very patient thankfully! We progressed up to brown with red stripe and then I injured my shoulder MTBing which meant I had to stop for a while. He carried on and is grading for his brown with black stripe in a couple of weeks and then hopefully his black belt this time next year. He’ll have just started in year 6 by then which I think is something to be proud of.

The main reason I did it was to do something together – neither of us are aggressive characters and I;m veru much a lover not a fighter even after 5 years of Karate.

I also did boxing training on my own near work which I much preferred TBH, that was until I started sparring properly and had my nose bust several times (yes yes, I know that I should just learn to defend myself better!). Just do boxing training now for fitness, not to fight.

Go for it – most oldies at my club started with their young kids.

Might want to start getting fitter and stretching a couple of weeks before.

Buy pads and a gum shield.

Get insured too.

Enjoy!

Anybody can throw a punch, but when you know how to do it properly

My wife used to do kick-boxing and had all the sparring pads etc. One time she put the pads on and told me to hit them so I did (but held back not wanting to hurt her). She told me to hit harder so I gave it a good hard punch. She told me to stop messing around and hit as hard as I could so I did – I threw the strongest punch I could muster, expecting her to be knocked flying. Then she said ‘come on, do it properly’… 😥

don’t really see how age is a consideration. Physical fitness, attitude, usual stuff, was more important.
In my experience of doing Judo in my 40’s, and recently starting BJJ, older members in the group tend to have a lot less ego-baggage, which makes for better training all round.
I just find it very interesting for the physical and mental challenge. Couldn’t give a monkeys whether I can defend myself ‘on teh streetz’.

I train with a lad of about 16 and he’s technically very good. His Kata is like an art form and when he kicks it feels like my fillings are going to come out. However, he’s about 8st wet through, so if he gets “Empi-ed” I can send him flying. It is the only thing I’m better than him at and we both know it. For 58 minutes and 30 seconds he can run me ragged, but for 90 seconds he is mine.

Did karate as a kid.. my opinion.. it’s a racket and the belt system is simply a way to keep you coming coming back and paying.

Did other martial arts late teens.. Wing Chun etc.. You may as well be learning dance moves. Mostly set moves with submissive students.

Mid 20s to now (52).. Boxing.. Absolutely still love it. If you take it seriously you will prob be the fittest person you know.

MMA.. not done it, but we get them coming along to our gym all the time.. Most are pretty unfit, but when they’re not injured from all that bending and twisting they do to each other, they will tie you in knots if you let them get you on the floor.

Personally I’d wholeheartedly recommend a good ABA boxing gym if they’ll let you train there.

elzorillo – Member
Did karate as a kid.. my opinion.. it’s a racket and the belt system is simply a way to keep you coming coming back and paying.

Again that depends on the club. I’ve trained at places like that and sparred with people from those kinds of clubs and technically they’re pretty good but they don’t like being hit 😀

Boxing is an amazing sport, so simple in principle so devastating if used well. I’m not sure Karate deserves to be written off! A good club is essential and there seems to be a lot of get rich quick clubs around these days!

I will never forget, on one of my early visits to a boxing class, holding the pads for someone else to punch. Now I am a big adult chap, and this scrawny youth fronted up who looked like a gust of wind might knock him over, and asked me ‘Do you know how to hold the pads?’ Yes of course I replied, wondering what he was on about. Anyway, he threw a few punches, then threw a hard one. My GOD…. I tried to retain some sort of level of coolness but I was literally knocked back a couple of feet. I could not believe how hard this thin little teenager could punch. It was an eye opener for sure. A lot more to boxing than most people think. And I have been going ever since, I love it!

mrdobermann – Member

I’m not sure Karate deserves to be written off! A good club is essential and there seems to be a lot of get rich quick clubs around these days!

As others above have commented the belt system and the McDojo culture has ruined it to an extent. Child ranking tests and child blackbelts are particularly preposterous and do what’s left of the art’s integrity no favours at all.

It’s morally dubious at best and potentially very dangerous.

Just a quick update – So I joined my sons Karate club. I can’t believe it took me two years to do that ! I am really enjoying it and looking forward to immersing myself into it.
My son also loves it , he loves pointing out exactly what I’m doing wrong 🙂
If anyone else is in the same doubtful frame of mind as I was , then all I will say is go for it.

Great to hear 🙂

All martial arts have something to offer and it’s great that there is so much choice out there. Hope you stick with it

Go for it. I did Shotokan karate at around 50. Initially thought it was all pouncy fairy stuff but really got into it.
I only had a Pink belt in Origami before 🙂

I joined a local karate club with my son about 4 years ago (I am now 46) and really enjoy it. I don’t have any illusions about being able to prevail in a streetfight, but it’s been great for my fitness and flexibility. I would recommend it to anyone, but as others have said, it does depend on the club and sensei.

I know I couldn’t go back to Taekwondo ~20 years after I last trained regularly, even with the fitness I’ve regained this year, I don’t think my leg muscles/tendons/joints would cope with the stress after years of very little exercise!