As per title, when is it time to hang up the gloves. I am a keen kickboxer, I have dabbled in MT also. Over the past year I have been getting injured more and more. Usually rib injuries. I will be 40 in December. A year ago I would have laughed at the suggestion of giving up Kickboxing, recently though its as if my body has had enough. I appreciate this forum is full of people who are training hard to the best of their ability but has anybody ever hit this wall? I still love Kickboxing but I fear the writing is on the wall, the recovery time is getting longer and longer and it is tarnishing my enjoyment. I have tried Karate, trained as an art as opposed to a fighting method. It felt like a huge step backwards. I am not sure where to go from here. Dare I say lost. Any thoughts fellow mappers?
Can't speak for myself but one of the guys I kickbox with is 50 years old and has recently announced he no longer wants to compete (I think he's hit the same problem). He still trains and spars but he's not as aggressive as he used to be. Perhaps rather than giving up kickboxing you might need to ease up on the intensity a little? :dunno:
it's only time to stop when its right for you. I speak as a booj guy here, theres a lot people who leave MA at 1st dan, some go a bit further, some dont get there at all. Some go all the way to the highest achievable level, its whatever works for the individual. If you're considering giving up though, think about why. If it's the injuries, maybe cut down on the intensity and do it recreationally as opposed to competitively, see how that goes? I used to train with the intention of being the best at my art (silly right?) now I just train for my own enjoyment without the need to raise ranks or beat someone in anything and its done me wonders and if you tried that, felt you wanted to go back to competing for a while, why not?
Yep, I love the training, the pads etc but the sparring is whats killing me. My gym is full of hungry youngsters. Sure I could bring the pain but I really dont need that any more or truthfully believe that all sparring must be a war. DAMN!!!! I sound like an old man, LOL.
Yeah, youngsters are a pain in the backside sometimes... :whistle: Maybe you could talk to the coach and ask if you could work on your bag work or shadow boxing or something similar whenever the others spar?
Maybe you just need to find the right non-competitive style? Obviously the "arty" Karate was a step too far into la-la land for you, but what about something like FMA?
I feel your pain. I'm only 30, but this year I retired from competitive fighting (and now even sparring in all likelihood). I was probably training more hours per week and with greater intensity than Joe Public. But I was burnt out. Just had no love for it anymore. I'd won world titles so I was like, "Where's the challenge now?" My hunger was satiated. My fire had dimmed. Getting up for training was a chore and I was just half assing it through sparring. I didn't even have the taste for coaching anymore. So this is my last month teaching martial arts, probably ever. Too many other things I want to do. Martial arts is still the biggest part of my life, but it's the artistic "performance" side I'm interested in. Forms, weapons, stage combat, that sort of thing. Nothing wrong with wanting to hang up the gloves now if you feel you're done now. Don't worry about what other people think, they don't get a say.
Maybe try a grappling art. You'll be coming at it fresh, you'll be a beginner and you wont have decades of striking experience making you prejudge everything. Or maybe try a sport outside of martial arts, something less likely to leave you battered and bruised. Is it kickboxing in particular you love or is it the fulfilment of sport that you're addicted to? Don't become a forty something couch fondler!
Time to give up the hardcore and go easy Worse, wait til you are past 50 when it all starts to "catch up" with you again
George Foreman won HW title at 45 .... Your physical condition should'nt necessarily stop you but your reaction time and reflexes slow down and put you at a disadvantage no doubt ,so you need to keep the stomach for it.
I hate to use the term "boxercise" but thats the closest word my brain can muster. Drop the intensity and stay with the training. As you said, you love the training its the sparring/injuries just getting to you. I have a couple of 40yr olds in my class. Some spar hard otherd don't. Work your own pace. I'll only quit when I stop enjoying myself. If its still fun..why stop?
time to try something else? Karate? TKD? You still get to stay sharp and you always tend to see a few older blokes in the "traditional" MA so might be worth checking out