What is your opinion of age and TKD? Is it more of a young person's MA? How old are you? I'm thinking of cross-training at a TKD school, I'm 36 now and not nearly as limber as I used to be. I'm hoping to get the flexibility back that I used to have when I trained in Tang Soo Do back in the day, I used to be able to do all of the high/spinning/jumping kicks. I train in a style now that only practices low to mid level kicking. I miss the flexibility training.
I'm 17. I'd never, ever tell anybody that they can't do something. But if your 36 and you've been out of training a while, it will require much more effort for you to get your flexibility back. Considering that most people get a black belt in around 4 years or so in TKD, I'd still say you've got plenty of time.
18, however i did stop TKD when i was 14, then switched to kickboxing and brazilian jiu jitsu, if you want your flexibility back why not just train on ur own time? i do that to get better in boxing
Im 17 and find that the majority of the ppl in my club are around your age, but there is a huge range of ages. The oldest is some 65 yr old geezer - and although his flexibility is just about past it, he still tries (Gd for him) after all thats all you can do! A lot of the middleage people bring kids which i find either get bored and leave after a while (as they only wanna run around and play games) or are spot on and do really well! I say good for you mate that your getting back into it - just work to your own limits and gradually build up the workload. Gd luck!
I started training at 32. I don't and will never have the flexibility that the younger guys do. S'ok, though, we all use the assets we are given. By all means work hard, but don't assume you need to be able to kick head height to be a successful MA or even TKD'er - some here vehemently disagree. Just my .02.
Im only a mere 15 year old but there are a lot of older people that go to my club. If you just try as hard as you can (there are some good streching tips here) then you should have no problems. Also im not sure if this is true for all styles but in the ITF patterns and step sparring we don't have to kick head height until black tag (assuming you don't kick head height in sparring). Good Luck with your training.
I started training in TKD at 37 ... I agree with Hux...I don't know if I'll ever be able to do a total split like the younger students, but I can kick at my head level and higher (I'm 5'8"). Do your best and work with your strengths. Susan
I'm 44 and I've been training in TKD since I was in my mid 30's. One reason I was interested in taking TKD in the beginning was to work on my flexibility was always sub-par. Now I can kick head high (I'm 5'11"), but I still want to kick higher, to get those head shots on the big guys I train with that are over 6' tall. I love TKD like so many people on this forum, and I'd say that re-starting your training can only improve your flexibility. You may never be able to do the Chinese splits, but so what, there's no points for that. If you can kick your opponent on the sternum that's a score!
I guess what I meant was the flexible kicking training of TKD. I love those kicks. I hear too many people at my club talk crap about TKD. But I know every style has it's strengths. Since I used to train in a Korean style school years ago, I can see the strengths. I want to get my proficient kicking skills back.
37 and in better shape than I was 10 years ago, thanks to a fitness regimen and healthier diet. There is no limit as to how old you can be and practice Tae Kwon Do. As you get older, you make adjustments, focus less on some things and more on others. I've been doing Tae Kwon Do continuously since I was 14. For me, it is the Fountain of Youth.
I'm 47 and have been doing this a little over two years. When I started I could barely kick above my waist, but I continue to work on being flexible. I can kick above head-height (I'm 5'10) with front, side, hook, and crescents without too much trouble... but getting my round kicks up is still difficult for me. I expect to be able to eventually get there. I'm not the most graceful with my jumping and spinning kicks, but I don't think my age has anything to do with it. I really believe it's important for older students to work on and maintain core body strength. The people I see with back problems etc... generally lack muscular strength in their core.
I'm 27. Been training for 4.5 years. I also play rugby. And squash/badminton. TKD is a good form of exercise, but not quite as physically demanding as rugby. I tend to play badminton as an active rcovery and squash when I want to bash out some frustration.
I'm 17, but in the "adult" half of my school, I'm one of about five under thirty. I've heard of schools that have whole classes of 60-80 year-olds. 36 won't keep you out.
in the least case i heard that it can take just 6 weeks to go from average joe to being able to perform full splits. Thats the medical interpretation of how long it should take the muscles to get used to the effects of tearing ligaments, re-healing longer etc... yeah i know i cant (close), but its nice to know if i dropped uni and everything for a few weeks id be able to perform them.
I'm 17. As everyone else says, it doesn't matter about your age or anything. In my class, we have people from about 7-45+ I think, and everyone's getting something out of it.
Being able to do splits is a party trick and almost completely unrelated to your ability to kick high. It is completely unrelated to your ability to defend yourself or even spar well. Mitch
