is 49 too old to start learning judo?

[jwmtele]

The school i think i am going to go with has around 7-15 students on a giving night.Half of the people there are training to compete and the other half does it for the fun and whatever other reasons.The teacher is a 5th degree black belt who studied under
japans national chapaion for many years,the teacher did study at the best judo schools in japan for years,won too many titles to list.I am going to watch and see if this is something i can do and talk to the teacher about any questions or concerns i may have about my age.They train for 1 and 1/2 hours 3 times a week.Some people said do BJJ,my son who is 23 is into that,i go watch his class and its very hard core,my son is in great shape and he is throwing up after each class and i dont think there is anyone over the age of 25 in the class.Army ranger training was nothing compared to what his class is like.I will let everyone know how the class went and if it is something i can do,thanks agian everyone for all the advice and info.

 

[Seiken01]

One of the black belts at my dojo started training when he turned 50 and he's a 3rd degree black belt now. I'd say go for it, better late than never. Heck we had a 62 year old guy training at my old Thai boxing gym.

 

[tstriker]

I'm coming up on 49 in a few months. Tried Judo at 46 for a few months. I loved the workout, but the throws were too much for me. Getting thrown and landed on top of - repeatedly didn't fit in with my goals But then again, the entire class was mostly just out of college age kids.

 

[Unipres]

I'm pushing 40 and I'd have to say +1 to the folks recommending BJJ. I've worked some Judo and I always seem get some sort of injury. Same with by BJJ stand-up. Most people rolling in jiu jitsu will let you start with an easier roll and match your intensity which allows you an easier (not easy) path to avoid injury.

Basically, I think I'm already past my expiration for competitive Judo but have a few good years of BJJ left.

 

[sha]

I'd say no. Judo is hard on the body and has a high injury rate. The 50 year old guys you see doing Judo who are in great shape didn't start at 49, they've been doing judo their whole lives…

Of course it depends what shape you're in, but personally I'd say even MMA is a safer alternative than Judo for you.

 

[jwmtele]

getting old is hell,wish i could turn the clock back 15 years.

 

[Serana]

I get injured every week in Judo.

Injured wrists, injured fingers, injured toes, broken nose, bruises on the shins, Injured rotator cuffs, sore back, groin knots, etc etc.

 

[jwmtele]

Kinda of rethinking judo,i just found a school very close $50 a month that teaches karate mixed with aiki jujutsu,no sport at all,teaches for street/real life self defence.Maybe i should look in to that?

 

[BJJ_Rage]

Kinda of rethinking judo,i just found a school very close $50 a month that teaches karate mixed with aiki jujutsu,no sport at all,teaches for street/real life self defence.Maybe i should look in to that?

dude, for the streets akijujutsu? you will go there, they will show you some techniques, they will even may use you as a uke, to make you believe, and it looks like it works, hell if you are not resisting it actually feels like it works, but dont fool yourself, it does not.

If you want a realistic sd martial art, bjj and judo are the best things you can go to, if you wanna have fun and feel like a badass, I guess you can go there...

edit: forgot to tell you, they will explain to you how it works, the history, what the art was made for, how mma sucks and its not realistic, and the worst thing, it will all make sense, till you try to do any of that in real life...

 

[BJJ_Rage]

getting old is hell,wish i could turn the clock back 15 years.

im 33, and I keep saying the same :icon_cry2

 

[jwmtele]

dude, for the streets akijujutsu? you will go there, they will show you some techniques, they will even may use you as a uke, to make you believe, and it looks like it works, hell if you are not resisting it actually feels like it works, but dont fool yourself, it does not.

If you want a realistic sd martial art, bjj and judo are the best things you can go to, if you wanna have fun and feel like a badass, I guess you can go there...

edit: forgot to tell you, they will explain to you how it works, the history, what the art was made for, how mma sucks and its not realistic, and the worst thing, it will all make sense, till you try to do any of that in real life...

Thanks so much info!
If judo is out of the question,and i know i dont want to do BJJ,i watch my son do it each week,i dont think it would fit me,I am a boxer at heart,over 2 years golden glove boxing as a teenager about 20 years ago,what other arts should i look at?,i want to learn takedowns,throws ,joint locks as well as striking,off the top of my head i am thinking Hapkido,but i have only found Hapkido at TKD schools,its just TKD with a few things from Hapkido mixed in.Can anyone point in the right martial art or arts i should look into?

 

[FatherSauce]

Mma maybe.
Also, look at different bjj schools. Your son may just be at one that confuses warmup for extreme conditioning. Not all are the same.

 

[wordspeaker]

How well off are you?
The reason I ask is, I wonder if private lessons may be a good option for you.

I caught an implication that you were in the army at some stage?
This indicates to me that you are probably ok at self directed learning. Or at least at having the discipline to follow a program and don't need a class full of civilians around you to keep you motivated.

I would begin with a preparation course. Chose a prospective teacher, and ask him to prepare you a preparative work out program that will teach you to break fall, and that will give you a leg up in the conditioning department by practicing things like the warm up exercises and conditioning work outs on your own pace. Maybe learning some super basics at the same time.


The reason I say this isn't because I think you're old and weak. I'm sure you're fitter and stronger than many half your age, and have a long life ahead of you. It is simply because recovery is harder the older you get, so you can afford fewer accidents and mistakes. From there, id maybe try and get someone to teach you some basics on a one to one level gently, so when you DO get to class, your not getting dropped on your ass by some young idiot making up for his poor technique with the power and enthusiasm of youth before you know how to defend yourself or break fall. A private coach should be able to give you the basics of defence in a far more controlled environment, so when you do get to this situation, you can protect yourself.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are going to hurt yourself or ware yourself out, it is likely to be early in the piece, and that if you do get hurt, you are less likely to recover as quickly as a younger person will. So doing things at your own pace in a more controlled environment may be more beneficial to you than rolling the dice in a class full of kids who don't really know what they are doing.

If you do things the way I suggest you may even be able to learn a more stand-up focused jiu jitsu, instead of judo. What this will mean is that when you DO get to class, you will be able to ask them to "start standing" and then drop them on their hip or shoulder, with them being far less likely to do it back to you (they'll likely just try and pull guard if most schools are anything to go by. Depends what youre trying to learn though. U want to drop fools on their heads or to get dropped on yours?

Also, check out the flooring and mats of prospective schools. Ask if they have a subfloor and what its made of. Presumably this makes a difference to impact on throws.

Let me know if any of this doesn't make sense, as im a bit of a rambler and I quite understand if it doesn't make it out right the first time. Also, take what I say with a grain of salt. Im not an expert.

 

[PoundSand]

Thanks so much info!
If judo is out of the question...

Why's it out of the question? Seriously, the only way to tell if YOU are too old for judo is to try it. 49, by itself, isn't.

 

[jwmtele]

How well off are you?
The reason I ask is, I wonder if private lessons may be a good option for you.

I caught an implication that you were in the army at some stage?
This indicates to me that you are probably ok at self directed learning. Or at least at having the discipline to follow a program and don't need a class full of civilians around you to keep you motivated.

I would begin with a preparation course. Chose a prospective teacher, and ask him to prepare you a preparative work out program that will teach you to break fall, and that will give you a leg up in the conditioning department by practicing things like the warm up exercises and conditioning work outs on your own pace. Maybe learning some super basics at the same time.


The reason I say this isn't because I think you're old and weak. I'm sure you're fitter and stronger than many half your age, and have a long life ahead of you. It is simply because recovery is harder the older you get, so you can afford fewer accidents and mistakes. From there, id maybe try and get someone to teach you some basics on a one to one level gently, so when you DO get to class, your not getting dropped on your ass by some young idiot making up for his poor technique with the power and enthusiasm of youth before you know how to defend yourself or break fall. A private coach should be able to give you the basics of defence in a far more controlled environment, so when you do get to this situation, you can protect yourself.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are going to hurt yourself or ware yourself out, it is likely to be early in the piece, and that if you do get hurt, you are less likely to recover as quickly as a younger person will. So doing things at your own pace in a more controlled environment may be more beneficial to you than rolling the dice in a class full of kids who don't really know what they are doing.

If you do things the way I suggest you may even be able to learn a more stand-up focused jiu jitsu, instead of judo. What this will mean is that when you DO get to class, you will be able to ask them to "start standing" and then drop them on their hip or shoulder, with them being far less likely to do it back to you (they'll likely just try and pull guard if most schools are anything to go by. Depends what youre trying to learn though. U want to drop fools on their heads or to get dropped on yours?

Also, check out the flooring and mats of prospective schools. Ask if they have a subfloor and what its made of. Presumably this makes a difference to impact on throws.

Let me know if any of this doesn't make sense, as im a bit of a rambler and I quite understand if it doesn't make it out right the first time. Also, take what I say with a grain of salt. Im not an expert.

only problem i dont think i could affored that type of instruction,my wife just read all of the great replys to my question and says stay away from judo,i will not make it 3 months or will get hurt and then who is going to pay the bills.I am going to checkout the great judo club near me anyway,i can tell from watching if i can do it or not.I will let everyone know how it turns out.

 

[jwmtele]

Why's it out of the question? Seriously, the only way to tell if YOU are too old for judo is to try it. 49, by itself, isn't.

i am going to tonight and watch the judo class, see how hardcore the training is ,and how the students train and talk with the teacher ask alot of questions.
thanks for the advice.

 

[Unipres]

i am going to tonight and watch the judo class, see how hardcore the training is ,and how the students train and talk with the teacher ask alot of questions.
thanks for the advice.

Curious why do you keep overlooking the BJJ path advice?

 

[BJJ_Rage]

Thanks so much info!
If judo is out of the question,and i know i dont want to do BJJ,i watch my son do it each week,i dont think it would fit me,I am a boxer at heart,over 2 years golden glove boxing as a teenager about 20 years ago,what other arts should i look at?,i want to learn takedowns,throws ,joint locks as well as striking,off the top of my head i am thinking Hapkido,but i have only found Hapkido at TKD schools,its just TKD with a few things from Hapkido mixed in.Can anyone point in the right martial art or arts i should look into?

man, what you are really looking for is bjj, you just dont wanna go through the warm ups, which seems to be too much at your sons school, may be try another school. Judo is suppoused to have strong warm ups... If you really wanna get into a MA that is good for SD, then you should look for Combat Sports such as Boxing, Bjj, Judo, if you wanna have fun, sure go to akido, hapkido, TKD etc etc...

 

[jwmtele]

Curious why do you keep overlooking the BJJ path advice?

The reason i am overlooking BJJ,that my son who is 23 is really into it,i watch his class
and there is no way i could keep up with them,2 hour class,5 minute rounds with 1 minute break,very hardcore,but my son loves it.There is no one in the class is over 25,and i think fighting on the ground for very long in real life would get you killed,but thats just my way of thinking.

 

[Unipres]

The reason i am overlooking BJJ,that my son who is 23 is really into it,i watch his class
and there is no way i could keep up with them,2 hour class,5 minute rounds with 1 minute break,very hardcore,but my son loves it.There is no one in the class is over 25,and i think fighting on the ground for very long in real life would get you killed,but thats just my way of thinking.

I guess the point I'd make is that they aren't all that hard core and the injury rate is less than Judo however; there's no accounting for personal preference so if you really have your heart set on Judo, don't let age stop you. I would make one more appeal though, if you can find it within yourself to give jiu jitsu a chance, it's rather addictive. Best wishes in your endeavor whatever it may be.