| Am I Old and Busted?
Hello, all. I'm 33 years old and began practicing Chito-Ryu karate about a month ago. I've trained in aikido and judo before, but karate fits me much better. I truly enjoy it and look forward to training 3 days a week. I'd love to stay with it and keep getting better and better.
As most of you know, it's hard to be a beginner. Stances feel weird, the movements are alien and it's difficult to believe that you'll ever acquire any proficiency. Thus far, I'm dealing with it fairly well. I've got a great teacher who can correct students without making them feel stupid or slow.
Today I hit my first real stumbling block. I began learning kicks, and despite an inherent lack of flexibility, I was told I was doing well, maybe better than average. At the end of class, I asked a senior black belt who's been doing this 24 years how to loosen the tightness in my legs and groin so my kicks can get higher and easier. I asked what the most beneficial exercises were to relax and stretch the muscles would be.
He said, if I was 33, it was pretty much over. I would gain a bit of flexibility through daily stretching and karate practice, but any real room for deep improvement had fled with my wasted youth.
He was still encouraging. Said I wouldn't need a huge range to be effective and I was doing fine.
Now, I don't need to be able to kick Shaq in the face. However, since I'm 5'8" with a long torso and short legs, being more flexible will increase my necessarily limited reach. I'd like to be able to comfortably kick at least as high as MY head.
So, to all the nice people on this forum: In your experience, is the senior right? Am I not only past my prime, but past any hope of becoming more supple? Can anyone counter this notion, or, better still, offer some moves and exercises to really heighten my flexibility?
If he's right, I'll still keep practicing. It'd be nice to be able to get better at everything, though.
Thanks, everyone.
-Z |