Am I too old to do martial arts?

Gerry Seymour

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You have to look hard to tell my hair is thinning. It's just...not as thick anymore on top. It's not like I've got a few strands that I do a comb-over with, and I don't have a bald spot. But it was thin enough that I got sunburned.
Admit it, you're down to one really long hair you comb in a spiral to cover your head.
 

AngryHobbit

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I turned 30 today. Is it time to hang up my hat?
Indeed it is! Hang up your hat, tuck your shoes under the bench, change out into your gi and get your butt on the mats. :)

Seriously, I was 29 when I started training. Took a long hiatus when I was 36 for health reasons - at the rank of brown belt/assistant instructor, so THIS close to black belt. Came back to training at white belt at 40 and started completely over. Did my first mud run at 39. Reinvented myself as a writer-translator at 38. Got laid off from a job of 14 years at the age of 40 and had to rebuild my career from scratch.

Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, I am not old - I am timeless. Besides, people live to 100 more and more these days, and quality of life is improving, so I figure I have another 5-6 decades before I croak. Just getting started. And so are you. :)
 

AngryHobbit

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Most of that is already happening. I've already started getting sunburn on my scalp due to my thinning hair
Follow in the steps of Yul Brynner and Patrick Stewart - shave your head and contribute to the League of Hot Bald Men.
 

pdg

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Follow in the steps of Yul Brynner and Patrick Stewart - shave your head and contribute to the League of Hot Bald Men.

That's definitely my plan - once it gets thin enough to notice, I'll just get rid. I hate the look of a combover or even a growing bald patch.

Might have a few years left yet.
 

marques

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Too old for the kids class, yes.
Too old for some bits, eventually.
 

Martial D

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Age is mostly a number.

We think of older people and aging in a certain way simply because people that live sedentary lifestyles tend not to age well, and most people in our society live sedentary lifestyles. Eat right, do martial arts until the day you die..and in so doing push that day back at least a few decades.
 

dvcochran

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I turned 30 today. Is it time to hang up my hat?
Not part of the original attire, but I have a foot older than you are, and I am 55. No, you may just be hitting your prime. I remember having to reconcile that some things got a lot harder to do as I got older. Part of the mental game. You will figure out how to do somethings better than before, maybe different, but better.
 

jks9199

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I turned 30 today. Is it time to hang up my hat?
Yep. You're done. It's over. Give up trying...

Crawl or limp your way into a cave, pull a rock in front, and just wait to die.
 
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skribs

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Hmmm....I'm not familiar with a Ryan Stiles reference to balding...

On one of the Improbable Mission games, (the one where they needed to wash the burnoose), they needed to climb something.
Colin: Your hair!
Ryan: What?
Colin: It's really one long strand.
Ryan: You promised you wouldn't bring that up!
Colin proceeds to pantomime unwinding Ryan's hair and they use it as a climbing rope.

I can't find a video to link, unfortunately.
 

Gerry Seymour

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On one of the Improbable Mission games, (the one where they needed to wash the burnoose), they needed to climb something.
Colin: Your hair!
Ryan: What?
Colin: It's really one long strand.
Ryan: You promised you wouldn't bring that up!
Colin proceeds to pantomime unwinding Ryan's hair and they use it as a climbing rope.

I can't find a video to link, unfortunately.
I'm sorry I missed that one. I did find the "going bald hoedown", which was well worth the watch.
 

AngryHobbit

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On one of the Improbable Mission games, (the one where they needed to wash the burnoose), they needed to climb something.
Colin: Your hair!
Ryan: What?
Colin: It's really one long strand.
Ryan: You promised you wouldn't bring that up!
Colin proceeds to pantomime unwinding Ryan's hair and they use it as a climbing rope.

I can't find a video to link, unfortunately.
They needed to climb something in order to wash a burnoose? Well... that's pretty typical of the Improbable Mission games. FOUND IT!

 

Dirty Dog

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I turned 30 today. Is it time to hang up my hat?

Stuff it, you young whippersnapper. I've got underwear older than you. Why, when I was your age, we walked to the dojang. Uphill, in the snow, both ways. Barefoot.
 
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skribs

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They needed to climb something in order to wash a burnoose? Well... that's pretty typical of the Improbable Mission games. FOUND IT!


Yeah, I found that too, but it cuts out right in the middle so I didn't want to post it.
 

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