I started training Muay Thai back in the late 90s but had to stop because of having wrist issues. Over the years, I’ve tried to get back into different martial arts and have also dealt with various physical issues which have caused me to have to back off again. A number of times I’ve tried to basically swear off doing martial arts, but I always come back to wanting to do it.
I’m 47 years old and I have tendinitis in both of my wrists and a bad low back. I’m a full-time professional drummer so I have to be careful not to get injured to where I can’t play the drums and perform. But the desire to want to become proficient in self-defense, and also the desire to be engaged in an activity where I am learning something practical as well as being physical, is something that really just won’t go away.
Honestly, if I’m going to do martial arts, I want to find a way to do a style that is going to be effective for actual real world self-defense in case I ever need it for myself or from my family. I do often find myself in situations because of my profession where things have the potential of getting kind of Squirrley. So knowing how to defend myself could be a really helpful skill to have (loading out of clubs at midnight on a weekend in a back alley is a good example).
Ultimately, I need to find a style that I can stick with for the rest of my life that is practical for self-defense and that will keep me active as I get older that I can continue to do without having to worry about destroying my wrists or my back to where I can’t make a living playing the drums. I know that everything has a risk, so I’m not saying I’m looking for something that’s 100% where there’s no chance whatsoever that I won’t get any kind of injury. What I am saying though is that I want a style where the potential for injury is not so high that it’s always constantly on my mind, and also to where I don’t feel like I got rolled in a back alley after every class (I don’t mind if I am sore a bit. I just don’t want to feel like I got jumped by a gang of thugs after every class).
So with all that in mind, what would you all suggest I look for style wise?
I’m 47 years old and I have tendinitis in both of my wrists and a bad low back. I’m a full-time professional drummer so I have to be careful not to get injured to where I can’t play the drums and perform. But the desire to want to become proficient in self-defense, and also the desire to be engaged in an activity where I am learning something practical as well as being physical, is something that really just won’t go away.
Honestly, if I’m going to do martial arts, I want to find a way to do a style that is going to be effective for actual real world self-defense in case I ever need it for myself or from my family. I do often find myself in situations because of my profession where things have the potential of getting kind of Squirrley. So knowing how to defend myself could be a really helpful skill to have (loading out of clubs at midnight on a weekend in a back alley is a good example).
Ultimately, I need to find a style that I can stick with for the rest of my life that is practical for self-defense and that will keep me active as I get older that I can continue to do without having to worry about destroying my wrists or my back to where I can’t make a living playing the drums. I know that everything has a risk, so I’m not saying I’m looking for something that’s 100% where there’s no chance whatsoever that I won’t get any kind of injury. What I am saying though is that I want a style where the potential for injury is not so high that it’s always constantly on my mind, and also to where I don’t feel like I got rolled in a back alley after every class (I don’t mind if I am sore a bit. I just don’t want to feel like I got jumped by a gang of thugs after every class).
So with all that in mind, what would you all suggest I look for style wise?
