Starting late (28 year old male)

[bradtash]

hey mate,

first of all, i will say what everyone has said your never too old to start anything.... my biggest fear walking into a martial arts class was my weight, once i worked up enough courage after 4 years of delaying it i wondered my i had not started earlier. what i am getting at is you delay these things for whatever reason but once you start all of your fears will be put aside.

anyway, with the muay thai class. i have been to a class like that before, i felt hopeless the instructor didnt give me the time of day and only showed an interest in me when i worked the mitts with him for 5 minutes then that was it. then the next lesson things changed, i guess he was testing me to see if i was serious. it depends on the size of the class as to how long you will be "worked with individually" however you will get your technique going soon, once you do everything will flow nicely.
however, if after a couple mpre lessons the instructor is like that. i personally would leave. i went to a wing chun class 3 times, each lesson the instructor was behind the counter folding shirts and doing paperwork while another student lead the class. i left and never looked back, and am glad even knowing i am still very interested in learning wing chun one day (through another instructor).
as for other choices, the list goes on forever but it depends on what is near you and what grabs your attention. IMO for punching and kicking with out any holds chockes and locks muay thai is great however if you want add these look for Hapkido or ju jitsu or something similar to those.
welcome to the site and welcome to the addicting world of martial arts.

 

[Langenschwert]

28? All good. Not too late.

You're in London? Awesome. In additon to all the good ideas so far, you might want to look into weapons training to round out your education. Filipino Martial Arts are often a good way for that. I'll pimp my own art as well, since London is home to the Boar's Tooth Fight School. Dave Rawlings is a badass with regards to Historical European Martial Arts: http://fightmedieval.com/
The nice thing about HEMA is the unarmed defences against knives are particularly good, and useful for any MAist. Many modern systems are woefully ignorant about the realities of bladed weapons and how to deal with them, so this would be an ideal adjuct for self-defence.

Good luck in your search!

Best regards,

-Mark

 

[Blade96]

Follow up on what's happening:

If I'd come there with no idea what so ever about the basic stances, punches and kicks I don't think I would have liked it much, and some people were in that state, doing their best impressions of the instructors move without coming anywhere near it.

LOL you obviously didnt see me when i started shotokan sept 2009. believe me I was that person you describe. I didnt know a THING about shotokan and hardly anything about mA. as for doing the moves? Fish out of water. No. Worse than that.

didnt even know i was good til i won that tournament in dec with the goldmedal after i learned the stuff for it .

There was a thread on here a few weeks ago asking what our regrets were. Almost everyone said they wish they had started sooner.

i dont - i feel if i started sooner i wouldnt have appreciated it as much.

 

[TheLegend731]

Seems like you're into stand up fights. I'd recommend Muay Thai or Sanda. Depending on which school you find, you may find them to be too harsh, which they can be, or just right. Good luck.

About the age thing though, for your goals you have nothing at all to be worried about. By your description after a few months you should be seeing incredible breakthroughs as long as you're constantly pushing yourself. The first few weeks may be torture though, but they will be rewarding.

 

[Yondanchris]

First of all 28 is not late!! I have had Senior students starting (white belt) anywhere from 65-80 years old!! Its never too late to begin a lifestyle.

I would suggest a credible MMA Gym, or a compitent Kenpo/Kempo Dojo to fit the list of reasons you have given. (although im probably biased about Kenpo)

I encourage you on this new journey, and remember....the road to black belt is only the Half-way mark!!

And if you need anything feel free to contact me or post here on MT for some help!!

My humble yet ignorant .02 cents,

Chris

Hi all,

I guess you've heard all sorts of beginners questions already, I hope that you still can take a minute to give some guidance to another. As the title says, I'm a 28 year old male that has recently started thinking about taking up some martial art. I'm in good general shape though not very flexible, and have no previous experience of martial arts training.

The reasons I want to start now are (in order of importance):

* Finding a good way to stay in shape that's more mentally rewarding than the typical gym stuff
* Getting more connected with my own body, feeling I'm in control
* Getting some sort of basic experience of fighting to be able to protect myself (or others) in real life, would a situation demanding it occour.

The biggest question is really how much I'll lag behind starting out this late, I picture a bunch of 18 year old boys with much greater stamina and flexibility as the typical other beginners.

The second is one you've surely heard too often before: "Which one?". I don't think I'd enjoy grappling, I want something lika a more kicking and punching dicipline. Any special suggestions, taking into account all of the above?