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« on: August 29, 2007, 04:26:03 PM »
Hi All,
First off, I wanted to belatedly say that I went to the gathering as a spectator in June. It was a cool experience to watch it and I enjoyed seeing the camaraderie as well as the battles. Thanks Fighters for that. As I watched I paid attention to the several older fighters there.
Secondly, I watched Randy Couture face Gonzaga over the weekend. This fight was particularly interesting to me because of Couture's age. I think that there is a thread about MMA to more fully discuss that fight so I will only mention it here because iit may serve as discussion material for this topic.
I am interested in discussing what it is like to practice as we get older. I am 54 years old. I have been practicing a variety of things since I was in my 20s. When I started practicing the oldest senior person that I knew was in his 40s. In some places in the world where people live in close proximity to their seniors their whole lives there is perhaps a continuum from old to young. This exists now in North America, but as martial arts migrated here I think the first people that began practicing here have not had as many older people to learn how to practice as we get older.
So to start this thread off, what do you think changes with age? How does the experience of practicing change?
Another question that I think will be interesting to pursue is: How do you think you should practice as you get older? What should you emphasize? What is important to you now compared to when you were younger?
What matters when you become an older warrior?
Karsk