Larry Rowen: “I am 82 years young and earned my Brown Belt! Stop by as I would love to chat and help get you started!”
Shari Rodgers
The hardest part of karate for an adult can happen before the warm-up. What is it? Walking through the door at the Anza gym and heading into a karate class.
You have had a career. You are retired now. You are confident from life’s experiences and very capable with all you have learned and know. You see on the Anza schedule a karate class and now you are thinking about Karate?
Then you come into Karate class and all this confidence fades. Someone is now showing you how to stand and with new feet positions. Your whole body is tight and tense trying to do something you have never done before. You forget the instruction you heard ten seconds ago. The class appears to know everything and they make it look easy Worse, they are now saying some things in Japanese and, even though they follow up with English, your nerves have kicked in and you are doubting the decision you made to learn Karate.
You start to think you cannot do this. You doubt yourself and your capabilities. You’re thinking: I cannot possibly do this. What was I thinking? I am too old to start something new and so physical. Stay anyway.
There is courage in letting yourself learn and not giving up! Everyone in the class here felt nervous when they started. Every experienced person in that room once needed someone to show them where to put their feet, how to move. But, look at them now! Yep. That really can be you!
Your turn begins that first day and every day you show up. It will get easier and you will develop skills which are good for your body, mind and overall well-being. And having that white belt gives you somewhere to start. Everyone you see doing karate started as a white belt!
What should someone expect if they begin karate in their sixties or seventies? Older practitioners can still develop timing, balance, coordination, efficiency, awareness, judgment, and understanding. Age may change what progress looks like. It should not make progress meaningless.
There is another advantage to starting later in life that is sometimes overlooked. Some older beginners arrive with less need to prove themselves. They may be less interested in showing how tough they are and more interested in learning properly, staying capable and continuing to train for as long as possible.
Someone starting karate later in life does not need to train as though they are trying to become the person they were thirty or forty years ago. We train the person we are now.Starting karate later in life does not mean you are too late. It simply means your journey begins from a different place. Come visit with us at the Anza gym! There is a spot for you!