Practicing martial arts at 29.
 

Hi guys.

I just ran into a Bengali Kung Fu master who's now in his late 40s and started his martial arts life at the age of 7. All I could say about him is WOW!!! At this late time of his life, he looks as young as a, well, young man. His speed while implementing the Wong TaiChi techniques on the wooden dummy is just surprizingly fast!!! :surprised:. I've been training under his instructions for about two months. His training do not focus on Kung Fu techniques alone, but on physical strength, water like flexibility, and speed. He made me see some nuances of torture :whip:, and yet, he claims that he used to do all of these workouts over 5000 times a day( I could only do one of his workouts between 10 to 35 times maximum :lol:). His speed, like I said earlier, speaks for his claims, though .

What I want to know now is, presuming that there's someone around here who's also into martial arts, am I fit to become at least half as strong as master Mi'raj at the age of 29? My body isn't over weight at all. I'm about 160 something cm tall, and I weigh 68kg. My diabetes, however, is my greatest obstacle, since it's putting lots of strain on my muscles and joints when it goes up.

If I could become a decent Kung Fu trainer, I think I could teach my diabetes how to respect me..

What do you guys think?

Its never too late.
 

Its never too late to get in shape and find ways to use your body in a positive way. I have taken various forms of martial arts over my adolesence and adult life, but now in my 50's I find it hard to get motivated to do much of anything after a full days work. I have seen quite a few people with diabeates not only get it under control, but nearly eliminate it through strenuous physical exercise. One with this disease can easily monitor and maintain good values for a safe healthy living, and Doctors say that working out can be one of the best things for diabeates. But I would communicate what your plans are with your doctor first to make sure that whatever your level of disease is right now that doing what you are doing is safe. I find that the most risk with diabeates besides keeping your sugar in check is healing from injuries and open wounds that are the most devistating factors. 29 is hardly an issue for martial arts anyway. Once you reach your mid 40's, well thats another story entirely. That is the age when you really start to see limitations on working out, or even just getting up off the couch for that matter.

That's why I want to learn martial arts so much. There's nobody in my mind who I want to beat with lethal techniques, but since these arts of fighting require you to push your body through it's paces, if you manage their harshness in your youth, you'll live your senior life without much of physical deterioration. And yes, eventhough my teacher is super fast, he showed us two Katas, while performing his second kata( the snake moves) I noticed that he started to pant heavily, and slightly lost his balance while performing it. That's a sign of his advanced age. I wonder how strong was he during his prime...

Great way to spend time
 

Anyway you look at this it is a great way to spend your free time. Improving your physical well being, and learning how to defend yourself against all kinds of obstacles, plus improving your mental control to a point of erasing fear or panic for the most part. A lot of serious injuries and even deaths are caused more by those two factors alone rather than by an actual attack.

I have known a few masters over the years and they are solid physical people who can take quite a bit of punishment even into their later years without showing fear or any signs of breaking down physically or emotionally. I think you are into a WIN WIN situation and should take advantage of anything you can get out of it. Of course that all comes from what you put into it. Good luck with your new found adventure.

Don't learn and train just the art, do as much cardio as you can to avoid injuries. I've seen a lot of very talented martial artists get hurt because they only worked on what was required for the art they mastered and forgot to work on a solid foundation. Your legs is your support beam so you should include running and making your legs as strong as possible. Your mind and soul should also be very strong and combined they can make you very healthy. What you eat will also play a major factor not only in your training, but also in your fight against diabetes. Eat as much raw organic foods as you can and stay away from the over processed stuff that can raise your sugar levels. Observe Nature and see/learn how Nature works her magic. True warrior monks knows how important Nature is and their Kung Fu masters can do some pretty amazing stuff.

Thanks guys. Very good pieces of advice that I should adhere to.
For mental and spiritual fortification, Islam is the key. In Islam, meditation is one of the foundations you rely on to understand the world you're in, and thus, the truth about God is disclosed to you. What you're seeing on TV about Islam is a great lie, whether you want to believe me or not, that is your own to decide. The moves we do while praying induce amplitudes of energy inside our bodies and souls. That energy is derived from the holy spirits( angels) that float around you once you start your spiritual activities. If evil doings make you feel secluded, afraid, and sometimes paranoid( negative energy or "Chi"), then good deeds bestow cheerfulness, peace of the heart and unfaltering strength upon you. That's the positive energy. TaiChi is a form of Chinese meditation, sometimes merged with Kung Fu, because it charges one's body and spirit with loads of ethereal strength. The religious activities in Islam do the very same thing and more.

Your mind and soul looks to be very strong. The key now is the foundation that holds the soul and that is your body. Work on that and you can achieve your goal with extreme success. I can sure see you without diabetes once everything is achieved.

Holyness
 

I believe that Holyness comes not from the religion itself (whether islam, christianity, Buda, or whatever), but more from what you come to believe with your soul, and how you develop those beliefs. Radical islamic terrorists believe that the koran will lead them to inner peace and heavenly gifts on the otherside through killing infidels. Any religious education can be misconstrude and twisted into haterid and evil if the student allows themselves to be fooled by someone elses beliefs. Inner peace is the goal, and getting there is about the journey itself. Giving of ones self truly is the gateway to finding this peace. Being totally unselfish and doing for others can create a glowing aura that has the ability to lift you up in ways that only you will see and truly understand. Martial arts give the student the tools and abilities to do just about anything in the physical world, and the ability to find ones true reason for life and being here on this Earth. Achieving this level of enlightenment is what makes a true champion in any martial art. Good luck reaching your goal whatever it may be, and have fun getting there.