It is true that we should not use age as an excuse nor an obstacle that stops our tae kwon do practice, but we should not ignore its effects our activities.
Age does not only weaken the physical performance but also affects the self confidence, which means that you do not feel comfortable and ready to do things you used to do at a younger age.
When you get older, there are many things you avoid practicing in tae kwon do training, because you have mental borders that stop you from trying.
I remember when I was so young that we were jumping in the dojang, and we were practicing very high jumping Breaking (Kyukpa). While we were doing that, our master who was at that time about 40 was not able to do those high jumps, even though he was good in Tae kwon do.
I had questions in my witch was: why older Tae kwon do masters or students can not jump as the young students do?
Well, now that I have learned a few things in Tae kwon do and martial arts, I found an answer for those questions, it is simply age.
This factor could not be ignored or avoided. All people get older and start to have physical problems, including articulation problems such as knees and ankles.
Age makes a noticeable difference between young and older Tae kwon do practitioners.
So how can we decrease the effects of age?
As we have mentioned, it is not possible to avoid the effects of age on our life but there are ways to decrease its powerful effects, and there are many things we must follow in order to stay young and active for as long as possible.
– Activity:
Everyone should be exercising in a regular way, in order to keep the body fit and to help the organs to work in a good way. also the continuous practice of Tae kwon do since younger age helps the individual to keep a certain amount of abilities when getting older.
– Safety:
Safe exercises should be chosen carefully by each Master or instructor in order to guarantee the safety of students, and also when the trainee does individual training sessions.
– Food:
Healthy food always helps the body to make its own maintenance and helps organs to work properly, But the individual has to respect the consumed quantity and time of meals as well. so you eat what you need and you eat at the right time.
– Rest:
If you want to earn benefits from your activities or work outs, you must have sufficient time for rest, in order to fasten your body recovery.
– Psychic state:
People should always try to avoid stress and everything that could lead to any disorder in vitals.
– Environment:
The place where every individual lives also has a direct impact on the health in general, and contaminated sites are not the right places for a healthy life.
– Getting away from bad habits:
Drugs, smoking, and many other negative habits should be avoided, because they lead to a fast damage in the body organs.
As much as you adopt a healthy life-style, the aging process would be slower than other people, and your Tae kwon do practice would great comparing to others who messed up their lives.
Stay young and keep kicking.