Karate is one of the most beneficial and valuable to learn martial arts. However, some may think that they’re too old or out of shape to begin their martial arts journey. I’m here to argue that anyone can do Karate, and here’s why.
Everyone can do Karate regardless of age because the training is adaptive to your current shape and capabilities. As a result, your age isn’t a factor in Karate training. Moreover, consistent martial arts training benefits your physical shape; therefore, Karate won’t harm but benefit your overall well-being.
And still, some people never begin their martial arts journey, as they can’t find the courage and motivation to start their journey.
You’re likely using the excuse of age or current shape not to try hard. However, if you find that saying suitable to your situation, consider changing your mindset to one that will allow you to find willpower.
For instance, when I began training in martial arts, I was afraid I was too out of shape to start training. Nonetheless, my aerobic and anaerobic shape skyrocketed with time and consistent training.
Next, let’s examine how old is too old for Karate.
How old is too old for Karate?
Age is just a number. Those who genuinely want to improve themselves will find the willpower to change their current situation. Even if you’re out of shape, it shouldn’t stop you from bettering yourself and getting into shape.
There’s no age limit to Karate because the training can be adaptive. As a result, even if you’re somewhat out of shape and afraid you can’t start training because of your age, Karate will benefit your current situation.
As fancy as it sounds, you may still not be convinced to start your training. If that’s you, here are some benefits Karate trainees (regardless of age) experience from consistent and dedicated training. (Source)
- better physical shape
- increase self-confidence
- improve pain tolerance
- teach you to use self-defense
- decrease overall stress
- assist you in controlling aggressiveness
- shorten reaction time
- improve your performance under stress
- enhance self-esteem
- better social life
- martial arts are a form of self-help
Are you convinced yet?
I want to emphasize the meaning of doing martial arts. By involving yourself in one of these fighting styles, you’ll ensure you improve yourself after each workout.
For instance, it’s not uncommon to see martial arts trainees improving their mental health from consistent training.
Now, think of all the benefits I mentioned above; will one of them change your life positively? How about all of them?
Is Karate difficult to learn?
Participating in any martial art is difficult. Nonetheless, the positive benefits you’ll experience from one of them- are detrimental. So, let’s examine whether Karate is hard to learn.
Karate is difficult to learn because its training involves mental and physical exercises. As a result, while training, you’ll burn plenty of calories and better your inner self. For instance, you can burn up to 720 calories an hour, which can be the difference between losing and gaining body fat.
Moreover, that’s only the physical aspect of it. By doing Karate, you’ll improve your inner self, which may be more critical for some.
In fact, you’ll find your overall mental health improving if you stay consistent. Today, such an outcome is highly desirable since the number of people with low self-esteem, low confidence, and overall low mental health- is higher than ever before.
Because of that, I can confidently say- Karate is one of the best activities you can do to improve yourself.
Do you need to be strong to do Karate?
Karate betters your physical shape. That’s critical to answering what this section is about because we’ll soon discuss one of the often-used excuses to avoid training.
You don’t need to be strong to do Karate since it’ll better your physical shape and the training is adaptive to your current abilities. As a result, your initial state won’t influence the fact that Karate training will be beneficial and improve your physical shape.
Because it benefits your physical and mental shape, you don’t need to be strong to do it.
In fact, if you’re not, it’ll help you achieve that desirable state.
In today’s world, many people aren’t pleased with their current physical shape. Because of that, they don’t bother to improve it.
Nonetheless, this mindset is weak at its core. So, it’ll be best to begin training as soon as possible to avoid future excuses. I know it sounds fancy and not as easy to do as to write. Yet, I did it, and you can do it too.
Can you teach yourself Karate?
Some trainees are unwilling to spend large sums of money on martial arts training. That’s entirely valid; you don’t have to attend classes to learn.
To do so, it’ll be best to follow a few guidelines to help you in your future training. So, here are the best ways to teach yourself Karate:
- Buy an online course
- Purchase a punching bag
- Follow a YouTube channel
However, before diving into the ways, I must mention that actual classes are much better than self-teaching. Primarily, no instructor will see you perform the techniques. Therefore, no one will fix your mistakes, which may cause form bad habits in the long term.
So, first, you can buy an online course. I encourage you to do that if you’re not attending classes. You can also combine an online course with home gear, which we’ll discuss next.
Secondly, you can buy a punching bag. This purchase is one of the best ones in my life since it gave me a platform to progress outside of my martial arts gym. I encourage you to buy this one!
Lastly, I encourage you to follow a YouTube channel. This option may be the most appealing since it’s free of charge. Nevertheless, I recommend combining all 3-ways to create as close of an experience as an actual martial art gym.
As a result, you’ll progress faster while learning appropriately. As such, you’ll learn to fight while experiencing the benefits sooner.
Will Karate work in real life?
In real life, self-defense situations- can be intimidating. Because of that, preparing- should be one of your priorities. For example, once you learn to fight using Karate techniques, you won’t be as afraid of fighting and using it in real fights.
Karate works in real life because it teaches the trainees many effective fighting techniques, such as punching, kicking, and clinching. All these movements will aid you in disabling opponents swiftly. For instance, Karate teaches you powerful kicks, such as the front and round kicks.
Most martial arts will be practical for such a purpose. Consequently, if learning to fight is one of your goals, I encourage you to begin training as soon as possible in any fighting style.
Final words
Karate has always been one of my favorites martial arts since it’s highly effective. Because of that, its trainees can use the techniques they learned to disable opponents swiftly.
Moreover, there’s no age limit to Karate or any other fighting style because the training is adaptive. As a result, your age and current shape don’t matter, as you’ll be able to benefit significantly from your training.
If you enjoyed reading this article, I encourage you to follow the link to read a post I wrote about the belt order of Karate. Such information is critical if you want to begin doing it.