can i learn to fight at my age ,muay thai ?

[georgegeorgia]

just wondering how many of you can fight or still train in fighting skills wherever that be muay thai ,boxing or jujitsu ?

Are there training schools/camps willing to take us on at our age?

 

Im particular interested in older guys say 50 plus 

 

The reason i ask this is because im in my early 60's not far to go to retirement and thinking of learning to defend myself for later years.

Im a hospital wardsman currently in Australia so am quite fit plus i go to the gym nearly everyday and lift heavy weights ,im 110kg ,i dont drink or smoke,im muscular to a degree a

 

Recently there has been a spate of incidents that has made me more motivated to learn to fight .

The other time when there was a spate of incidents was in April 2018 during Songkran in pattaya where i was on a baht bus and a farang squirted me in the left eye with a high powered water gun,he was probaly in his 40's but he kept doing it even when my eye started to close up and i had to get off the bus,i walked away like a coward 

 

The second one was in walking street around 2pm in the afternoon where i witnessed a drunk farang grab another farang walking past by his swimming costume ,he then elbowed me in the face not hard but as he walked past laughing,i did nothing but keep walking ,i wanted to hit him back or do a choke hold but i dont know how

 

So i rang around here in Australia ,i rang a close full time  boxing gym who seemed they didnt care my age ,then i rang a jujitsu gym who seemed a bit hesitant when i mentioned my age but said  it may be harder for me to fight on a mat but yes come in and see how u go

the thing is i would like to try muay thai as well in thailand .when i go there .,do you think we can do that in our 60's?

 

i think jujitsu would be better for my age rather than kicking and punching but i would like to try muay thai

 

i think there is a few old farang still keeping up fighting skills ,one i met in pattaya a few years ago was a judo expert or similar 

 

tell me if you can fight  at your older age ? do you still train ?  i need to be ready for when i retire ,ready to defend myself from louts and hooligans around ,thailand or even phillipines where i may retire is not safe.

Edited January 20, 2022 by georgegeorgia

[nikmar]

My 14 yr old has been studying muay thai at a nearby gym in Bangkok. i asked on the off chance of a course with the objective of 1. getting healthier / fitter and 2. self defence (not that ive ever had the need to self defend in Thailand).

 

They talked me through a few things and the instructer emphasized that my age (54) shouldnt hold me back, they would start slow and build up.

 

im thinking about it. i would love to for the fitness aspect and also learning a bit of local culture - but im a lazy <deleted>!!

 

[KC 71]

I cant see why not.

[CharlieH]

Age should be no barier if the required degree of fitness and flexibility/mobility is there. It should be just a matter of adjustment to your ability initially and safety, which any decent instructor should be able to adapt to do that.

 

That said, the best form of defence, is abscence.

[tonray]

28 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Recently there has been a spate of incidents that has made me more motivated to learn to fight .

The other time when there was a spate of incidents was in April 2018 during Songkran in pattaya where i was on a baht bus and a farang squirted me in the left eye with a high powered water gun,he was probaly in his 40's but he kept doing it even when my eye started to close up and i had to get off the bus,i walked away like a coward 

 

The second one was in walking street around 2pm in the afternoon where i witnessed a drunk farang grab another farang walking past by his swimming costume ,he then elbowed me in the face not hard but as he walked past laughing,i did nothing but keep walking ,i wanted to hit him back or do a choke hold but i dont know how

While learning Muay Thai at your age should not be an issue....trying to learn Muary Thai so you can be an aging superhero will likely get you killed in short order

[robblok]

Yes you can learn, but do you really think its a good idea as you seem to want to use it for conflict / revenge not self defense.

 

Water squirted in eye with powder, bad but you want to beat someone up for it ? What if others jump in. What is the point of fighting.

 

Same for the elbow unless it was really hard and an ongoing assault your only reason seems to be vengeance ? 

[scubascuba3]

You want to be able to defend yourself for Pattaya?

[Chris.B]

"just wondering how many of you can fight or still train in fighting skills wherever that be muay thai ,boxing or jujitsu ?

Are there training schools/camps willing to take us on at our age?

Im particular interested in older guys say 50 plus 

The reason i ask this is because im in my early 60's not far to go to retirement and thinking of learning to defend myself for later years.

Im a hospital wardsman currently in Australia so am quite fit plus i go to the gym nearly everyday and lift heavy weights ,im 110kg ,i dont drink or"

 

I think that as you are in your 60's, you should be learning how to get out of potentially dangerous situations not learning how to inflame them! It seems to me you are lacking in streetwise skills and should be avoiding places like Walking Street.

 

You may try to learn some fighting skills but that doesn't make you a fighter. You need to have the psyche to be able to hurt someone when you fight them, something you won't learn at these schools.

 

 

[connda]

You don't want to take a heel-kick to head at 50+. Sure, learn technique and light sparring - but leave the fighting to the kids.

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Sounds like you are fit so it should be fine. I do gym and cardio and some sort of muay thai i.e. just kicking and boxing a bag or just into thin air. I had a couple of lessons just to get a bit of technique i.e. how to be stable, what your arms do when you kick, different sort of kicks. You probably know your limitations and the instructor will see when you are getting too tired.

In terms of actual fighting as sport you can see if your interest takes you that far but probably good just for fitness.  It could be fun though and you'll learn so much more about defense and attack by actually fighting of course. 

The more confident you are in your fitness and strength the less you'll care about petty disputes and hopefully you'd realise public fighting is not a good idea. 

[Captain Monday]

Why not join the Cobra Kai?

 

Sounds like the OP has serious emotional problems that need to be dealt with before undergoing legitimate martial arts training. The first rule is to walk away, not strike first strike hard no mercy. You must take your life in balance before you can protect others and yourself, I suggest yoga and meditation.  Then perhaps Tai Chi or Aikido. Carry yourself with confidence, then you will nit be  be a victim.

[Golden Triangle]

I have been living on Thailand since 2011, I first started coming here about 2004/5 I can't quite remember, I live in Pattaya & have always come to Pattaya, never ever once have I had a confrontational problem, ever.

 

I have been to just about every province in the kingdom, I don't know how you manage to attract such attention.

[Chris.B]

Grasshopper, when you can take the pebble from my hand, you will be ready to go to Walking Street in Pattaya.  

 

 

 

 

[GoFaster]

Absolutely give it a go. I am about the same age as you and what I do is watch all the UFC , Bellator, BKFC, Boxing etc that I can and learn and practice from that.  I have  a heavy bag and practice every day the moves I see the pros do. Just watched a great You Tube video on what makes Canelo Alveraz so good and try to learn techniques from video's like that. My version of Nick Diaz's Stockton Slap and a good  Spinning Back Elbow are my go to moves. Connect with a good elbow and its lights out and finish with a flurry of hammer fists. And use your knees and remember that in a street fight/self defense situation there are no rules and the main objective is to disable the other guy as quickly as possible so low kicks/knees are encouraged.

Remember the best defense is offence both verbally and physically.

So get a heavy bag and some good MMA style sparring gloves and your self confidence will improve out of sight and so will your fitness.

 

[MrJ2U]

Sure.

 

Also it'll get you in shape, or in your instance even better shape.

 

It won't help the receding hairline though.

 

Go for it!

[steven100]

your in your sixties old timer .....  enjoy your remaining years in peace and harmony,  not fighting off drunken street thugs.  

Do you have an early death wish   ?   just seems that way .....   why bother. 

[heist]

Start with boxing if you can, less risk of injury when you start training. Once you have a decent amount of conditioning, improved your cardio and an understanding of the basics you can transition to muay thai. At our age joint health is super important so I wouldn't jump into a high impact sport like muay thai immediately. 

Edited January 20, 2022 by heist

[phetphet]

Never too old.

 

I started at 56. Six days a week. To keep fit.

 

Took two years off for a pre existing injury (partially torn distal bracchia tendon) that flared up again. then restarted once  it got better.

 

Will be 64 this year. Still going strong 5 days a week. Keeps me fit and hopefully healthy. 

 

There was a 71 year old tourist that pre-covid used to come whenever he was on holiday here.

 

One thing I will add. At your age, your reflexes might not be as fast as they once were.

Even Mike Tyson was warned that he was too old last year to start boxing competitively again.

 

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by phetphet
Corrections

[BangkokReady]

Just try and stay away from these horrible people.

 

Songkrang is a time to stay indoors and relax, or travel somewhere far away from anyone.

 

Unfortunately, while retribution sounds like a nice idea, it's probably going to end one of two ways: you in trouble or you in the hospital.  It doesn't seem worth it to me.

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

tell me if you can fight  at your older age ? do you still train ?  i need to be ready for when i retire ,ready to defend myself from louts and hooligans around ,thailand or even phillipines where i may retire is not safe.

Forget it, you're too old.

I practice with a sword, machete and sword baton for the forthcoming zombie apocalypse.

But zombies are (hopefully) a lot slower than drunken tourists.

Edited January 20, 2022 by BritManToo

[Chris.B]

Zombie Apocalypse here we come!

 

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by Chris.B

[chickenslegs]

1 hour ago, BangkokReady said:

Just try and stay away from these horrible people.

 

Songkrang is a time to stay indoors and relax, or travel somewhere far away from anyone.

 

Unfortunately, while retribution sounds like a nice idea, it's probably going to end one of two ways: you in trouble or you in the hospital.  It doesn't seem worth it to me.

I agree completely - but this is still one of my favourite news stories ever ...

... even though it's not entirely true (he wasn't a Royal Marine but he was an ex-boxing instructor).

 

[thaibeachlovers]

By all means learn it, but remember that your body is more likely to suffer permanent damage if you start physical contact sports than it was 30 years earlier.

Personally I'd learn self defense rather than offense.

Also back in the bonkers western world, one is likely to be prosecuted if one hurts some thug while defending oneself.

[thaibeachlovers]

10 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I agree completely - but this is still one of my favourite news stories ever ...

... even though it's not entirely true (he wasn't a Royal Marine but he was an ex-boxing instructor).

 

That makes my heart sing!

 

Some years ago Fox was showing a clip of some young scumbag that tried to take on an old Vietnam vet on a bus and ended up getting his face handed to himself. Pity that such great stories are rare.

[thaibeachlovers]

16 hours ago, robblok said:

Yes you can learn, but do you really think its a good idea as you seem to want to use it for conflict / revenge not self defense.

 

Water squirted in eye with powder, bad but you want to beat someone up for it ? What if others jump in. What is the point of fighting.

 

Same for the elbow unless it was really hard and an ongoing assault your only reason seems to be vengeance ? 

Vengeance against scumbags is always a good thing, but in the real world scumbags usually win against the good guys.

[bbko]

Muay Thai training? Sure, a good way to stay in shape, I've seen Muay Thai camp websites offering fitness work-out programs.

 

Muay Thai sparing in the ring? No thanks, at my age I have no desire of getting punched by choice.

Edited January 21, 2022 by bbko

[Denim]

15 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

You want to be able to defend yourself for Pattaya?

You never know. Could end up on a dark soi surrounded by lady boys armed with hi heels. Nasty

[FritsSikkink]

muay thai,  possible might be a bit hard on the knees

boxing, no problem at all

jujitsu, would start with that at your age.

[NoshowJones]

I read the bit where the OP said he walked away when a farang squirted him hard in the eye. I am nowhere near as heavy as the OP or as strong as him although I have the height and speed, but I will say one thing and have said it many times on this forum. If any farang hit me like that with a watergun, I am 99% certain that I would be very capable of knocking  the living daylights out of him, and I would.

[Mac Mickmanus]

On 1/20/2022 at 8:25 PM, BangkokReady said:

Just try and stay away from these horrible people.

 

Songkrang is a time to stay indoors and relax, or travel somewhere far away from anyone.

 

Unfortunately, while retribution sounds like a nice idea, it's probably going to end one of two ways: you in trouble or you in the hospital.  It doesn't seem worth it to me.

Yes, just make your excuses and walk away .

That's the best way to defend yourself