Jiu Jitsu Over 40

At about 1.15 in the afternoon on Saturday, I was wilting, fast.

I’d just finished a round with a tough guy. My shoulder was pinching me, causing one of those pains that’s not quite sore enough to stop, but niggly enough to make you question why you’re not at home with a cup of coffee.

The timer went on again and by 1.45, I was sorry my session was over. My niggly shoulder had worked itself out over the course of the rounds, my energy levels were up, and I felt like I could do another 10 rounds.

Such is the life of the over 40s grappler. You wake up every day stiff as a lump of granite, but once the blood gets pumping and the joints get warm, you’re fine.

Of course, then you stop, and 4 hours later you feel stiff again.

We (as in the over 35s club) have the same chats in Kyuzo. They go like this:

“Don’t stop! Never stop! You get hurt when you stop!”

“I don’t rest, I rust.”

“Just don’t let yourself get old.”

Here’s the thing (and excuse my language)-

When you’re 40, your knees or your neck or your shoulders or whatever are f*cked.

Now they can be f*cked because you get on the mat and train, or they can be f*cked because you sit in a chair and do nothing.

But either way, they’re f*cked.

No one gets out alive. Your body isn't going to age like fine wine.

Give me the mat any day. I’ll put up with the bit of stiffness to do what I enjoy. I'll stay in shape and be fit and strong. I'll just miss watching Gogglebox or something.

See you on the mat,

Barry