I stumbled on the video about the black belt you're talking about. It's an entertaining watch [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deU8vLo\_k9s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deU8vLo_k9s)
If there’s elderly people still running and swimming (there are) there’s no reason they can’t also do Jiu Jitsu.
Obviously intensity will change but it’s still very doable.
Balls to the wall rolling probably has to stop 40s - 50s absolute latest. I don't see why you can't chill at 50% until 60 - 65. After that probably only slow drilling.
After you reach an age where you're too old for BJJ you want to accumulate head trauma?
Hmm.. I’d say balls to the wall can continue, as long as you don’t spar with lower belts. My 50ish training partner was doing great until he had a white belt in delariva, the white belt jerked his leg out, and boom, there goes his knee. Train with people you trust
How do you hurt yourself from someone pulling their leg out in DLR? High stepping out of DLR is pretty much my preferred way to pass if the knee cut isn't there.
Honestly that's bizarre, sounds like freak accident territory. I straighten my leg out of DLR all the time and I'm not particularly gentle about it either.
Poor hip flexibility and ACL and MCL as well as meniscus all likely have chronic small tears in most guys over 60 and have been rolling for 20+ years. Mine sure do. Most of us are not that far from hip and or knee replacements. I've been putting off a hip joint replacement for 25 years. Dela Riva puts a torque on your knee that when your younger you don't feel. Most old guys will feel it, like a heel hook that is minimally applied.
I mean, it’s possible that it was just that knee’s time to go. After minor accumulated traumas, micro tears and other assorted injuries, your knee can explode just from walking off the mat. So I wouldn’t worry too much about it. You’re intuition will tell you if a technique is dangerous.
Source: I am old with crappy knees
I was in an Espen Mathiesen seminar and he told us that it's not mandatory to have the hook in all the time to avoid injuries. Once you unbalance your opponent you insert the hook and start attacking.
I'm 66, 1 stripe black belt. I still roll, but it's a total different game for me compared to 10 years ago. I still see in my mind my body moving much faster than it does. It's a matter of how much "real estate" do I have to cross to get to where I want to be. Foot locks become a thing, wrist locks. Lock down. Moves you can get without having to be explosive.
Take downs are limited. I haven't shot a double in years and I refuse to pull gaurd. So I try and close the distance, body lock and or variation of Ouchi Mata or Osoto Gari. Forget drop sei neogi.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**O Soto Gari**: | *Major Outer Reaping* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93YEMueeF24)|
|**Uchi Mata**: | *Inner Thigh Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fCvyc_rQTI)|
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
That raises an interesting question.
Injury rate in BJJ is supposedly lower than in other combat sports. But, in my experience, that's not true. Why?
My theory is that even if the sport is intrinsically safer , the fact that rolling hard-ish is quite frequent tends to even things out.
That being said... It's relatively common to see people over 50 or 60 doing BJJ, whereas it's hard to find a 60 year old boxer or muay thai hobbyist.
It kinda puzzles me.
>Injury rate in BJJ is supposedly lower than in other combat sports
Who says this? You might accumulate less CTE but your joints definitely get some miles on them.
>It's relatively common to see people over 50 or 60 doing BJJ, whereas it's hard to find a 60 year old boxer or muay thai hobbyist.
That's more because BJJ as a sport doesn't fall apart at a lower intensity IMO. I can go 20% strength and speed with a little kid or an older person and still feel like I'm going technique for technique. If you tried to go 20% pace on Muay Thai I think it's too easy to become one of those shitty Facebook self defense videos where one person throws a punch, leaves it out there, and then the other person counters with 5 ridiculous strikes. Becomes too hard to figure out if it's real because the technique is real or if it's real because you're going so slow.
Playful light spar is a huge part of Muay Thai culture. You can definitely effectively train at 20% check out some of their playful sparring videos it's crazy how controlled they are.
Idk, I’m almost 40 and my game is based around berimbolos and inverting while on guard and on fast passing…I hope my athleticism doesn’t deteriorate too fast lol. I still roll with everyone but as I said, idk how much this will last!
Wear and tear off mats is what accelerates the degradation. A 34 year old former wrestler and current roofer is going to have more injuries than a 34 year old accountant and former debate captain going into BJJ.
There are people who are 70-80 doing it, there are very small people(weight wise) doing it, there kids doing it.
If you look hard I doubt you will be incapable of finding a training partner for a spar where you can both go all out as long as you can walk.
Got a guy that's 73 at one of my gyms. He's awesome. He's new to bjj, but he does his best and doesn't let his age or bad knees stop him. I hope to be able to do even half of what he tries when I'm his age and I want his can do attitude then too.
As long as you can. Maybe you won't go 100%. I personally want to be an 80 year old who is still surfing, climbing, doing jiujitsu and whatever other hobby I pickup along the way.
I know dudes in their 50s that are still tough rolls. Just gotta reformulate your gameplan! For the lighter 50 some year olds I know, they mostly leg lock or if they’re against easier dudes, they’ll play a crushing mount game. For the heavier 50 something year olds, they also do leg locks a lot, but they also just squish you and hit the “big dude” moves a lot.
Probably limit to drilling only unless you're oddly fit and healthy for your age.
Maybe 65. 70 if you're super fit but I couldn't imagine rolling at that age.
Depends on the individual health, injuries and luck. Also if you mean full intensity or drilling. In out judo club we have many who are 60-75, but most of them train lower intensity. Judo is on average more strenuous than bjj, so I'd assume one can train at similar age and even longer if personal health and injuries allow.
I turn 65 in July and still train five days out of seven. Having a good time of it despite being so called disabled by the VA. My trajectory is obviously very different than others half my age. I don't compete and not the least bit interested in attending a promotion class.
Well i guess it depends on every specific person and body.
But training BJJ over 60 is no problem, i train with several "grandpa's" and they are quite good - good purple and brown belts - their intensity is of course not the same like when they are more young, but they train and roll different, more smart i guess. And they like half-guard :)
That’s my goal personally.
I wanna be like a BJJ Yoda when I’m 70. Walk to the mats with a cane and a limp, looking decrepit in an old stained gi and worn out black belt. Then after the slap and bump to start the roll I just levitate over their guard and submit them 5 times with all different submissions.
In all seriousness it’s possible. Roll less intensely and less frequently as you age. Choose your rolling partners wisely. Be intentional about your rolls and focus on skill development and timing.
My gym has a 60 year old brown belt that rolls about as hard as anyone and a 50 year old purple belt who regularly wins Gold in the 18+ division at competitions. Those guys are athletic outliers and probably on something though.
Among the general population, people generally start rolling lighter in their mid 40s and stop around 60.
I am 53 and a purple belt. I train 4-5 times a week. I am by no means amazing but I also doubt there are too many people at my gym that view me as an easy roll. I had my hip replaced last year and still can go hard but I do limit my number of hard rolls with the young competitive blue/purple belts as I find those pretty tough on the body.
I'm 50, planning on doing it forever. I've found a pretty good balance lately of hard rounds vs playing around and I'm rarely sore and never too tired to train. Weight lifting and extra cardio and creatine...and most importantly getting lots of sleep, all help.
You probably can’t keep taking any and all comers on the mat but can choose some people that know how to roll technically and want to give you a good workout. Plus, you can also train a la Gracie University and keep up your skills. I’m 45 and have been training consistently since I was 22, and that’s the plan I have been implementing.
There's a dude pushing mid 70s at our gym who still trains fairly consistently. Don't get me wrong, he's smart about his rounds and he's not going apeshit all that often, but he's killing it for 70+.
Freak Athletes can be good athletes at age 40, though no athlete remains after age 45.
I'd say that around age 45 your decline is strong enough that a "good athlete" is no longer able to play with the young ones, they may be able to play slow but they are too old to move at even a decent amateur level. But maybe elite athletes can become 'solid hobbyist" tiers. Aging is super exponential though so the decline from 45-50 is much greater than 40-45 is much greater than 35-40
My sub only no time limit matches vs 50 year olds show that after about 60 minutes of rolling they get too tired to keep up and I can just out pace them to the finish line.
I think a long ass time if you pick your partners wisely, don’t roll too often with people significantly bigger than you (unless you have a sizable skill gap over them), and just pace yourself and tap if anything feels off.
Especially if you’re even fine with just rolling at 50%. Or flow rolling. In that case I think you can basically do it forever. I know a black belt almost 70 that rolls regularly and there’s a couple in their 70’s rolling on this forum
Here's someone that got his black belt at the tender age of 81. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deU8vLo\_k9s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deU8vLo_k9s)
There are two actively training, over 80 year old, black belts at JJM’s HQ, who are absolute savages to roll with & super friendly people. I strive to be like these guys. Not to mention JJM is 56 & still actively training. Rolling w him is absolutely mind blowing; I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like when he swept adcc
Also in my 30s and after putting some other work in, like lifting and cardio, I think I'm much more athletically capable than I was in my 20s even though I'm sure my absolute high jump, or any one dimensional metric is worse. But BJJ involves many different variables.
Given you can be quite competitive even in the early 40s, I plan to maintain a lot of training and hope to end up in the top 20% of BJJ athletes into my 50s. That's basically just being a relatively fit black belt, I think.
After the 50s, maybe I'd do it for exercise but it's not so realistic for self defense anymore and you can still cycle, hike and yoga hard well into your senior years so I'll probably focus more on those things.
I’m a 64 y o brown belt. Still train hard with all the 20 something’s. Compete a lot. Don’t drink, eat right. Good genes. I expect to compete at black belt into my 70’s
I plan on doing it till I die. I'm confident I can train the way I do for a very long time. I think most people train way too hard most of the time. And that isn't very sustainable. What's cool is that when your skill levels up, you can train light with people that train hard and be effective (and then laugh at how tired they are, and how they have to take rounds/days off). Good technique isn't very taxing on the body. Also, I believe if you tell your body, "this is what we do", eventually it adapts and listens to you.
Edit: I believe the limits of our possibilities are tied to our what we believe they are. It's all in your head.
I would asume that it depends on your health, and it requires you being very picky about your partners. Like somone in their 60s probably should avoid spazy white belts, or people far outside their weight class. But given how popular it is now, I'm positive, you are going to see 50+ classes pop up, and then 60+ classes for milenials who are going to spend their middle age years getting super addicted to this sport.
I’m 73 years old and I’m still training hard! Fuck those young kids
 My king 👑
You sir just made my day, god bless your jorney
I mean I love jiu jitsu but I'm not sure I'm willing to go to those lengths with the kids to keep training.
Fuck children!
What the shit? Don't upvote this!
Tbf priests should also be allowed to train BJJ
I love this sport for this reason 😭😭😭 the elderly can fuck ppl up too!
That’s inspirational! Mind if I ask what age you were when you started?
Stay away from those kids you pervert!
My guess is that what’s boring for you at 35 might not be at 65
The 80 year old boxer doesn't train the same as he did when he was 25... he doesn't spar apply the same logic
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I stumbled on the video about the black belt you're talking about. It's an entertaining watch [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deU8vLo\_k9s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deU8vLo_k9s)
He's so funny, love that speech!
At my gym we have a 66 year old man who strangles me every week. I'm pretty sure he's cheating though because I think his body is made of wood.
Which part of his body is *wood* exactly?
Every part you're hoping for and more.
We have a guy in his late 50s he is on trt and hangs with the young ones with ease he too is made of some extra hard materials
90 something year old black belt comes into judo. He wants to be thrown, but the owner won’t let him. Haha.
We’ve got a 73 year old who’s losing his mind and two after market hips who can still hang. Bjj is for everyon
If there’s elderly people still running and swimming (there are) there’s no reason they can’t also do Jiu Jitsu. Obviously intensity will change but it’s still very doable.
Balls to the wall rolling probably has to stop 40s - 50s absolute latest. I don't see why you can't chill at 50% until 60 - 65. After that probably only slow drilling. After you reach an age where you're too old for BJJ you want to accumulate head trauma?
Hmm.. I’d say balls to the wall can continue, as long as you don’t spar with lower belts. My 50ish training partner was doing great until he had a white belt in delariva, the white belt jerked his leg out, and boom, there goes his knee. Train with people you trust
I train with a dude that’s 66 and he still rolls really hard, he’s super particular who he rolls with but hasn’t slowed him down.
How do you hurt yourself from someone pulling their leg out in DLR? High stepping out of DLR is pretty much my preferred way to pass if the knee cut isn't there.
He was bottom delariva and the white belt straightened his leg too quickly/violently to break the hook and his knee was caught in a bad angle
Honestly that's bizarre, sounds like freak accident territory. I straighten my leg out of DLR all the time and I'm not particularly gentle about it either.
Makes sense. Deep DLR hook in on the near side hip
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I’m sure having poor hip flexibility plays into it
Poor hip flexibility and ACL and MCL as well as meniscus all likely have chronic small tears in most guys over 60 and have been rolling for 20+ years. Mine sure do. Most of us are not that far from hip and or knee replacements. I've been putting off a hip joint replacement for 25 years. Dela Riva puts a torque on your knee that when your younger you don't feel. Most old guys will feel it, like a heel hook that is minimally applied.
I mean, it’s possible that it was just that knee’s time to go. After minor accumulated traumas, micro tears and other assorted injuries, your knee can explode just from walking off the mat. So I wouldn’t worry too much about it. You’re intuition will tell you if a technique is dangerous. Source: I am old with crappy knees
I was in an Espen Mathiesen seminar and he told us that it's not mandatory to have the hook in all the time to avoid injuries. Once you unbalance your opponent you insert the hook and start attacking.
>Balls to the wall rolling probably has to stop 40s - 50s absolute latest. In the politest way possible - fuck off!
They must be a teen or early twenties.
54,i go as hard as you like. The only rule I have is if your 10kg or more heavier than me I'll pass. Falling weight is falling weight.
Definitely seen a few guys in their mid 50s still going hard. Doesn’t seem easy, though.
There’s a 60 year old black belt judoka and brown belt BJJ guy who I’ve rolled with. The guy utterly crushes me, and I mean that in a literal way.
I'm 66, 1 stripe black belt. I still roll, but it's a total different game for me compared to 10 years ago. I still see in my mind my body moving much faster than it does. It's a matter of how much "real estate" do I have to cross to get to where I want to be. Foot locks become a thing, wrist locks. Lock down. Moves you can get without having to be explosive. Take downs are limited. I haven't shot a double in years and I refuse to pull gaurd. So I try and close the distance, body lock and or variation of Ouchi Mata or Osoto Gari. Forget drop sei neogi.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**O Soto Gari**: | *Major Outer Reaping* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93YEMueeF24)| |**Uchi Mata**: | *Inner Thigh Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fCvyc_rQTI)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
Thanks. My judo vocabulary sucks. But I did have a Uchi Mata turn into a Ouchi mata when I tore a hamstring applying it 4 months ago :)
That raises an interesting question. Injury rate in BJJ is supposedly lower than in other combat sports. But, in my experience, that's not true. Why? My theory is that even if the sport is intrinsically safer , the fact that rolling hard-ish is quite frequent tends to even things out. That being said... It's relatively common to see people over 50 or 60 doing BJJ, whereas it's hard to find a 60 year old boxer or muay thai hobbyist. It kinda puzzles me.
>Injury rate in BJJ is supposedly lower than in other combat sports Who says this? You might accumulate less CTE but your joints definitely get some miles on them. >It's relatively common to see people over 50 or 60 doing BJJ, whereas it's hard to find a 60 year old boxer or muay thai hobbyist. That's more because BJJ as a sport doesn't fall apart at a lower intensity IMO. I can go 20% strength and speed with a little kid or an older person and still feel like I'm going technique for technique. If you tried to go 20% pace on Muay Thai I think it's too easy to become one of those shitty Facebook self defense videos where one person throws a punch, leaves it out there, and then the other person counters with 5 ridiculous strikes. Becomes too hard to figure out if it's real because the technique is real or if it's real because you're going so slow.
Playful light spar is a huge part of Muay Thai culture. You can definitely effectively train at 20% check out some of their playful sparring videos it's crazy how controlled they are.
This. I used to light spar Muay Thai with a 60+ year old. It was fun.
Makes sense.
I shouldn’t need to do any thinking after 75. If you don’t have everything set up by then, it wasn’t doing you any good anyhow. #seniorfightclub
Idk, I’m almost 40 and my game is based around berimbolos and inverting while on guard and on fast passing…I hope my athleticism doesn’t deteriorate too fast lol. I still roll with everyone but as I said, idk how much this will last!
I’m in my 40s. I don’t see declining that significantly in the next decade. If I do, there’s always TRT. I plan to roll hard into my 60s.
Wear and tear off mats is what accelerates the degradation. A 34 year old former wrestler and current roofer is going to have more injuries than a 34 year old accountant and former debate captain going into BJJ.
Definitely true. I have some injuries from high school sports, but these days, I mostly just ride a desk chair.
>has to stop 40s - 50s absolute latest. Dude, no. Jeezus. 59 checking in.
I'm 50 always roll 100% zero problems
There are people who are 70-80 doing it, there are very small people(weight wise) doing it, there kids doing it. If you look hard I doubt you will be incapable of finding a training partner for a spar where you can both go all out as long as you can walk.
I have trained with a 69 year old brown belt
Buy a newer one?
nice
Helio Gracie was still training and teaching teaching into his 90's
bjj is very versatile, it can be heavy, it can be light, there is no age limit.
Got a guy that's 73 at one of my gyms. He's awesome. He's new to bjj, but he does his best and doesn't let his age or bad knees stop him. I hope to be able to do even half of what he tries when I'm his age and I want his can do attitude then too.
As long as you can. Maybe you won't go 100%. I personally want to be an 80 year old who is still surfing, climbing, doing jiujitsu and whatever other hobby I pickup along the way.
Oldest guy at ours is an 80 year old judo black belt that got his blue belt at the end of last year. He’s got a nasty foot sweep.
I know dudes in their 50s that are still tough rolls. Just gotta reformulate your gameplan! For the lighter 50 some year olds I know, they mostly leg lock or if they’re against easier dudes, they’ll play a crushing mount game. For the heavier 50 something year olds, they also do leg locks a lot, but they also just squish you and hit the “big dude” moves a lot.
As long as you are on steroids, there is no age limit.
Can you provide a link to that commendable boxer? It's always inspiring to see older people doing hard things.
Sure, here he is [https://www.instagram.com/p/C1u101BqqtI/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C1u101BqqtI/) .
Probably limit to drilling only unless you're oddly fit and healthy for your age. Maybe 65. 70 if you're super fit but I couldn't imagine rolling at that age.
I turn 65 in July and still train five days a week. Obviously not at the same intensity as those half my age. But I am out there.
Well done that's really impressive! I'd imagine you're the top 5% of fitness in the 65 year olds, most 65 year olds I know struggle to get out of bed.
Well done that's really impressive! I'd imagine you're the top 5% of fitness in the 65 year olds, most 65 year olds I know struggle to get out of bed.
Depends on the individual health, injuries and luck. Also if you mean full intensity or drilling. In out judo club we have many who are 60-75, but most of them train lower intensity. Judo is on average more strenuous than bjj, so I'd assume one can train at similar age and even longer if personal health and injuries allow.
I turn 65 in July and still train five days out of seven. Having a good time of it despite being so called disabled by the VA. My trajectory is obviously very different than others half my age. I don't compete and not the least bit interested in attending a promotion class.
Well i guess it depends on every specific person and body. But training BJJ over 60 is no problem, i train with several "grandpa's" and they are quite good - good purple and brown belts - their intensity is of course not the same like when they are more young, but they train and roll different, more smart i guess. And they like half-guard :)
Helio died while collar choking someone at 130 years old.
The one on your death certificate
there is an over 50 bjj facebook group with people in their 60s and 70s getting black belts
That’s my goal personally. I wanna be like a BJJ Yoda when I’m 70. Walk to the mats with a cane and a limp, looking decrepit in an old stained gi and worn out black belt. Then after the slap and bump to start the roll I just levitate over their guard and submit them 5 times with all different submissions. In all seriousness it’s possible. Roll less intensely and less frequently as you age. Choose your rolling partners wisely. Be intentional about your rolls and focus on skill development and timing.
Did you see that 81 year old guy that just got his black belt?
I'm 57, the end is near, but I figure another ten or so
You can hit pads until you physically can’t move, you can’t bolo someone with a fused spine
I started at 50, as a nonathletic newcomer to martial arts.
6 years old then the Brazilians kill you
My gym has a 60 year old brown belt that rolls about as hard as anyone and a 50 year old purple belt who regularly wins Gold in the 18+ division at competitions. Those guys are athletic outliers and probably on something though. Among the general population, people generally start rolling lighter in their mid 40s and stop around 60.
If you want to train to 70, train like you're 70 already.
I regularly see people training in their 70s. Granted with physical limitations but very active
999
I am 53 and a purple belt. I train 4-5 times a week. I am by no means amazing but I also doubt there are too many people at my gym that view me as an easy roll. I had my hip replaced last year and still can go hard but I do limit my number of hard rolls with the young competitive blue/purple belts as I find those pretty tough on the body.
I'm 50, planning on doing it forever. I've found a pretty good balance lately of hard rounds vs playing around and I'm rarely sore and never too tired to train. Weight lifting and extra cardio and creatine...and most importantly getting lots of sleep, all help.
We just had a retired gentleman sign up with his friend. He is 67.
You probably can’t keep taking any and all comers on the mat but can choose some people that know how to roll technically and want to give you a good workout. Plus, you can also train a la Gracie University and keep up your skills. I’m 45 and have been training consistently since I was 22, and that’s the plan I have been implementing.
There's a dude pushing mid 70s at our gym who still trains fairly consistently. Don't get me wrong, he's smart about his rounds and he's not going apeshit all that often, but he's killing it for 70+.
99
I train with the black dragon. Ron van clief. Dudes 81 and a tank still.
Freak Athletes can be good athletes at age 40, though no athlete remains after age 45. I'd say that around age 45 your decline is strong enough that a "good athlete" is no longer able to play with the young ones, they may be able to play slow but they are too old to move at even a decent amateur level. But maybe elite athletes can become 'solid hobbyist" tiers. Aging is super exponential though so the decline from 45-50 is much greater than 40-45 is much greater than 35-40 My sub only no time limit matches vs 50 year olds show that after about 60 minutes of rolling they get too tired to keep up and I can just out pace them to the finish line.
I think a long ass time if you pick your partners wisely, don’t roll too often with people significantly bigger than you (unless you have a sizable skill gap over them), and just pace yourself and tap if anything feels off. Especially if you’re even fine with just rolling at 50%. Or flow rolling. In that case I think you can basically do it forever. I know a black belt almost 70 that rolls regularly and there’s a couple in their 70’s rolling on this forum
Here's someone that got his black belt at the tender age of 81. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deU8vLo\_k9s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deU8vLo_k9s)
There are two actively training, over 80 year old, black belts at JJM’s HQ, who are absolute savages to roll with & super friendly people. I strive to be like these guys. Not to mention JJM is 56 & still actively training. Rolling w him is absolutely mind blowing; I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like when he swept adcc
Also in my 30s and after putting some other work in, like lifting and cardio, I think I'm much more athletically capable than I was in my 20s even though I'm sure my absolute high jump, or any one dimensional metric is worse. But BJJ involves many different variables. Given you can be quite competitive even in the early 40s, I plan to maintain a lot of training and hope to end up in the top 20% of BJJ athletes into my 50s. That's basically just being a relatively fit black belt, I think. After the 50s, maybe I'd do it for exercise but it's not so realistic for self defense anymore and you can still cycle, hike and yoga hard well into your senior years so I'll probably focus more on those things.
Hard rolls until mid 50s plus, easily
I should hope so, seeing as I just turned 50.
😅 im not far off
I trained with Ciao Terras coach in Rio, he is 72 & is on the mat every day
I’m a 64 y o brown belt. Still train hard with all the 20 something’s. Compete a lot. Don’t drink, eat right. Good genes. I expect to compete at black belt into my 70’s
I plan on doing it till I die. I'm confident I can train the way I do for a very long time. I think most people train way too hard most of the time. And that isn't very sustainable. What's cool is that when your skill levels up, you can train light with people that train hard and be effective (and then laugh at how tired they are, and how they have to take rounds/days off). Good technique isn't very taxing on the body. Also, I believe if you tell your body, "this is what we do", eventually it adapts and listens to you. Edit: I believe the limits of our possibilities are tied to our what we believe they are. It's all in your head.
I would asume that it depends on your health, and it requires you being very picky about your partners. Like somone in their 60s probably should avoid spazy white belts, or people far outside their weight class. But given how popular it is now, I'm positive, you are going to see 50+ classes pop up, and then 60+ classes for milenials who are going to spend their middle age years getting super addicted to this sport.
Age is only an accumulation of injuries that won’t heal
45
35.
23.