30 yrs of age starting training, too old to reach competive level?

kumate_champ07

probably a common enough question, but if I start now is it possible to learn enough skills to be able to compete in Ireland?

I have a tiny bit of Muay Thai, and a good knowledge of most martial arts which probably counts for nothing in a fight I suppose but Ive an idea what I need to develop. It takes me 3 years to get to a very high standard in every sport Ive started but this would be different. Id like to give it a go before its too late

sports background would be basketball,gaa,track cycling.

I can get to 'superfit' levels, strength would be respectable but not freakish, unless I hit the weights hard.

Id be willing to put the hours in and dont mind doing 3 hrs of cardio a day, Im based in Terenure.


I realise there are lads who have studied and practiced martial arts since a very early age before moving to mma, Im under no illusion of stepping into the ring and doing a Rocky, just want to give it a shot

reganreggie

Very apt username.

I took mma at 32 and had a few amateur fights. I suppose it depends on if you are talking about becoming a pro or a competitive amateur. Either way get down to a club and give it a go you wont regret it

sawdoubters

if you trained 16 hour days

kumate_champ07

I suppose I should just go to a club and start then.

RoboRat

Plenty of top guys competing in their 40's. It depends on a lot of things but IMO its a lot to do with diet and injuries.

The older you get, the longer it takes for injuries to heal, the longer you are away from training - trust me on this one, I am 36 and have had a fair few injuries in my time. You also need to be eating right to allow your body to train hard and also cut the risk of injuries - one thing is for sure, when you get fatigued, you increase the chance of injury. It also depends on your actual ability to learn and understand, some people get it quicker than others.

If I was you, I would set myself a target for an amateur fight or even enter the league. Then revaluate where you are in a years time and set achievable goals.

Its too hard to say whether you could be competitive in a specific time when you have no benchmark.

Xlami

Of course you're young enough. Look at Johnny Dargan; to be honest you're probably better contacting a coach instead of asking the uneducated opinion of the MMA Boards. But best of luck with it.

El Guapo!

Xlami wrote: »

...instead of asking the uneducated opinion of the MMA Boards...

Jaysis. That's a bit harsh. There's plenty of knowledgeable, experienced folk round these parts.

kumate_champ07

RoboRat wrote: »

Plenty of top guys competing in their 40's. It depends on a lot of things but IMO its a lot to do with diet and injuries.

The older you get, the longer it takes for injuries to heal, the longer you are away from training - trust me on this one, I am 36 and have had a fair few injuries in my time. You also need to be eating right to allow your body to train hard and also cut the risk of injuries - one thing is for sure, when you get fatigued, you increase the chance of injury. It also depends on your actual ability to learn and understand, some people get it quicker than others.

If I was you, I would set myself a target for an amateur fight or even enter the league. Then revaluate where you are in a years time and set achievable goals.

Its too hard to say whether you could be competitive in a specific time when you have no benchmark.

couldnt belive Dan Severn was still competing up untill recently, first time I saw mma was on the Wrestling channel a freeview Sky channel maybe 10 years ago. tho the fights they showed were 7-10 yrs old, only realised from the haircuts later on!

Ken Shamrock(younger bro?) won in Pride after less than a year of mostly wrestling training, thats pretty amazing, tho it could have been fixed, IDK
I like the UFC during the Marc Coleman era before kneeing on the ground was banned, seemed more raw. now its very technical which is great but its lost a little bit of what made it so unique

Im good on the diet and recovery aspects, only thing Im not sure of is the actual fighting. I like to watch the fights, Ill fight if Im in danger(my life, not my pride), I love the training, but to try beat up another guy as sport is a little foreign to me. I could hesitate thinking the opponent is finished and I dont want to hurt him further, then he takes advantage and beats me.

how do naturally 'soft' people do it? do you have a mindset of 'this guy wants to hurt me bad, I gotta knock him out before he does it to me'?

kumate_champ07

How did Hendricks beat(unofficially) GSP? that doesnt make sense to me, 1 guy is an expert in many disciplines, the other is a great wrestler with bad but effective boxing, he leaves himself open alot, what am I not seeing here?

Dtp1979

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

How did Hendricks beat(unofficially) GSP? that doesnt make sense to me, 1 guy is an expert in many disciplines, the other is a great wrestler with bad but effective boxing, he leaves himself open alot, what am I not seeing here?

There's a whole looonnnnggg thread about it here on boards

darced

This post has been deleted.

Richy06

Don't overthink it, dude. Go to a local, reputable club and start training and see where you are after a year or so.

califano

Yeah go to a local as soon as possible. Its either going to go one way or the other once your eyes water when you get a blow to the nose. But i have a good feeling about you. Seems to be great camaraderie about these places which will be a major pull in keeping you at it.

Xlami

http://fighthounds.com/mma/the-curious-case-of-yoel-romero-age-in-mma/

Our latest article on age in MMA

darced

This post has been deleted.

Chairman Meow

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

couldnt belive Dan Severn was still competing up untill recently, first time I saw mma was on the Wrestling channel a freeview Sky channel maybe 10 years ago. tho the fights they showed were 7-10 yrs old, only realised from the haircuts later on!

Ken Shamrock(younger bro?) won in Pride after less than a year of mostly wrestling training, thats pretty amazing, tho it could have been fixed, IDK
I like the UFC during the Marc Coleman era before kneeing on the ground was banned, seemed more raw. now its very technical which is great but its lost a little bit of what made it so unique

Im good on the diet and recovery aspects, only thing Im not sure of is the actual fighting. I like to watch the fights, Ill fight if Im in danger(my life, not my pride), I love the training, but to try beat up another guy as sport is a little foreign to me. I could hesitate thinking the opponent is finished and I dont want to hurt him further, then he takes advantage and beats me.

how do naturally 'soft' people do it? do you have a mindset of 'this guy wants to hurt me bad, I gotta knock him out before he does it to me'?

I gave MMA training a bash an im 34. Im relatively fit. The actual training part of the MMA i bloody loved, it was great craic and an awesome workout and everyone at the gym was fairly sound. Sadly for me i found out that i didnt really enjoy getting the odd clatter in the face (im too pretty you see) during sparring however and have since retired from my short lived career I guess what im saying is if youre decently fit like i am then the training should be fine for you, but it all boils down to: do you mind getting actually punched in the face??

kumate_champ07

Richy06 wrote: »

Don't overthink it, dude. Go to a local, reputable club and start training and see where you are after a year or so.

I know what your saying but I like to be as educated as possible on a subject I will partake in.
right now there are only 2 things holding me back.

Im a heavyweight, heavyweights get hid harder, I have to be careful with concussions. I dont mind being hit hard or knocked out(obviously I dont want to be!) but how will that effect me later on. it might sound silly but this worries me. but it doesnt have to be a factor depending on how involved in the sport I get. so this isnt so much an issue right now, its just something to be careful with


I dont want cauliflower ears or a Mickey Rourke face! I understand the appeal to some guys with the 'fighter ears' but I would like to preserve my facial features. it's not vanity, Id like to get back into acting again in the future and wouldnt want to be typecast as a thug/henchman etc

kumate_champ07

califano wrote: »

Yeah go to a local as soon as possible. Its either going to go one way or the other once your eyes water when you get a blow to the nose. But i have a good feeling about you. Seems to be great camaraderie about these places which will be a major pull in keeping you at it.

yep that would be good for me. another thing I really love about the sport is youre on your own in the ring, nobody there to share the load, its heart,mind and body.

I just watched the recent Mir Vrs Barnett fight and didnt like the ugly side of the sport Barnett showed, he would have kept beating the other guy even if he was unconscious. the ref definitely stopped it to early, could have waited a few more seconds to see if Mir was defending himself. maybe its the fact they are older the ref doesnt want them getting too many unnecessary strikes to the head.

I love seeing a fighter pull a punch when he knows the other guy is hurt and finished, something very special about that in a fighting sport

El Guapo!

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I know what your saying but I like to be as educated as possible on a subject I will partake in.
right now there are only 2 things holding me back.

Im a heavyweight, heavyweights get hid harder, I have to be careful with concussions. I dont mind being hit hard or knocked out(obviously I dont want to be!) but how will that effect me later on. it might sound silly but this worries me. but it doesnt have to be a factor depending on how involved in the sport I get. so this isnt so much an issue right now, its just something to be careful with


I dont want cauliflower ears or a Mickey Rourke face! I understand the appeal to some guys with the 'fighter ears' but I would like to preserve my facial features. it's not vanity, Id like to get back into acting again in the future and wouldnt want to be typecast as a thug/henchman etc

To be honest, you're getting way ahead of yourself. The best advice you can take is just go and train and see how you get on. Don't plan your future ufc career before you've even set foot into a gym.

Mellor

I replied to this originally but it got lost with the reset.

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

30 yrs of age starting training, too old to reach competive level?

This depends on what you considered a competitive level.
You aren't going to make a UFC, or any other international promotion.
If you train really hard, and get lucky with movements coming naturally you might make a national level show eventually, but could also be just out of your reach.
You could definitely make it regional level if you put in the work. This will take a few years of course.
You could compete (and be competitive), at an amateur level in MMA, or compete in BJJ (if that interests you) by xmas or next summer.

I imagine you mean to compete on a pro/semi-pro level on a smaller card. If so, thats completely achievable at 30 imo.

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

Im a heavyweight, heavyweights get hid harder, I have to be careful with concussions. I dont mind being hit hard or knocked out(obviously I dont want to be!) but how will that effect me later on. it might sound silly but this worries me. but it doesnt have to be a factor depending on how involved in the sport I get. so this isnt so much an issue right now, its just something to be careful with

How heavy are you?
You will be competing against people on a similar level. An HW amateur isn't going to be throwing out cow killing punches.
More importantly, you'll be wearing headgear for all your sparring. You could easily go a year+ without getting punched in the face without protection.
you'll know then if its for you or not, or even if you want to continue as a hobby

I dont want cauliflower ears or a Mickey Rourke face! I understand the appeal to some guys with the 'fighter ears' but I would like to preserve my facial features. it's not vanity, Id like to get back into acting again in the future and wouldn't want to be typecast as a thug/henchman etc

Cauli-ears come from grappling mostly. It's preventable by wearing ear protectors in training. An occasional swell might happen during comp, but draining it and a short break will prevent it being permanent.
One reason a lot of top fighters have them is they decide to train on as they don't care about it. Some even consider it a badge of honor.

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

yep that would be good for me. another thing I really love about the sport is youre on your own in the ring, nobody there to share the load, its heart,mind and body.

I just watched the recent Mir Vrs Barnett fight and didnt like the ugly side of the sport Barnett showed, he would have kept beating the other guy even if he was unconscious. the ref definitely stopped it to early, could have waited a few more seconds to see if Mir was defending himself. maybe its the fact they are older the ref doesnt want them getting too many unnecessary strikes to the head.

I love seeing a fighter pull a punch when he knows the other guy is hurt and finished, something very special about that in a fighting sport

kumate_champ07

Mellor wrote: »

I replied to this originally but it got lost with the reset.


This depends on what you considered a competitive level.
You aren't going to make a UFC, or any other international promotion.
If you train really hard, and get lucky with movements coming naturally you might make a national level show eventually, but could also be just out of your reach.
You could definitely make it regional level if you put in the work. This will take a few years of course.
You could compete (and be competitive), at an amateur level in MMA, or compete in BJJ (if that interests you) by xmas or next summer.

I imagine you mean to compete on a pro/semi-pro level on a smaller card. If so, thats completely achievable at 30 imo.


How heavy are you?
You will be competing against people on a similar level. An HW amateur isn't going to be throwing out cow killing punches.
More importantly, you'll be wearing headgear for all your sparring. You could easily go a year+ without getting punched in the face without protection.
you'll know then if its for you or not, or even if you want to continue as a hobby



Cauli-ears come from grappling mostly. It's preventable by wearing ear protectors in training. An occasional swell might happen during comp, but draining it and a short break will prevent it being permanent.
One reason a lot of top fighters have them is they decide to train on as they don't care about it. Some even consider it a badge of honor.

national level. I take sport seriously, it has to be fun still, but I try to get to the top.

Im 6ft 3 @ 110kg, I doubt I could drop down below 100kg, Im very comfortable at 105(have been up to 130kg but no cardio). have never broken any bones, just chipped elbows. joints are holding up well

so I just take care of my own ears, or I get looked after at the gym?


wheres a good place to get the tight shorts with the flexible cup attachment?

best gumshield available at the moment?

Stillweak

Kumate, I want to start working on bikes.
Should I worry if I will ever become a Tour de France machanic?
Should I panic that my bikes won't be as light or fast as somebody else's?

You are not going to get punched in the face on the first night. Not for months in fact and not till the coach and yourself feel you are ready.
Just go somewhere and see what happens.
You might love it, you might hate it. You may take a fight one day. You may switch to straight bjj or boxing.
Thinking about it will get you nowhere.
I hope you get started and enjoy it.

califano

Well kumate_champ07 did you ever take training up in the end?.

kumate_champ07

Im starting in september, my race season began last week so Im busy with that until then. should be down 10kg by end of summer, and will decide how much more I need to drop over the next year.

CM24

Travis Browne started training at 27, with no previous martial arts experience. He's now 31 and one of the top ranked heavyweights in the UFC.

Brock Lesnar started training at 28 or 29, was 30 when he made his UFC debut and became champion soon after.

Jon Jones got into the UFC within 4 months of his very first fight.

These are the exceptions of course and it's most likely that you won't make it to a high level, but it's possible.

Mellor

Jon Jones was a standout wrestler all through school. And a state wrestling champion.
Brock Lesnar was undefeated as a high school senior. NCAA div 1 champion, two time All-American etc.

It's pretty bizarre to ignore that and suggest they just took it up before their UFC career's started.

Fair enough with Brown. He spent his life getting into fights and it took very little training to get winning record going.

CM24

OP could be like GSP and go from having no wrestling background to outwrestling Josh Koscheck and the likes. I believe in you OP.

kumate_champ07

CM24 wrote: »

OP could be like GSP and go from having no wrestling background to outwrestling Josh Koscheck and the likes. I believe in you OP.

ha thanks!

Dtp1979

If your only 30 now and you say it takes you 3 years to get really good at a sport, then 33 isn't old at all. You won't make it in the ufc but could do well all the same. Staying in good shape, train hard and you'd learn a lot BJJ wrestling and stand up in 3-4 years

CM24

It's an awful pity they got rid of TRT. I'm only 25 which is fairly late to be starting. But then in my head I was thinking ''Be grand, I'll just jump on the TRT when I reach my thirties and be good as new.''

Damn Vitor and his highlight reel knockouts.

califano

CM24 wrote: »

It's an awful pity they got rid of TRT. I'm only 25 which is fairly late to be starting. But then in my head I was thinking ''Be grand, I'll just jump on the TRT when I reach my thirties and be good as new.''

Damn Vitor and his highlight reel knockouts.

Wat?

kumate_champ07

CM24 wrote: »

It's an awful pity they got rid of TRT. I'm only 25 which is fairly late to be starting. But then in my head I was thinking ''Be grand, I'll just jump on the TRT when I reach my thirties and be good as new.''

Damn Vitor and his highlight reel knockouts.

25 is still a great age for sports, the key to optimal natural testosterone levels are 8-10hrs sleep, good fats and low body fat(not very low, 10-12% is fine), proper mineral and vitamin intake, tough training and good rest/recovery. get all of them right and you will boost your levels more than the average man.

not sure what age Dan Severn declined in performance, he still fought in his mid 40's but he was an excellent wrestler, eventually youth beats experienced with their raw power

wasnt Travis Browne a pro basketball player? all of these older guys where pros in other sports so know whats involved getting to a certain fitness level ,

basketball can actually be rough, taller guys play under the boards where you fight for position using your hips/ass('boxing out'), then you have the explosiveness getting the loose ball and quick reaction finding a free man or going for a score while others swarm around you. theres alot of footwork involved too, quick changes, faking left/right etc

the footballers usually played defense, or might have done some wrestling in highschool.

cant think of any other sports that some of the late starters came from

CM24

Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian were both high level soccer players before focusing on MMA.

Dtp1979

Ye That's why they have great leg kicks :rolleyes:

CM24 wrote: »

Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian were both high level soccer players before focusing on MMA.

whitelightrider

Im 36 and still competing in Karate. We also do a lot of MMA training, which I know is only within the club, but still gives an insight into whats required. Injuries do take longer to heal and you have to be more careful regarding stretches, etc.
Diet is hugely important, as is hydration.
Id be interested to hear what people eat when training and what supps you guys are taking.

darced

This post has been deleted.

Dtp1979

darced wrote: »

Every single football player of either code that I have held pads for has had significantly harder kicks than anyone else.

It might just be coincidence but I tend to believe there is something behind that theory.

Your probably right in fairness

Mellor

darced wrote: »

Every single football player of either code that I have held pads for has had significantly harder kicks than anyone else.

It might just be coincidence but I tend to believe there is something behind that theory.

I'd be inclined to agree.
The mechanics of the kick might be different, but the power from the hip and the hip mobility will be a huge advantage of a beginner with no exp. Goldie obv goes over the top though.

FWIW I'd expect a top gymnast to take to kicks pretty well.

JohnMc1

CM24 wrote: »

It's an awful pity they got rid of TRT. I'm only 25 which is fairly late to be starting. But then in my head I was thinking ''Be grand, I'll just jump on the TRT when I reach my thirties and be good as new.''

Damn Vitor and his highlight reel knockouts.

There will always be something new. First there was steroids, then there was HGH, now its TRT. Next year it will be something else.

kumate_champ07

JohnMc1 wrote: »

There will always be something new. First there was steroids, then there was HGH, now its TRT. Next year it will be something else.

they are all illegal tho. TRT users still had to be tested, but they'd taper off coming up to competition to get levels to average.

you can have amazing cardio in your late 30's, power will go down tho

kumate_champ07

Mellor wrote: »

I'd be inclined to agree.
The mechanics of the kick might be different, but the power from the hip and the hip mobility will be a huge advantage of a beginner with no exp. Goldie obv goes over the top though.

FWIW I'd expect a top gymnast to take to kicks pretty well.

Joe Rogan mentioned that last year during a fight, it makes sense even tho soccer is pretty tame which gives the impression that it couldnt be an advantage for a fighter!

if you think about the skill needed to strike a ball at an exact point with an exact amount of force it makes sense that it would translate to being good at using your feet/shins as weapons!

Mellor

JohnMc1 wrote: »

There will always be something new. First there was steroids, then there was HGH, now its TRT. Next year it will be something else.

TRT and steroids aren't different substances.