A list of the 6 best martial arts for people over 50 to learn

If you’ve found this article, then the chances are that you’re looking to start a martial art aged 50 or over. Or, you’re looking at martial arts for a friend or relative to start who is growing older. In this case, it’s best to be realistic from the very beginning. Generally, some martial arts can be very hard on the body and are notoriously tough. Put another way, some arts such as Judo, wrestling, and Kyukoshin Karate probably aren’t ideal for an older person to train – at least from scratch.

However, thankfully there’s lots of soft martial arts styles that can also be trained. These are typically less hard on the body and offer longetivity for those looking to train without injuring themselves or causing long-term, chronic pain. So, whilst we can say generally that training martial arts is more of a young persons game, it’s still true that older people can start training too.

Why you shouldn’t train hard when elderly

What’s also worth mentioning is that you may find the odd maverick who does dive in at the deep end later in life and start a hard martial art. This is usually very rare and not encouraged from a health and safety point of view. Before continuing, keep in mind that training some martial arts can put your body at risk – which can cause serious problems when older.

Softer martial arts are often less effective in terms of self defense

As a disclaimer, it should also be known that some of the martial arts listed below aren’t known for their self defense. Instead, they’re probably better to learn from a fitness and exercise perspective. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with this and you may pick up some good fighting techniques here and there, generally if you want to learn realistic stuff, you have to put your body at risk by sparring. This may come as bad news for some, but is at least honest nonetheless.

The best martial arts for people over 50 years old

Aikido

Aikido is known as one of the softest martial arts out there and often involves little sparring. Usually, this involves standing wrist lock submissions that lead into throws. For this, you will need a good forwards roll which is a key part of co-operating with techniques that are taught. Other than this, it doesn’t require too much in terms of athleticism or explosive power.

In fact, if you look around many Aikido dojos, they are often filled with older practitioners. This should be a telling sign that you can train Aikido aged 50 plus. In terms of fitness, this martial art will get your heart rate going and work some lesser-used muscle groups. Whilst Aikido would serve as good exercise for the over 50s, it probably lacks in terms of realism and self-defense. At the same time, it does have some pretty cool submission joint-locks on display.

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Tai Chi

Perhaps the most popular martial art amongst the older generation is Tai Chi. This was once referred to as ‘Kung Fu for the over 40s’ by actor Will Smith. Tai Chi offers very fluid movements by its nature and sometimes looks like standing yoga when it’s being drilled. Like Aikido, there’s often no sparring involved (or it’s done in a very safe, gentle way).

The point of Tai Chi is that it gets your body moving and keeps you flexible. As we all know, aging can damage your joints whereas Tai Chi counter-acts this and will keep you supple. Sadly, Tai Chi suffers from a similar reputation as Aikido and probably won’t offer you much in the way of self defense, but it will at least make your body less stiff and rigid when throwing punches which certainly doesn’t hurt.

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Cane/stick fighting

Whilst not all older people carry canes – many do and they can actually be turned into powerful weapons. Interestingly, cane fighting is a real martial art and as you can imagine, if someone brandishes the correct skills with a heavy cane, they can cause some serious damage. This means being able to hit people over the head with your cane and also using it to defend and block strikes from enemies.

Typically, cane fighting doesn’t use much sparring so you’ll be safe from injury, but it will drill some detailed moves and techniques. On a similar note, you could also train stick fighting techniques such as Kali and Escrima. These will train you to defend against knife attacks and can be quite useful in handling daggers. Obviously, real weapons aren’t used when training but it will expose you to how easily you can die when dealing with blades.

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Japanese Ju Jitsu

Before Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there was Japanese Ju Jitsu. This martial art is based on grappling whilst standing and like Aikido, it also offers submissions that blend into throws. However, typically Japanese Ju Jitsu offers a broader curriculum that isn’t as focused on the wrists.

In short, Japanese Ju Jitsu can be quite a soft martial art that is great fun. Sometimes it will also dabble with the use of weapons and even look at strikes. This means it’s more broad and rounded compared to some of the aforementioned disciplines on this list. It also acts as a nice entry into Judo and similar martial arts.

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Kendo

Unlike stickfighting martial arts, Kendo is based on heavier weapons that need both hands to hold due to weight. Originally, Kendo was inspired by samurai warriors who would use katana swords to fight. Of course, this would be incredibly dangerous to practice with so that’s why they’re replaced with blunt, wooden swords instead.

What’s more, Kendo is practiced with a protective suit which means injuries are very rare. As well, the rules of Kendo mean that you can’t lunge with your weapon either, which further adds to its safety. This means that Kendo is not only very fun but safe. It can also push your body in terms of exercise as its sparring uses a combination of muscles and cardio.

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Why boxing (without sparring) is possibly the best martial art for over 50s

So far, most of the previously mentioned martial arts will improve your health and teach you a cool skill. However, many of them fail in offering real techniques that can be used in self defense. This is where boxing comes in – as it can be trained in a safe, friendly environment whilst also turning you into a skilled fighter. If you train at boxing gyms, then you’ll sometimes see an old timer who has impeccable technique. These guys may look unassuming, yet still get to work when training.

In other words, boxing can act as the perfect martial art for those over 50. Here, you can train on the bag to increase power, with a partner (without hard shots) to increase sharpness, and also use shadow boxing to help your cardio. By doing this, you could seriously improve your punching power and ability to dodge, whilst also not threatening to ruin your body. As a result, when it comes to training over 50, boxing is the best.

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Conclusion

Overall, there are a few martial arts that you can get into when you’re older. These don’t require you to be massively athletic or hugely dedicated either. Of course, everyone in the gym should also be helpful and respectful towards older people starting out. Also, these have been picked so they don’t harm the body in the long-term.

As said, some of these disciplines may be too soft compared to others – however it depends on your preference and what you want from training. Having said this, as seen with boxing, you can still grow into a skilled martial artist if you pick the right niche and train smartly. Finally, just remember not to go too hard in the gym. Sometimes ego can take over and people do stupid things which isn’t good for anyone.