Karate is the ideal sport for older people.
This is what Otto Hagmann (69) and Irmtraud Schugardt (67) say, who started in May at the Taikikan studio in Gosbach and now have their white belts.
THOMAS FRIEDRICH
"Now we're going to do balance exercises," dictates karate instructor and studio owner Fiore Tartaglia. His two students, dressed entirely in white, extend their hands forward. Then they alternately raise their left knee to their left hand and their right knee to their right. After contact with the hand, the leg slowly moves outward. Gradually, the whole thing becomes reminiscent of karate. The man and woman lead the way, their left leg and right fist forward, then their right leg and left fist, followed by a lightning-fast spin around their own axis. "I keep forgetting how good you are," the instructor praises.
His pupils only started training in May, but you can't really call them karate kids. Otto Hagmann is 69, his cousin Irmtraud Schugardt is 67. When Hagmann started, Tartaglia recalls, he "couldn't even keep his balance on one leg for a second."
For older men whose bones hurt all over
Hagmann succumbed to the temptation of his grandchildren, who raved about karate training in Gosbach and pointed out that Tartaglia, at his studio, "Karate-Dojo Taikikan," also enjoys working with people over 60. Before that, the Hausen resident hadn't participated in any sport for 49 years. In the karate studio, he is now experiencing "a different kind of exercise than just walking." His cousin, after all, gained her first experience with Far Eastern concentration and movement exercises through the almost disembodied practice of Qi Gong.
Now they've both found their sport. It's "ideal for older men whose bones hurt all over," says the 69-year-old. He should have had his injured shoulder operated on long ago – since he started karate, all the pain has disappeared, and the surgery has been postponed indefinitely. And Hagmann can enjoy his hobby even more than before. On his motorcycle, he's "no longer so stiff" on the saddle and can "corner much faster." Thanks to karate, he's "looseer in the hips" and no longer has to "constantly fear falling off." Hagmann has been riding a motorcycle for 18 years, and only now is it really fun.
The two-year-younger native from Unterböhringen was inspired first by her cousin and then by Tartaglia's enthusiasm. She appreciates more than just the physical demands of her new sport. Karate requires concentration and a high level of attention, thus challenging the mind as well. "The synapses fire up," says Schugardt, not entirely biologically accurate.
The feel-good effect is unbeatable. After training, the 67-year-old feels physically and mentally "in a better place" than she's ever experienced "with any other sport." Her cousin only regrets not having started karate much earlier. He would have had the one hour a week "to spare 20 years ago."
They passed their first belt test and now wear white. The yellow belt test is scheduled for April, and Tartaglia has no doubt that his protégés will change their belt color in the spring.
Irmtraud Schugardt already feels a bit more confident walking alone on the street than before. For Hagmann, his newly acquired karate skills make no difference. "Nobody ever hurt me before," says the Hausen resident. That's certainly not going to change now.
The older, the more karate
Age: “The older you are, the better you can fight,” says coach Fiore Tartaglia, quoting an old karate saying and providing the reasoning behind it.
Children go to karate training “because it’s fun or because their mother forces them.”
30-40-year-olds go there “because they want to improve their fitness or be able to defend themselves better.”
Older people do karate,
"to improve their quality of life. They repeat the exercises at home multiple times until they can do them in their sleep. They enjoy controlling their bodies; and they know they don't have much time for it anymore."
Here is the original article:
When the synapses jump
