Getting Started

"It is spiritless to think that you cannot attain that which you have seen and heard the masters attain. The masters are men. You are also a man. If you think that you will be inferior in doing something, you will be on that road very soon".

From Hagakure("In the Shadow of Leaves") by Samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo 1658-1719

Martial Arts is not about starting fights or intimidating people, yes you will learn to defend yourself, but a true Martial Artist seeks to avoid conflict and practices to develop his or her skills always striving to improve towards enlightenment, when the Art becomes second nature.
Regular practice in a Martial Art will not only teach you self defence it will teach self dicipline and improve your fitness and flexibility. Conversly improved fitness will greatly improve your Martial Arts skills. I would always recomend joining a Martial Arts club, visit all the ones in your area, watch a lesson or join in ,many clubs offer a first lesson free. But for us un-confident overweight overforty-somethings we need a Martial Arts based fitness routine to get us started. If you havn't excercised for a long time or you have a medical condition talk to your G.P. first.

Always warm up and gently stretch out the muscles you are about to use.

It's not easy at our age to walk into a training hall full of fit looking strangers so I suggest that before you take up your chosen Martial Art you do some fitness basics to improve confidence and rediscover those muscles that you've forgotten about. Running or jogging is great, if you can do it, but it does have disadvantages for the mature martial artist. Running on the street can cause impact damage to the ankle, knee and hip joints; running the gauntlet of “mickey taking” kids is not fun, and going out late undercover of darkness is potentially dangerous and puts us at risk of bringing home dog mess on our trainers!
There are a great many fitness products on the market to tempt our ever shrinkng wallets but I can definitely recommend the following:

Treadmill	Excercycle	Eliptical	Stepper	Rower	Step

TIP:

When using machines to exercise, start off gently to warm up, when warm get off and gently stretch the muscles you are going to use and get back on. Always vary the intencity and resistance during the session for best results. Always stretch afterwards.

TIP:

If you get bored easily try putting your machine in front of the T.V. You can get 30 minutes of exercise per soap episode. As your fitness improves you could watch real programmes and even movies (not Gone with the Wind, unless you know a paramedic).

Another good way to start getting fit is to use a fittness D.V.D./video. There are hundreds to choose from but read the information on the box first and bewary of the celebrity ones, but if your favorite soap star or sports hero inspires you to get moving then go for it !
For a more serious Martial Arts based workout I strongly recommend two methods founded by two proven martial artists who now work full time in the fitness industry. Firstly, and aimed at beginers upwards, is"Tae-Bo" [1] developed by Billy Blanks a Black Belt in six martial arts, a seven times World Champion at Karate, and holder of close to forty Gold Medals in International competition.There is a whole range of workouts available to choose from varying in cardiovasculer intencity, or targetting those troublesome body areas; and for thode of us with little time there is usualy a short session included.If you still have a V.C.R. Tae-Bo tapes can be bought in Charity Shops for as little as 20 pence!
The second method I can recommend is"budokon" [2] by Cameron Shayne an experienced martial artist with Black Belts in Taekwondo and Yoshukai Karate and is an instructor in Hatha Yoga. Available in D.V.D. format “budokon, Beginning Practice” includes a Pose guide, a fast paced workout including Yoga leading on to Martial Arts basics ending in some Meditation. There is also a short workout, which is the main workout without the instuction. The great thing about these methods is the fact that as well as helping to get us fit, regular sessions, will improve coordination, balance and teach us to follow instructions which in turn boosts our confidence hopefuly leading to our first steps into the Martial Arts Training hall. So Grasshopper, as a wise man once said “a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.”