by Andy_S on Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:49 pm
These are all good questions.
Personally, I think if you train as hard as the old masters did (ie hours daily) you are DEFINITELY going to injure yourself structurally unless your technique is perfect. Masters being masters, they may well have had perfect technique; for us mortals, this seems unlikely. For this reason, biomechanical structure is my key interest in training these days.
Likewise, if you do a lot of sparring, you are DEFINITELY going to pick up impact injuries. The question is whether your rest and treatment allows these to heal; if not, they will become chronic.
At 43, I believe (increasingly) in moderation and a broad exercise regimen, rather than focus on only one area (weights, MA, running, etc). Certainly, one's diet and environment is also a factor. If Yang Lu-chan trained like a madman but
(1) Had perfect technique,
(2) Ate quality, natural food sans the myriad additives we all have to live with;
(3) Lived in an environment without much air pollution and
(4) had good genetics, then he may well have kicked and flipped till his 90s.
It is worth remembering that we have much better medical conditions and wider nutritional and exercise choices than the old generation. I often think, however, that medical science concentrates too much on fixing symptoms not causes. That having been said, the fact that so many senior members of this very board have had to have replacement surgery is cause for concern: I am not arrogant enough to consider my technique structurally better than theirs.
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