Steve James wrote: My point is that "fa jin,"if it is damaging to an elderly person is probably damaging to younger ones.
To some extent it depends upon the individual. Some things aren't harmful to younger people that often are for older people. Older people often lose strength, stamina and flexibility.
The question is why do it? If it is necessary, then wouldn't it be better to find a safe way to do it into old age --when one might need it even more than when one was young?
I'm not an expert in aging and its effects on the body. But, there are some things that are pretty obvious to most people. One is that some things one did when one was younger that weren't detrimental are much more difficult and can be detrimental when one is older. Older people often injure more easily and heal more slowly, generally.
If the goal is martial usage, either fa jin is necessary or not.
What I've been taught and experienced is that there are two sides to a coin. On one side, one has "soft" skills, such as being compliant, control, listening, etc. On the other side, one has "hard" skills, such as punching, kicking, etc. Some individual practitioners are better at or more focused on one side of the coin than the other, or simply prefer one to the other. If one has very well developed "soft" skills, then the hard skills, such as fa jin, are "less" necessary. If one doesn't have well developed soft skills, then "hard" skills are an effective alternative. They aren't the same skills, though there is overlap.
I met one Yang style practitioner who had incredible soft skills. He viewed fa jin as low-level skill, arguing that if he could completely control an opponent, why would he bother hitting him? He could completely control an opponent, particularly non-compliant one's from other martial arts. I've met a Chen practitioner who could do the same. He could also hit like a ton of bricks, if he wanted to. If you have skills in both, it gives you options from which to choose. Otherwise, you use what skills you have be they hard or soft.
One has to ask what the necessity of the parts of the art without fajin? Are they primarily for martial use? If they are not, does that mean they exist for some other reason? Health, qi-cultivation, spiritual reasons? It seems logical that they are better for health (i.e., not inevitably damaging) and can be continued into old age.
See above. Even with fa jin, the idea isn't to hit an immovable opponent so hard that he or she shatters into pieces. It is preceded by controlling the opponent. Once you have that control, you chose how much force to use, a little or a lot. If you can't generate a large force (i.e. fa jin), that isn't an option. You can still accomplish a desirable result with less/small force.
People who are skilled with the "soft" side of the coin control an opponent in such a way as to manipulate the opponent into creating his or her own internal imbalances and tensions. The "kind" skilled practitioner then lets the opponent release those in a way or direction that works against the opponent, such as falling over, bouncing away, jumping back, etc. Another not-so-kind approach is to allow no direction of release, in which case the opponent injures him or herself - often breaking or dislocating something.