Beginner Early days
Honestly not to sure why I'm writing this, if I want advice or reassurance or just to vent my thoughts but here we go . . .
So I'm 41, over 300lbs
And at the start of my karate journey, I've got recent experience in lifting and because of this I have a genuinely decent strength base and engine.
But my mobility sucks, I struggle with getting down on my knees to bow, I find the basics and line work ok. I'm no stranger to squats, olympic lifts etc etc. so I'm finding learning the basic kicks ok
But I'm not light on my feet, I don't bounce etc etc
I look at the rest of the class and the higher grades and there is a part of me that just thinks physically it's impossible for me to get there. At the moment my Gi jacket doesn't even close.
I'm determined to stick it out, but it's slowly dawning on me what an uphill battle I've got.
If anyone out there overcome the same I'd love to hear about it
2
u/Boyscout0071 Isshinryu 4d ago
Bro you got this. I'm older than you and heavier than you, when I was 20 I was like greased lightning, now I'm older and considerably heavier my game has changed, be kind to yourself and warm up slowly and thoroughly, I use a static bike with the elliptical arms for minimum 20 mins before class and I do hip rotation, trunk rotation and some very light stretches before hand (stretch properly after class when you are very warm and also yoga on your off days is a fantastic recovery ( I do DDPY, that was what built resilience for my return to Karate). As previous posters have mentioned you don't need to bounce, distance and timing your work is far more important, and your Karate is YOUR Karate, you move different than me, even in Kata you will see people move slightly to a different beat or cadence as suits them. Also reps help, basic Kihon is the foundation of everything, rep, rep, rep.
You got this.