I turned 55 at the beginning of October. I never had a thought that I would last this long,  but here we are.

As fate would have it, someone read an old post that I wrote when I turned 42, and in it, I wrote my thoughts on being an aging martial artist. I will revisit the topic today. Being the aging kung fu legend* that I am, it is my hope that some of you youngsters will be a little more kind to your body than I was to mine.

For years, my right knee was my bad knee, and my left knee was my worse knee. Today, those roles are reversed. I currently have bursitis in both knees, but my right knee is also undergoing quadricep tendinitis. NSAIDS did nothing, and the pain was getting to me (which generally means a lesser man would have died).

Every kung fu person is familiar with a Chinese medicine called dit da jow. It is typically used for bruises, but it does have some pain relieving virtues. I smelled like the stuff throughout my young life, but I haven’t really used it since I left TKD. I broke down and bought some this past week. I’m glad I did! It hasn’t eliminated the pain, but the swelling is almost gone, and I am able to make it through the day now. Albeit both knees are held together right now with dit da jow and elastic bandages. Whatever it takes, right?

I am currently medically prohibited from sparring and ground fighting, the two things that I was best at and truly enjoyed. But the fact is my neck and back are so bad that both sparring and grappling carry a real risk of paralysis and I have a family to provide for, priorities mean I have to follow my doctor’s advice.

I do still work out. My workouts are nothing like they used to be. The warmup starts slow and takes longer than when I was younger. Stretching is slow, but more important than ever. The bulk of the workout is forms, alternating between empty hands and weapons. When possible, I love to work on the heavy bag, too.

I also study and train tactical firearms. And the times when I can spend part of a day at the range does more for my mind, from a therapeutic perspective than any session of sparring or grappling could ever do.  So, I’m in a good place.

All of the times that I came back from injuries without properly healing haunts every day and night. I constantly warn students to sit out as long as it takes when they are injured. I wouldn’t wish my pain on anyone. The pain in my right ankle, both knees, both hips, my lower back, and neck never stops entirely. So, listen up, young’uns, someday you will be old. When you get old, every poor decision, every injury that you don’t allow to heal, they pile up, and there is a toll to pay, and it will be paid. Ignoring pain doesn’t mean you are tough. It’s actually kinda stupid. Those are mistakes that are at the top of my “if I had a do-over, I would change” list.

There you have it. Lessons from ol’ Sifu at Large, the original Aging Kung Fu Legend.  To be fair, I was constantly surrounded by older martial artists who gave young me the same advice,  and I didn’t listen either. It is still worth the attempt to help the young’uns find an easier path.

Take care of yourself and each other.

• Aging kung fu legend is a character I developed to annoy the kung fu people who feel  a sense of entitlement because of who they learned from. I really have no delusions about my status in the martial arts.