Originally Posted by bodhisattva

I'm always telling my guys to train for longevity - meaning - they want to be able to train at 50 years of age as well as they do at 30.

I learned that from some judo guys. They were older guys, still fighting hard, and they were taping up their joints. One looks at me and says "Train for longevity. If you are hurting a finger or toe when you breakfall.. pay attention to it and alter your movement before you hurt it."

Sometimes my guys ask about kicking bamboo trees or using a rolling pin on their shins. I tell them I think its foolish - personally speaking. I've heard it leads to arthritis and don't know if it's tree - but it seems overly traumatic in the long run.

Kicking some stiff thai pads is conditioning enough.

It's mostly not about the sport you train in, but in how you train it.

Train for longevity. Use your brain to make your body (and your brain) last longer. Warm up. Stretch while warm. Ease up on trauma to the head, joints and ligaments. Take it easy.

Train hard, but don't break the body. Just bend it some.