Muscle memory?

All right lets cut to the chase. I'm into martials, but my parents don't have extra money to send me anywhere and I don't have a job, so I'm wondering when muscle memory gets considerably stubborn. I know the older you get, it becomes harder to learn new things so I want to know when it will get very stubborn so I know when start. I'm almost 15 and the style I'm intending to learn is wing chun or jeet kune do. So when does the muscle get stubborn?

Muscle memory?
You will be fine at your age and have plenty of time, no worries
Reply:It starts right away. Muscle memory is: when your muscle gets use to doing something. Like if you only stretch to a certain point over and over. Then later you try to go further, it is very difficult. Another good example of that is with push-ups. If you do 100 everyday for a year, then one day you decide you want to see how many you can do. Once you hit 100 your muscles are pretty much done. So this starts right away.


Good luck with your studies!
Reply:Stubborn muscles? Interesting concept. Never heard of it, and I've been in the fitness and martial arts industries for more than 20 years.





If it helps any, I have more than 50 students over the age of 35, and none of them have complained about "stubborn muscles." Their muscle memory has developed at the right pace, just as expected. The only problem is that these students tend to think too much, not trusting their muscle memory. I have to continually tell them to listen to their bodies, to let their arms/legs do what they're trying to do instead of stopping them and thinking over what the next move should be.





So if you are asking when is too old to develop muscle memory, I've yet to see someone of that age. I don't have any students over the age of 60 though, so there's always that possibility.
Reply:It is true what the othes are saying: muscle memory has no age limit. Muscle strength and flexibility do however, If you don't keep yourself fit and exercised then your muscles will begin to weaken as early as 25, however, at that age, you would still have plenty of time to fix them. I would have to say late 40s early 50s, if you are already out of shape, would be the absolutely worst time to begin exercise/martial arts, because many of those muscles will just never be as healthy as they could be. But then again, I'm 22, so I am only hazarding an educated guess (my father is 46 and at least as fit as I am, but has trained since he was 13).





Now, as for learning martial arts with little to no money I can help you, for I was there myself once: if you get an allowance, save it! Or if no allowance, knock on your neighbors doors and ask them if they have any chores they'd be willing to pay you to do for them, like mowing the lawn, etc. ( I did this one a lot, you can make really good money depending on how far you go. 4 blocks away? They're still neighbors!) Just save until you have 50 bucks (or more if you want to get several videos. I also recommend buying at least one punching bag at some point, to have something "solid" to practice your techniques on). That is enough to buy a single (sometimes 2) martial arts training dvd online and cover shipping and all. Buy the first video in a set of videos teaching Wing Chun (which I am currently learning both in studio and on video, good choice BTW). Watch this video over and over again and listen carefully to the instructions, and if there are no instructions,(sometimes these videos just have a teacher performing the techniques) then you can still mimic the teacher. Practice in front of a mirror until you do the moves identical to the person on the tape, it helps if you buy a dvd and slow-mo the video to take your time in learning the techniques. When you are just starting do the moves slowly to ensure you aren't making any mistakes (this also helps your muscles to remember the motions better), and then speed up as you memorize them. Wing Chun is a great martial art to learn from video because it is direct and structured, the more "flowing" and "graceful" martial arts (like wushu kung fu) are very difficult to learn from video. A good video training set is taught buy a guy called "Randy Williams," he has something like 15 videos all on every aspect of Wing Chun, which is rare. Often you will find sets of like 3 or 4 by one teacher, this one instructor has 15! (dvd too) And he knows his stuff. Go to www.superfoots.com, or do a google search for Unique Publications, (they're the guys that sell his videos). Wing Chun was the first martial art Bruce Lee trained in (outside of his home anyway) adn he used it in all of his Jeet Kune Do classes, up until the day he died. On a side note, if you decide to learn Jeet Kune Do, research the names of Bruce Lee's original students and either learn from a video made by one of those original students, or learn at a studio taught by one of those original student's protege's, because there is a lot of SH*T out there with the words "Jeet Kune Do" slapped onto it. People claiming to have met Bruce Lee, or to be distant relatives of Bruce Lee, etc. Just be careful, and good luck.
Reply:You have nothing to worry about. Muscle memory has nothing to do with strength. By practicing the same movements over a period of time you begin to think about the movements less and the brain sends its signals to the muscles without you having to think about the action you want the body to do. For example, babies concentrate on how to move their legs and balance correctly to be able to walk. After a while the baby doesn't need to spend as much energy on walking because the brain has memorized how to walk and takes over.
Reply:You should be fine.
Reply:What I would suggest is to go and speak to a Wing Chun or JKD school and talk to them, say that you are really keen to learn but that you don't have much money, if you have an allowence tell them how much you can afford to pay and that you are willing to work for them to pay for the rest of your training. They may or may not be willing to help you or might recomend a student of theirs that might be willing to help you learn for a reduced amount or maybe even free if you're super lucky.





One thing that you must be though is diligent, if they do help you out then you must train hard and stick with it to repay them for their faith in you.
Reply:Unless you experience a major injury, what they call "muscle memory" will never go away.





Now. as far as training with no money, many of us went through this and you already have some suggestions. I did this myself. My first classes at the YMCA were free. Eventually my teacher gave me an old GI that he picked up somewhere.





Approach the schools in your area in person. Tell it like it is. You have no money but would very much like to learn. You are willing to be the janitor, wash cars, or any other work in exchange for your training.





I have been in the gym business for more than 20 years now and we always have someone like this working for us. Expect to get some really crappy jobs at first, but this is just to test your commitment. We would start you out cleaning the hair and other nasties from the drain in the locker room, scrubbing the steam room and sauna, and washing towels. I also remember sweeping a gigantic parking lot when I was your age in the same situation.





You might get 9 "No" answers, but stick with it. You only need one "Yes". As you progress the chores set out for you will get easier. For me it lead to a career in the business.





Good Luck.

wallflower