"You are never too old to set another goal, or to dream a new dream." That's a quote by C.S. Lewis. If you haven't heard of old Clive, then it's likely that you at least know one of his greatest works, The Chronicles of Narnia. He was also an Oxford professor, whose best friend was J.R.R. Tolkien.
Anyway, I saw his quote and I knew I had to write about it. You see, his quote is the way I try to live my life! I want to be active my entire life, and the best way to do that is to set goals. I try not to let my age stand in my way from doing anything I want to do. I may have to modify my technique a little bit, but I firmly believe that any goal is achievable if you put enough effort into it. Here are some examples: Iva Barr is 88 years old. This year, for the 35th-consecutive year, she will be running in the London Marathon. In fact, she ran in the first London Marathon ever held, way back in 1981! Want another example? How about Harriette Thompson? She is the oldest person to ever complete a marathon. She ran in the Rock N Roll San Diego Marathon last year. She finished the race in 7 hours and 24 minutes. She is 92. Age didn't stop them from doing what they wanted to do. Nope! They made plans and carried them out, and achieved their goals. There are two types of people in the world. Those that make do, and those that make excuses. When I go to meet my maker, I don't want there to be any excuses! I also don't want there to be any more regrets. If I want to do something, I find a way to do it. And that's it. I don't care if it takes years of practice, or great physical or mental effort. I set the goal, and then look for ways to accomplish it. Here are two examples. I have always wanted to do a head-high spinning back kick (since I joined karate anyway). I think they look cool and are the type of attack that will catch an opponent off guard. The problem was that I did not have the balance, speed or flexibility to do the kick. A few months ago, I started to practice the kick before the Little Ninjas class I help to teach on Mondays and Thursdays. Before each class, I would practice both spinning kicks and sidekicks on the large free-standing bag at the dojo. At first, I was happy if I could hit the bag a solid shot. The more I practiced, the higher I would try to bring my kicks. At this point I can land a spinning back kick at head level whenever I like. Not only that, but I can also land straight kicks, sidekicks and crescent kicks at that same head level. You see, by practicing for accuracy and flexibility, I improved all of my kicks. After achieving the proper height, I started practicing landing the kicks at that height but with full power. I can now knock the bag over with a spinning back kick on demand. The first time I achieved it, I kicked so hard I pulled my hamstring. I kept practicing anyway, and I am proud to say I can knock it over without hurting myself at all. It was around that time that Shihan told me that Hanshi could knock that same bag over with a punch. For those of you who don't know Hanshi Larry Sullivan, he is 62 years old and is in terrific shape. Hanshi means highest rank, and this man deserves the title and all of the respect it entails. In my opinion. Hanshi is in better shape than anyone who takes his classes. He has professional fighters that he trains that cannot beat him in a match. But I digress, when I heard that he could do that, I wanted to be able to do it too. This is a large heavy bag folks, and most people cannot knock it over with a kick, let alone a punch. Well, I started to punch the bag as hard as I could. At first, I could only make the bag tilt, but not fall over. I kept trying though, and eventually I got it! I have knocked it over with a single punch on three occasions now. I still can't knock it over every time I punch it yet, but I eventually want to be able to do it at will. Although none of these goals will ever have a monetary reward for me, they do give me a deep sense of satisfaction. Looking ahead, I am now training to do better deep long-hold push ups. Usually, when I do push ups I do them quickly and do what amounts to either a half or two-third push up. They are quicker and easier when you are facing hundreds of push ups. Lately, Hanshi has been working us on deep. all the way push ups that we then hold for about 30 seconds. In other words, think of dropping downwards to do your push up, and then stop with your chest about 1 inch above the floor and then hold it there like that for 30 seconds. Let me tell you, those types of push ups are brutal! The other day, I made the mistake of mentioning that I hated those push ups. That is the quickest way, in my opinion, of saying that you need help with something. Hanshi was only happy to oblige, and now we are doing some of those types of push ups in many of the classes I go to. I am now up to doing six of those (after doing a full set of normal push ups). My goal is to get to where I can do a full set of 25 of that type of push up. Who cares that I am fifty! A couple of those deep push ups each night before bed will help me to achieve my goal. At this point, I am thinking I will be able to do it by Christmas. Yikes! At any rate, do not let your age be the deciding factor in what you do or do not want to do. If it is not impossible, you can achieve it, if you want it bad enough and you are willing to work towards doing it every day. You are only here once, folks. Make the most of it!
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