YASUHIRO KONISHI – TEACHING KARATE IN HIS 90s

Why is Konishi Sensei (who, after all, died in 1983 aged 90) saluted here? I took this photo in 1982 in Sensei’s dojo in Tokyo. He was still teaching class – kendo and karate – clad in his favorite Hawaiian shirt. I can personally testify that it was impossible to touch him in sparring and he could still throw a big man (I am 6 foot 4) to the ground with scarcely a muscle moved. Konishi trained at his chosen art – both body and mind – his entire life and reaped the rewards.

Yasuhiro Konishi, who was born in 1893 in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan, began his martial arts training at age 6 in Muso Ryu Jujitsu. At age 13, while practicing jujitsu, Konishi Sensei began studying kendo as well. In September, 1924, Hironishi Ohtsuka, the founder of the Wado-Ryu style of karate, and Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of mainstream Shotokan karate arrived at Konishi's door. With his help Funakoshi established a karatee club at Keio University (the first university karate club in Japan). Thereafter karate expanded to the world-wide activity it is today with Konishi Sensei playing a central role in its development, eventually founding a unique style embodying the best of karate, jujitsu and aikido – Shindo Jinen Ryu. For more on this unique style of karate and details of Yasuhiro Konishi’s life check the link on the right of this page.

Muscle strength in adults ages 40 to 80

As you age you lose muscle. The technical term is “sarcopenia”, the loss of muscle mass that occurs naturally — and inevitably — with age. Sarcopenia loses a fifth of a pound of muscle a year, from ages 25 to 50, and then the rate of loss picks up, subsequently taking up to a pound of muscle a year, a loss a man is unlikely to notice until it's too late.

This is a critical reason for considering resistance (another less painful name for weight) training as you get older. Research into this subject is excellently described in a Special Report called “Fight Age with Muscle” by John Brandt (check out the post on our THINK FIT page and the link to msn's Health and Fitrness site) and provides a powerful set of reasons to get in the gym and start sweating!

PS: The heads up for this post was provided by Eddie Vernon (see FIT PEOPLE)

THE TOUGHEST GUY

This is James Bastin. He's not over 50 (for sure!) but he's going into this blog anyway.

James was hit in the head by a taxi when he was 20 in 2005. He was in a coma and then severe post traumatic amnesia for about nine months. He suffered several brain operations including removal and replacement of his skull. When this photo was taken he still could not talk or see properly. In 2007 James passed his 800 metres swimming test; he runs and works out. This young man literally came back from the dead. He is the toughest (mentally and physically) person I know. If you feel you can't do it, think about James and never give up!

EDDIE VERNON - CYCLING IN ASIA

Eddie Vernon - by way of introduction Eddie is one of my closest friends and one of the fittest guys around irrespective of age. He runs his own businesses in Thailand and Laos and combines them with a competitive cycling career. Here's his profile:

I'm British, born in England in 1958 but have been living in Thailand since 1990. I've been cycling since I was a small kid. There were just a few years around my mid- to late-20s where I didn't cycle much. I used to cycle just for fun and to get around (e.g. commuting to university and to work). It was a year or two after I turned 40 that I entered into a bike race for the first time in my life. It was a cross country mountain bike race in Thailand. I was lucky to escape a big pile-up less than a kilometer after the start, but it was great fun. I can't remember now what position I finished but I won a cup. Entrants are usually categorized into different age groups (of 5 or 10 years spread) so that we're all competing against people of similar age.

Since that first race I have been racing whenever I have a chance. Generally I race in Thailand about 2 – 5 times per year. I often come in the top five finishers and have finished first a few times. I now have about 15 trophies on my shelf. On the other hand I have sometimes failed to finish due to mechanical problems such as a flat tyre but I have gradually gained experience and learned how to better prepare my bike properly to reduce the risk of such problems happening.

In mid-2006 I decided I see if hiring a professional coach would help me improve as I had never followed a structured training programme. I will write about that experience in another post about coaching.

Typically I train between 8 – 11 hours per week. On average I probably cover 30 - 33km per hour so this time equates to a distance of about 1,000 km/month. I rest one or two days a week (usually Monday and sometimes Friday too). Weekend rides are longer than the weekday rides.

"LEGENDARY FITNESS"

I've included this link to Legendary Fitness LLc because I'm a weightlifter and bodybuilder (not in the same class as Diane Fields and Richard Baldwin) and they aim their site specifically at the BB Generation. Here's a quote from a very interesting article entitled "Boomers and Injuries:.."Boomers must be realistic about the aging process, but that doesn't mean to stop training! It just means to train smart". Good advice. The site is dated 2003 and the last entry seems to be 2006, so I'd like to know if the Legendary Fitness crew is still pumping iron. Anyhow, check out the link - good pics too of some great champions like Frank Zane. P.S. the photo is me aged 56.... I look better now!

FITNESS PAST FIFTY

fitnesspastfifty.com seems a very simple and easy-to-use portal to a huge range of other dedicated fitness sites. No information is given about who runs this service and its free, but it includes main menus on Fitness, Yoga, Fitness Equipment, Pilates, Home Fitness, Products and Videos.

Under the Fitness Equipment menu, for example, you get links to machines and equipment and manufacturers. If I click the Strength Training button, this will take me to another links menu with clicks for Strength and Conditioning, Weight Training and other......... Someone has put a lot of work into this; great site, thanks! Check out the link to fitnesspastfifty.com on the right

THINK FIT - BOOK, REVIEWS AND LINKS

You need information and knowledge to stay fit and healthy...........

One blog is certainly not big enough for all the information needed. There are thousands - millions - of websites, books and articles dedicated to specific subjects that will be of particular interest to different individuals.

What we've done on this blog is to construct a portal to some of these sites and this is an area we see for major growth. Because the material is so extensive, this topic is covered on another page linked to this one. Just click the THINK FIT link on the right to go there.... The THINK FIT page covers books, articles, photos and all kinds of useful web links associated with maintaining a healthy mind in a healthy body

COPYRIGHT

We respect copyright and intellectual property laws and try our best to ensure that we have permission before we quote or publish anything subject to copyright. If we mistakenly fail to get copyright for a given article or cannot find the copyright holder or picture owner we apologise and will make sure the mistake is rectified as soon as we know about it.

DEFAMATION AND LIBEL

We know to our cost how easy it is to offend people. It should go without saying that we respect people and the ethic of this blog is NOT to offend. That said, we reserve the right to make fair criticism of products or books or activities when we think this is warranted and helpful to our readers. If we are wrong or unknowingly offensive let us know and we will offer apology if one is due. We will also not accept offensive or defamatory contributions to this blog.

EXPERIENCES and PROFILES

We want to share experiences and profile people that we've found inspirational.

In this Main Topic we'll hear from people of all ages in different places doing different things from cycling in Laos thru' tennis in the UK, Tai Chi in China, to marathon running inThailand...there's no limit to what the BB Generation can and does do to keep fit and healthy.

We'll also document those people who devote their lives to other people's well-being perhaps through hands-on healing and massage to teaching yoga or being a bodybuilding guru. There's a place for regular medical and fitness advice too.

We'll share stories, experiences and provide the links to useful sites

You can also find out something about the person behind this site by clicking on "Q's World"

MIND and BODY WELL-BEING

This is a key set of practical/tactical activities which need some energy, stamina and strength (check out those topics by clicking in the right hand column) but that build overall body and mind well-being.

A fit, strong mind in a healthy body is the basis for dealing with the spiritual issues that come up as we get older

Under this subject area we look at physical mind-body activities such as martial arts and yoga and provide some fun "mental gymnastic" links

ENERGY, STAMINA AND STRENGTH

These three practical/tactical topics are the fundamentals of physical (and mental) fitness. This blog is about both physical and mental health - including spiritual fitness - but the basic groundwork is keeping yourself physically fit.

The key message is: you can keep fit, strong and active well into old age!

There is no need to get decrepit... but there are lots of folks who are physically dysfunctional in their 39s and 40's..... you wouldn't neglect your car, so why neglect the vehicle for the most precious things you have - your mind and your spirit?

Under these three heads of ENERGY, STAMINA AND STRENGTH we cover a huge variety of topics including:

• Extreme sports (including marathons)
• Nutrition and food supplements
• Running/jogging/walking
• Golf
• Swimming
• Aerobics
• Cycling
• Fitness centres and gyms
• Resistance training and bodybuilding (Yes, you CAN - well into later life!)

..............and a few more as they come to mind

By the way....... practical/tactical activities that help with integrated mind and body well-being such as yoga and martial arts are covered as a separate category - we haven't forgotten them.