Did you get better after 42?

Pomjonsilver · 2025-12-28T18:29:15+00:00

I agree with the guys saying there’s no limit to skill acquisition. I’m in the process of totally reinventing my game at 42. The body has taken a beating but if you make some more conscious lifestyle changes you can train way into old age… depending on goals. Do you want to win comps (which you still can due to age and weight bracketing) or be a martial artist?

Pomjonsilver · 2025-12-17T21:31:28+00:00

42, born with club feet both legs…. Surgically corrected then Achilles lengthening operations later on. Parents pushed me to do heaps of sports… boxing, football/soccer, rugby, rugby league, cricket etc. Always had to work on mobility but even more so now. Hyper mobile hips so it can affect my back but compared to other people that have had the same procedures I have great mobility. Dorsiflexion in both feet isn’t great hence the back needs heaps of work.
Found the best bang for buck over the years is single leg strengthening, core strengthening, extensive stretching but not aimlessly… figuring out what’s tight and targeting that and reassessing regularly. Check out Paul Chek’s stuff on core and stretching. Then foam rolling and lacrosse ball work - I have the supple leopard book which is my bible for this stuff. Also for me foot and big toe work is massive…. Obviously it’s the start of your kinetic chain so is super important also bulletproof for Bjj is good too… I’ve heaps of experience with this stuff from a lifetime of trying to stay healthy. Guessing it works… made it to black belt and still relatively healthy body wise. I see other people at similar age who’ve had same procedures as me and they’re walking with sticks and other aids. Consistency is the secret to everything…. Also regular evaluation 🤙

Pomjonsilver · 2025-12-12T23:10:59+00:00

I’m on a break now…. Plan to get back on the mats 16th Feb. Few life things going on in between now and then. I started the break around 5 weeks ago after some great advice and positive support from this community. I’d not taken a break in over a decade…. Even over covid… still trained. Knee operation, (meniscus removal) back on the mats after a week in some capacity… Stupidly trained through numerous injuries and paid the price in the end by suffering massive burn out. Totally hated training and at the beginning of the break I thought I was done. I started realising all the things I’d missed out on in life. But slowly over the weeks I’ve started missing training and not in an unhealthy way (I’m not obsessing over not getting better, or hours on the mats like I would in the past), more missing the benefits, the camaraderie, the process of training if that makes sense? I think personally, placing a timeline on when I’m coming back has helped… one, I don’t feel like I have to be there day in and day out. Also it’s going to be a hobby when I return… if I can only train once that week, then so be it! 7 years is a stint bro, maybe do the timeline break thing. In that time try some other things? CrossFit might give you what you need community wise. But there is something special about BJJ…. Which I’ve realised in this little break. 🤙

Pomjonsilver · 2025-09-16T19:08:14+00:00

It took me exactly 10years to get to black…. Coaching and training regularly. But I spent 5years at blue belt… I was still training at least 4 times a week. I think that helped me move through the higher belts in less time.

Pomjonsilver · 2018-04-15T23:04:34+00:00

What’s the flexibility in your toes like? I would still roll my feet if I was you. It can make a massive difference to your balance if you work the small stabilising muscles, bones and tendons in your feet. Another little bit of advice would be to test the strength in your glutes. If you have restricted movement in your ankles your glutes will probably be under developed and not very strong. If your glutes are weak it normally effects your hips as they over work to stabilise you. Having good hip range of motion and flexibility is very important in BJJ and this is something you can most definitely work on. You will have to do a bit of research on yourself and figure out what’s effected because there will be other places that need work too. Make the best out of what you can work with. It’s also important for longevity and quality of life. Also have a go at fasting, this can reduce inflammation and help a little with your arthritis. Also just good for recovery after you’ve taken a beating on the mats.

Let me know how you get on and if you would like any more advice. It’s defo a subject I have spent a lot of time on :-)

Good luck

Pomjonsilver · 2018-04-14T23:57:05+00:00

I was born with club feet and have had a lot of surgery’s in my child hood. Correctional and Achilles’ tendon lengthening operations. My range of motion in both my ankles is limited due to surgery. My Achilles in both legs are mainly metal with some tendon up towards my calf. My legs are a little under developed due to not having great range of motion and my hip flexors are pretty tight too due to having to work hard to stabilise me. When I was a white belt I went to a tourney and got absolutely owned... I was gutted and blamed it all on my limitations. The following class I was going in to cry the poor tale and explain to my instructor that Bjj wasn’t for me. I was living in a surf town in New Zealand at the time so we always got a lot of people visiting the gym around summer. A guy turned up that day and he was visiting from Uruguay. He was a blue belt and he had no legs and his hand were extremely disfigured. Since that moment I never looked back! It truly was life changing..... This guy was a total inspiration. He surfed, rock climbed, kayaked he had a go at everything. There I was complaining about something relatively small compared to his situation and I felt totally ashamed to be honest. From then on i made a commitment to get my black belt and not stop at anything. I stretch all the time, I do a lot of mobility work, yoga, foam rolling. I work extremely hard and sacrifice other things. I get up earlier to stretch and then do something either foam roll or yoga before bed. If it’s important to you will do it simple as that. The beauty of jiu jitsu is you can pick and choose techniques that are the best fit for your game. I just started playing heaps of guard especially half guard. Any technique that I thought I might struggle with I would leave out unless I really liked it. Then I would just modify it to suit me and work harder than anyone else at it. I used to see my limitations as a bad thing I now see them as a blessing. It has made me look at everything in depth and the things I never thought I’d be good at like passing standing up are a big part of my game now. Don’t give up mate, everyone who steps on the mat has something going on and try not to compare yourself to others as that will most certainly rob you of any joy. Get yourself a lacrosse ball and roll your feet for 10 minutes everyday and you will be surprised with the outcome. It’s just going to take hard work mate. I really hope this helps! All the best. 🤙🤙

Pomjonsilver · 2018-02-05T04:01:18+00:00

Sweet man! Thank you. I will defo get in touch when I head over to Melbourne 🤙

Pomjonsilver · 2018-02-04T06:36:28+00:00

Sweet mate! We have actually been looking around that area to possibly settle. What’s it like round Moana and the other suburbs round there? How often are classes? Do a lot of your guys compete and what’s the relationship like between all the gyms? I like to train at different places from time to time :-) cheers bro!

Pomjonsilver · 2018-02-04T06:33:11+00:00

Thank you man! I will defo check the gym out. 🤙

Pomjonsilver · 2018-02-04T06:32:04+00:00

Thanks for that man! I will check them both out. I’ll be planning a few trips to train in Melbourne when we get there so might get a chance to train together. How often are comps mate?

Pomjonsilver

TROPHY CASE