FIGHTING FOR LONGEVITY
In the United States alone, millions of people practice the martial arts. Each discipline — there are several hundred around the world — comes with a specific skill set that requires regular reinforcement. Unfortunately, life can get in the way and prevent us from training as often as we want in pursuit of that reinforcement.
One of the most common reasons we miss workouts is an injury incurred during training. This is readily apparent to anyone older than 40. Eventually, the human body pays a price for the concussions, tweaked joints and broken bones that often accumulate over time.
Black Belt wanted to know how veteran martial artists deal with careers filled with such damage. More important, we wanted to know how they have adjusted their training and teaching to account for those impediments. To that end, we spoke with four respected masters.
ERNIE CATES
Take a Good Technique and Make It Better!
Expert: Ernie Cates
Arts: judo, jujitsu, neko-ryu
Black Belt Archives: April 2008 issue
When he was just 14 years old, Ernie Cates bowed in for the first time. Now 88, he’s still on the mat, passing on five decades’ worth of hard-earned knowledge to students of all ages. The style he teaches is neko-ryu jujitsu, a system of self-defense based on the way of the cat.
What has enabled Cates to continue to practice and teach is the way his style replaces power with a focus using simple and natural movements like those that felines use. To illustrate the logic of his path, Cates said that controlling an opponent using his art’s version of saves a lot of wear and tear on the joints, muscles
