What are the best Martial Arts for over 40?

Can adults learn martial arts? Yes. This is an easy question because it is too generic. But here is a more specific one – What are the best martial arts for over 40? As most likely you mean martial arts for older adults.

Here in our martial arts online project, we talk regularly about what martial arts are good for adults and what is the best age to start martial arts. For instance:

• judo for older adults
• is 40 too late to start BJJ?
• what is the best martial art for someone with bad knees?

That’s why talking about the best martial arts for over 40 is just a continued discussion on the topic.

Let’s continue.

Is 40 too old to start martial arts?

Or let’s raise the stakes a little more. Is 44 too old to start martial arts?

Spoiler: The 40s old are the most worried ones about their age and starting training in martial arts. It’s just the data and stats that we see for years already. And the most interesting part of this story is that the forty years old are one of the fittest to learn martial arts for adults.

So why the 40s old are the most worried and don’t just start training?

I think the answer is easy here: This age category is in fact the fittest among elder adults and at this age people are still proactive in life and sports activities for adults. In simple words, they want to do something in their life. And concerns are justified as martial arts are not a chess sport and the 40s are not 30s already.

So, is 40 too old to start martial arts?

No, 40 is not too old to start martial arts but one should already be careful choosing the combat sports discipline. Do it wisely and take into account your up-to-date physical abilities but not your ambitions.

Luckily, modern martial arts gyms offer modern training programs where you can choose from traditional martial arts styles training to combined forms with an accent on fitness, strengthening, or stretching for any age group.

Which martial art should I learn at 40?

Speaking to the subject specifically, here are a couple of the main points to highlight first:

• The choice of training discipline will differ whether it is about finding the best martial arts for beginner adults with zero experience or the best martial art for adults with a fighting background.
  
• Nowadays, you may learn any martial art at 40 or even 50 if you find the right coach and martial art program. Most likely you will not train or compete in the traditional training program for some combat sports, e.g., Muay Thai or Boxing where the injury risk is high.
  
• Another important point that will influence your choice is the purpose. Why do you want to start martial arts at 40 or 50? The main reasons are usually sports activity, self-defense, and socialization.

Best martial arts to learn at 40

Despite the fact that today you can look for any martial art and find options there for you, there are still statistics that show the correlation with reality.

These statistics show which martial arts are more popular among older people and which are less.

Below you can find a list of the most popular martial art for adults at 40 or over. It’s based on our experience and a lot of the information from big talking threads like Reddit, Quora, and martial arts forums.

This list can be longer but it all depends on what you want and what your body is ready for.

Nevertheless, in these martial arts, you can already find any type of discipline – soft, intensive, or striking style.

Best martial arts for middle-aged woman

Today the best martial arts to learn for adults are available for women and men in the same conditions. You can even look for specifically woman’s martial arts classes. If you need a self-defense course in martial arts for women, check out Gracie Jiu Jitsu University, they have a big training program for women.

Of course and unfortunately, the martial arts classes are mostly male. The reason is that women are much less interested in learning martial arts.

And it makes sad statistics.

The modern way of training martial arts is in fact sports and sports make the life of any person – a kid, woman, or man – more effective, healthier, and happier.

Nevertheless, the best martial arts for a middle-aged woman are the same as presented in the previous paragraph.

Unless we would also add aikido and kyudo to the list.

Martial arts over 40 near me

If you are about to visit martial arts classes for adults of your age to start training as soon as possible, we want to assist you.

We have found some martial art gyms that offer classes for adults. Of course, these few locations don’t cover the entire map. But it should help you to get an idea – of costs and what to expect – before finding and visiting your local combat sports place.

We specify also the information on how much do martial arts classes cost for adults in these gyms if it is available.

Then, just type in the Google map “Adult martial arts near me“ to find your training gym for martial arts.

Small hint. In 99% of cases, it will not be gyms with martial arts for adults only. Just search for regular martial arts schools and look if they offer classes for beginner adults.

And yes, a more specific search request on the internet like “martial arts for adults beginners near me” or just “martial arts for beginners adults” will help you find the places quicker. But don’t be too specific if the search prompt will give you no results for your location.

Best martial arts for adults near me