Age Forty-Two

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

In a recent article written by a leading proponent of the traditional Koryu practices, Dave Lowry, speaks to the age where one transitions from one stage to another - a point of a certain type of maturity. Age forty-two or the forties is what I refer to as the fall-years of life slowly encroaching on those winter years, age sixty and beyond.

Since Mr. Lowry wrote from a position of expertise far beyond mine I won’t write extensively about it here and will provide you the reference at the end just under the link for my Bibliography.

Reaching forty-two is the maturation point, especially in budo, where one should have started the transition from the physical technique based level. Your techniques are polished to a bright sheen much like the tempered blade of the ancient katana. Your aim is more in line with perfection rather than other lessor aspects where physiokinetics along with theory and philosophy shift levels of connectivity as to importance. It is about those areas that relate to maturity and insight. 

It is also believed that one who begins and is authorized to teach a system is given license to do so because, normally, that age is one of, hopefully, achieved maturity along with philosophy and enlightened insight that will allow a more cerebral study of budo. 

“It is for this reason that many of the classical koryu, or martial arts of the feudal period, have rules that require a practitioner to have reached 42 before a license of full mastery—sometimes called menkyo kaiden—is granted. This may be shocking to all the 20- and 30-year-olds out there who consider themselves masters. Many young people who seriously believe they are advanced masters do not understand the complexities of real budo. A serious martial way is composed of far more than simple technique. One might learn all the methods and kata of a style and still be considered a beginner. It is not until the mental and spiritual elements of the particular art are added that we can consider true growth to have been initiated.” - Dave Lowry, The Milestone of Turning 42

In a nutshell, the mental development of our species doesn’t truly reach a crescendo until it has endured both time and experiences in the dojo, in life and in the contest of conflicts and violence, etc. Insights necessary to perfect and “Master” the way and jutsu of a system don’t begin until they reached, lived and experienced life at about forty years. 

It is also of note to understand that in our effort to teach, learn, study and apply the traditions of a martial art and karate is to reach back in time and do the same with its heritage and history. In short, “The age requirement for certain teaching licenses in the martial arts of old Japan was not a random decision on the part of the masters of the various schools.” It was derived through experiences compiled through several generations of those who lived long enough, like Musashi, to pass along that understanding and enlightenment. 

Here is where I diverge from thoughts of master to thoughts of qualifying to teach. In past articles I often express a need for one to achieve a level of san-dan in karate before teaching, especially alone. With this information I can add with confidence that regardless of grade or rank, as to belts, one must also reach a certain level of maturity, etc., as explained in this article. One must reach that age and maturity level through understanding and especially experience in order to understand the subtleties of the art, a person is not ready till at least the age of 40 to 42, because to be a teacher you have to live life to that stage, the fall years. Now, the real killer, the age of forty-two assumes, rightly so, that one began the path in budo at about the age of five. It also requires more than three sessions per week at two hours per session to reach this maturity in martial arts and karate. 

Mr. Lowry ends his article thus, “We ought to recognize, as they did, that certain components of our training simply can’t be rushed. We need the patience to wait and anticipate the stages of training that are sure to follow if we pursue the way correctly. We should never expect a shortcut and always strive for maturity as a real budoka.”

In truth, patience is not a forte in the West. Our technical revolution has created a instant gratification need in our youth and that does not foster patience and an effort to take the time and go the distance to achieve the kind of maturity that masters a martial discipline let alone life. 

To my mind, I am just coming into my own as a teacher at the age of sixty-three and I admit that my early years of teaching were way too soon and to those who may have missed out because of my impatience, I apologize wholeheartedly. 

I have practiced, trained and studied karate and martial arts for about forty years with more hours and more dedication than most, i.e., more than two hours a session, more than three times a week and a lot more outside dedicated effort in life itself although not to the levels our ancestors in martial practices dedicated. 

Not only shall one need to reach a level, minimum, of san-dan but a maturity level, minimum, of forty years of age as well assuming they are dedicated to continuous effort daily and so on to reach the levels where there efforts will benefit those who would follow in their footsteps. 

 Bibliography (Click the link)

Lowry, Dave. “The Best of Dave Lowry.” Black Belt Magazine ‘the karate way’ column