SD As We Age - What Makes it EZ

[40-82]

I hadn't heard that before - I definitely like it!

I saw a segment of a Cops episode where the officer being recorded responded to a disturbance call. Arriving on the scene was a younger man on the ground, and a male senior citizen. The interview with the senior citizen went something like "Well, when he came at me, the first thing I did was go for his eyes. I was in the paratroopers, and that's the way we were trained!".

Adding a bit more:

People who have studied violence, Rory Miller, as an example, almost invariably say, no matter how you're trained, your reaction the first few times is disbelief, a refusal to believe that this is actually happening to you, which creates a natural hesitation.

There comes a point when you've seen enough blood, when you've lost any idealized visions of the innate humanity of your fellow man.

Maybe the purpose of youth--for those who survive it--is to beat the hesitation out of a man?

 

[Kingcreek]

As I age and deal with new limitations, I find I just have to adapt to it.
I wear my holster farther forward because my shoulder just doesn't let me draw like it used to. I exercise daily and grip strength and eyesight are still very good but me speed is less.
I have enough arthritis in my hands I know I don't want to throw a punch but my knees and elbows are bony-er (Is that a word?) and I'll throw them in if things are close enough.

 

[luzyfuerza]

As young grad students, a buddy and I loved to play doubles racquetball with two of our senior citizen professors. These old guys would let us young bucks chase balls around the court for a while, and when they got a little winded, they would start hitting virtually unreturnable serves and rolling unreachable winning shots out of the corners. They won every game we ever played.

As I've aged, I've tried to emulate those professors. As raw reaction times, strength, and vision have faded, I've tried to compensate by practicing hand-to-hand skills, fine tuning drawstroke and trigger press, and learning to shoot from unconventional positions (supine, side curl, inverted prone, etc.). I've kept weight off, am careful what I eat, and have been physically active in general. I've also learned to be more observant, and my verbal judo is much better.

Someday, maybe I'll get training in fighting with a cane.

If aging people only go to the square range and practice target shooting once in a while, youth and enthusiasm will generally win a fight. But if old folks really work to develop skills and treachery, they stand a much better chance of avoiding conflict, or walking away unscathed.

 

[Jammersix]

Avoidance, negotiation and de-escalation will allow you to grow older than any weapon.

It surprises me that you "old" folk haven't mentioned that.