u/Tenzing_norgay3

I started taekwondo when I was 12. I felt basically invincible at that age and had no care in the world about any long-term health issues. However nowadays, even though i’m still young, I’ve been suffering from a chronic lower back issue on one side. It started when I pulled my lower back at 15, then did it again once or twice in subsequent until I was 18. I have felt discomfort and a dull ache in my lower back since then. I finally decided to book a physiotherapy appointment in two weeks, but i’m unsure of whether the issue is going to be permanent or not.

If I already have these problems as a young adult, then I can’t begin to imagine what my body will look like in my 40s, 50s, etc. Martial arts is my passion, but I don’t want to end up living with constant pain and mobility issues because of it.

If you carry on training over the years, are these things just inevitable? I don’t mean short-term, acute injuries but long-term, chronic problems of the muscles, joints, even brain, etc. Is there anything that can be done to ACTUALLY prevent these?

I’m a black belt in taekwondo with 7+ years of experience. For the longest time, I have wanted to cross over into Martial arts tricking or Wushu. However, those sports are just so inaccessible and there a major lack of gyms / schools. The places that are in my area also only seem to offer kids classes too. It seems almost impossible to access tricking as an adult unless you’re self taught - which, even as an experienced taekwondo practitioner, I don’t trust myself to do. I know I could never have taught myself all those taekwondo kicks, let alone something even more acrobatic like tricking.

So I was wondering, how did you guys get into the sport. Are you self taught, or did you start at a local gym? Is there a steep learning curve involved when starting as an adult? I would love to learn but unfortunately don’t know how

Edit: would also be great if someone could recommend me a starting point to go of off! I’m already proficient in hook kicks, spinning kicks, jumping kicks, etc.