Does martial arts make the body weak in the long run?

I%26#039;ve heard that cartain martial arts like muay thai and boxing put lots of stress on the skeletal system and can lead to athritis etc? Is this true?|||Martial arts is two fold. It is great for you heart, your mental health, your stamina, your flexibility, your muscles and more. As with any sport or activity moderation, proper form and stretching is essential.





Now part two. Any style that causes you to get in the ring and go full contact such as you have mentioned does in fact injure you permanently. Anyone who says it doesn%26#039;t is living a lie. Look at Ali. He was one of the greatest boxers who ever lived however he still got hit a lot and has suffered life long consequences.





I recommend light contact just as Tae Kwon do. Even the great art of Kung Fu requires you to disfigure your hands and feet to build up callouses to make power strikes.|||Yes, look up Shihan M. Miura. I know him, he%26#039;s starting to have back problems because he trained like sick training when he was young. But he%26#039;s in his 50s and still more fit than most guys, and can definitely still put out any UFC or MMA guy i%26#039;ve ever seen.. but yea training to that extent will eventually be bad for you.|||They might but as some answers say drink lots of milk and VITAMIN D because with out that than you will not be able to absorb enough calcium. Also be sure to stretch. My friend takes it and hes 15 and been takikng it for atleats 10 years plus like hours and hours a day of training|||Only in extreme cases. Best to take joint juice, calcium, vitamin d, and magnesium if you are going to do any serious training that can cause this.|||Yeah, Thai Boxing might set you up for some painful silver years. However, martial arts training can also be good for longevity. Check this dude out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RNWiMoyp...|||NO dude look at jackie chan he is like 60 and is still strong or look at the monks from the shoaling temple they are old but good in health thanks to martial arts|||yes, if you train for long periods of time. Some Martial arts focuses more on mental training though.|||Yes. But in extreme cases only.





It depends on what you do, and depends on how far you take it.





For longevity, tai-chi is acceptable, but the question of longevity deals with your physical fitness, RATHER than skill in the martial arts.





Granted that the most skilled tend to be physically fit.





Muay-thai, if done competitively, will f--- you up.


It deals with sustained cellular degeneration.





Body hardening shouldn%26#039;t matter, because it only deals with your nerve endings on your skin. But worry about internal injuries.





Generally, your cells have a limited amount of possible divisions. The more times they divide, the shorter their telomeres get, and the more degraded the next generation of cells.





It is assumed that your cells nearing their end manifests itself as old age.





So it is logical to assume that excessive injuries and strains to your body, will cause greater cellular reproduction to heal you, thus shortening your life span.





There are also components to the martial arts that sacrifice your dexterity. A lifelong xiaolin monk, who punches stuff day-in-and-day-out will probably never have the dexterity to play a piano or a guitar.





If longevity and the martial arts is an issue to you, consider genuine ninjutsu, or a stealth based martial art. Or become a NAVY seal (with an emphasis on surreptitious entry), or other special warfare operative.





Preferably the Air Force%26#039;s special warfare division. Or a Ranger.





This will force a balance between your mental and intellectual capabilities and your physical fitness.





Ninjutsu has an extremely intellectual component, and so does the AF specialized spec. war. div.





It requires intimate knowledge of certain branches of science.





The point of the mental/physical balance is to address the brain degeneration. What%26#039;s the point of having a fit body, if your consciousness is gone.





EDIT:





Be careful though... The groups that I mentioned--what they do isn%26#039;t fighting.





They operate with the Occam%26#039;s Razor philosophy of the Art.





Take down, as fast as you can.





They%26#039;re prime directive is to kill, or incapacitate as quickly as possible.





The apex of navy training would be SEAL (DEVGRU).


The Air Force = Pararescue OR the Special Ops. Weather Tech (which is very similar to the Marine Force Recon.)


Army = Ranger.





But it is crucial that you master the ability to turn on-and-off your individualism, and how to adjust to civilian life.





Otherwise...you will be in a serious state of emotional disrepair.|||no|||athritis is possible with like 25 yrs of boxing but drink lots of milk(calcium)...i dont think it would be any different than farming or working manually for the same amount of time