Mitch,
I'm one of those guys that can't sit still...
it's a curse....
I've been doing Tae Kwon Do since 1986 and love it.
It really is a lot of fun and the pics of competition make it look like there's really heavy contact, and most times there isn't. However one of the guys I fought yesterday rattled my teeth pretty well with a punch right on the kisser and darn near decked me. I got him back though and everyone was friends afterwards. It's a contact sport and accidents are bound to happen.
Us older guys know how to put it in perspective much better than the younger guys. We're happy to be able to compete and still get out there and mix it up. I teach it to kids one night each week at the Dojang and have been teaching since 1989. All Black Belts at our school MUST teach. No exceptions.
The student becomes the teacher who becomes the student again...
bottom line, it's a lot of fun. My long legs give me an advatage (that I always use) and being a road cycler helps out a lot too with endurance and fast twitch muscles and I have good flexibilty for those kicks to the head (Karen didn't get any of those shots).
ciao!
ps: what I can't and won't do: Jump out of a perfectly good airplane!