Heh... Extra points for whomever gets the reference of this title. It's an easy one...
Anyway, last night, we pulled out the three Bobs and another freestanding bag. We went from bag to bag, and for timed, one minute periods, we practiced beating the crap out of them, using techniques and movement. It was fun.
This morning, my neck and shoulders are sore, my left middle knuckle is swollen and very tender, the top of my right foot is aching pretty good where I bruised it a few weeks ago in sparring, and the tendinitis in my elbows is fairly humming with pain.
It was a great class. After the 30-40 minutes of stretches and calisthenics, working on stances with the medicine ball, doing the circuit drills, and then practicing fighting up from the ground, my dogi was wringing wet...
Good stuff. :-) I just wish it didn't hurt me so much. My hand and foot will heal up. My elbows just refuse to heal, and it's been very frustrating. :-(
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5 years ago
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No pain no gain! Chronic injuries are frustrating though. Keep having fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue! I really am... Life is good. I hope your foot issues clear up. Very best wishes.
ReplyDeleteWe worked on something similar last Tuesday -- one person would come up to the heavy bag and basically have a 3 minute sparring round with it. It looked tiring! I was being worked with on forms, so I didn't get to try it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the reference, I know there's a "To the Pain!" line in The Princess Bride....
DING DING DING!!! We have a winner! =)
ReplyDeleteWhat was funny, is that we did it to the song, "Kung Fu Fighting." HAHAHA...
So corny, but soooo fun! LOL!
Update: I bought a supplement called "MSM" at a health food store. Apparently, it has some various things in it that are supposed to help the joints, but the main thing, is that has some kind of sulfur in it, that it claims is essential to the repair of joints and connective tissue. I've been taking it three times a day, and the results have been a dramatic decrease in pain and inflammation. :-) Whoohoo!
ReplyDeleteIf this doesn't totally take care of it within the next few months, then I may look into acupucture. I asked the lady at the store, and she gave me a card for a local chiropractor and acupuncturist.
Very good class for me as well, Frank! I'm still working on our Wooden Dummy form and I'm learning a LOT about short power. I'm constantly amazed at what the human body is capable of, when its structure is aligned properly.
ReplyDelete...I just wish I wasn't so freaking sore! I'm a lot better than I used to be at recovery (and I attribute that to slight increases on bone density in my forearms, from getting whacked so often) but I'll still have black and blue marks tomorrow morning, it's a guarantee.
On top of the wooden dummy formwork, we worked on some takedowns tonight. So my sides are sore from so many spills but it comes with the territory. :) Hope all is well!
Excellent, Jimmy! I've got class tonight, and I'm looking forward to it. You may want to look into MSM. It is supposed to help with muscle soreness, too.
ReplyDeleteTakedowns are fun! I've found that I like fighting up from the ground and grappling. I don't really have the build for it though, but the physicality of it appeals to me.
I really need to work on my lateral speed, more. If I can get that built up better, then I think I'll have a better chance of working the angles, giving myself the space and time to use more technique and finesse, rather than brute strength, and maybe I'll get hit less, and that's always a big plus! LOL
Good luck!
For bruises, may I suggest Everything Balm from Goodies Unlimited. ( http://www.goodiesunlimited.com/balm.html ) It's about the best stuff I've found for reducing the time it takes for a bruise to heal - though it's somewhat painful to use, since it's a solid lotion that you massage in. Their e-tonic balm is pretty good for soreness, a milder form of Tiger's Balm. No connection to the company, just a long-standing happy customer.
ReplyDeleteI've also found that over the years I simply seem to bruise less, much in the same way your muscles don't get as sore once you start working them out regularly.
Excellent! Thank you, PB. :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great class Frank! One thing that you might find useful -
ReplyDeleteWhen going through your martial arts training (be it striking drills, kata, sparring, etc) be careful of how much tension you carry in your arms. If your arms are tense most of the time you will ultimately inflame your tendinitis much more quickly.
As you train, feel your arms being relaxed and loose - only upon the moment of impact for a block or strike should you tense them. This will also actually help you to strike and block faster (believe it or not).
Hope that helps!
Matt
That does help, Matt. I'm working on that very thing! :-) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteFrank, I take a couple of supplements for joints and have had some success. Personally, the most important is fish oil. A high quality omega-3 fish oil is just really good for you. I take 5 grams a day and it's been good for my cholesterol and REALLY good for my joints. It's like WD-40. :)
ReplyDeleteSecond is glucosamine and third would be MSM. You can often find MSM and glucosamine in the same supplement.
Some people swear by chondroiton, but I've never personally felt any positive effects from it.
Take care.
Steve
Thanks, Steve. I'm going to a Chiropractor on Wednesday. I'm having pain in my left hand and my left shoulder is making popping and cracking noise, too. I'm fallin' apart! LOL! I'll add fish oil to the list... Thank you again.
ReplyDeleteMy father uses a glucosamine/chondroiton combined supplement and swears by it, but he's a bit older. I supplement fish oil and vitamin D (as well as a multi), but haven't gotten into significant joint pain thus far (knock wood).
ReplyDeleteIn minor news - Frank we're within a couple weeks of each others' age. Ain't 41 grand?
Hahaha.... I'm tellin' ya: I hit 40, and the wheels fell off my wagon!
ReplyDeleteI'm taking a supplement that has glucosamine and chondroiton, along with MSM and fish oil, and a multi-vitamin. I'm working hard to take care of myself.
If I can get this tendinitis in my elbows to clear up, and something can be done about my shoulders, I think I'll be okay.
When we're young, we abuse our bodies, and it's on the "layaway program." Apparently, it's all coming due, now. LOL
Oh man. I'm going to be 40 in a few short months!
ReplyDeleteHope the fish oil helps, Frank. Bear in mind that none of those supplements works right away. Fish oil, glucosamine, chondroiton or MSM... you need to take them diligently for at least a few weeks to notice any positive effect.
I've been fighting a pinched nerve in my lower back for years and it lays me out for a few weeks at least a couple times each year.
I've got to do something soon... My hands have begun hurting, too. I'm hoping that this chiropractor tomorrow is able to work miracles. We'll see...
ReplyDeleteI'm paranoid about my hands. Probably because my money making occupations are piano, organ, knitting, writing, and karate. A hand injury would put a serious cramp in my life!
ReplyDeleteMy husband always says that the warranty runs out at 35, and by 40 the parts start falling off.
I'm going to try the MSM also, my right hand is giving me some problem as well, I do lots of deep tissue massages and it's catching up. THe glucosamine helps as well as the fish oil, but it keeps coming back. Frank the acupuncturist works, I had it done last year for a few sessions and it went away for a long time, thinking of going back. Thanks for all the great info here, and the inspiration to keep working out!
ReplyDeletePB, that's hilarious... I play piano and guitar, so my hands are definitely something I need to look after. I figured out what was wrong with my hands, by the way: I was practicing chops against a post, and was a little more enthusiastic about it than I should have been. Basically, I just bruised my left hand. It hurt for a couple of days, and it's fine, now. If I can get my elbows and shoulders squared away, I'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you, Irma. I live in The Sticks, and to find a good acupuncturist, I have to drive all the way to Nashville.
The chiropractic/joint place that I went, Monday, was awesome. I can't remember the name of the technique, but he basically dug his thumbs into various places on my elbows and forearms, and had me go through various range-of-motion movements. It's like a prelude to the Graston Technique, which we are going to be doing on Saturday. Since that appointment, my elbows have felt better than they have, in the past year. I think I'm finally on the road to healing. :-)
Wait, what - Nashville?
ReplyDeleteFrank, are you anywhere near the Fairview Isshinryu dojo? That's where I started my training (cough...mumble) years ago under Sensei David Gabbard. I know (or knew, it's been a decade) a lot of Isshinryu people in the Nashville area.
Howdy, PB! I actually live in Shelbyville, and my chiro is Murfreesboro. I train in Tullahoma, with William Brent Fugate, at Fugate's Martial Arts Center.
ReplyDeleteSo you're quite a ways away from where I started training. On the other hand, my original Sensei is now in Decherd, TN, which isn't all that far from you.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.martialartsfortheheart.com/
Very cool... I really like Isshinryu. I've studied Wado-Ryu and Goju-Ryu, but wasn't able to stick with them for very long, due to the rather nomadic nature of military life. Now that I'm a civilian, I'm glad I've found this dojo. I'm going to see this thing through to at least black-belt. :-)
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Come...join us...don't be afraid... :-D
ReplyDeleteI started with Sensei Gabbard back before I had kids, and then had to drop out when we moved and I got pregnant pretty much simultaneously. I came back to Isshinryu five years ago, and passed my shodan test last August.
If you ever get the chance to take a class or seminar with Master Gabbard (he's gone up a grade or two since I was in his dojo), take it. He's an awesome teacher, particularly for sparring. One of these days I need to find my way down to Decherd and let him know I didn't drop out forever.
Fantastic! I'll bet he knows Sensei Fugate. :-) I'll ask him if he knows Master Gabbard, on Thursday night. Last night, we did our usual half hour of calisthenics, then went through drills, then charts I & II, and after that, we took the last ten minutes of class and worked on kata. By the time class was finished, my dogi felt like it weighed 20 lbs, it was so soaked with sweat! Hahaha...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on passing your shodan test! In two weeks, I'll be testing for 7th kyu. (orange belt)