Treating Shin Knots and Bumps from Muay Thai

This is the week I've been looking forward to. I find out this Thursday if I can be rid of this air cast and move on to physical therapy so I can get back on the mat. I really am looking forward to finally getting back to it and hope the doctor doesn't keep me in my walking cast any longer. I'll report back in after my appointment on Thursday.

In the mean time I've been trying to prep. So to start, for those who don't know, the walking cast forces my foot into a position that takes the strain off the metatarsal bones. It's because of this that I've noticed that my foot, since it's been broken, has developed a weird pocket of fluid in the area under the break that the boot forces up to keep the strain down on the bone. Due to this phenomenon happening I wanted to try and desolve the fluid so that I do not get any oddball pain in the area. I've had several scares over the past few weeks where the fluid has shifted causing a pinching feeling and also causing me to think that I may have done some damage. I've been super careful up to this point and know that I couldn't have caused further injury, but it's been a big enough annoyance that I started doing some hot water treatments like you can see in the below video.

I do not know the person in the video personally, but like her Muay Thai vlog because she's living in a way that I cannot due to family obligations. I don't lament my family for this, but there are parts of me that wishes I could have traveled to do what she's doing in Thailand when I was a little younger. I highly recommend you check out the rest of her YouTube channel so you can see her travels, fights, and her other videos from different Muay Thai related things.

That said, the below video talks about how to treat knots and bumps in the shin due to clashing shins and feet with your sparring partners and opponents in Muay Thai (which I'd imagine happens often enough for her, I know it does for me when I'm training). I used the same principle to desolve the fluid buildup in my foot. I hope you find this informative.

Stress Management & Peer Bonding

I have to admit, despite my attempts at a positive outlook on my injury in my last post, that there are times I very much miss my training. This past week was about the worst I've had at the company where I've worked over the past 7 years and despite my alternate evening activities and family time, the stress was tough to manage.

My martial arts training is hands down the best stress management system I've found, and no other activities are sufficient replacements. There something very kinetic and primal about hitting the Mok Jong, practicing kata or doing pad work. One of the best things I think is practicing defenses with a partner and/or sparring which provides a form of stress relief and a type of peer bonding you can't find anywhere else in the world.

I think part of why I find martial arts to be such a good stress reliever has to do with the peer bonding. I might only see some of my karate friends ever in karate, but because of the training, and our overall similar goals in our practice I fell very close to some of these people. The break in my foot has limited my contact with some of these people. I can text, call or email them sure, but it's not the same as training together, learning from them, and teaching them.

It's also the interesting mix of people. At work I have all people working in similar areas and so a lot of the same type of people are there. In a karate class we might have a mechanic, a business man, an IT professional and a doctor in class together learning from each other which provides a lot of different points of view and thoughts.

Another contributor is probably the lack of judgement in my school. It's an atmosphere where I don't have to worry about people judging my mistakes or any of the other back stabby things people do in the business world. I go and we work together to make ourselves better at our craft and just better people in general. A person I consider a close friend in my class once told me that she moved to CT and started training to become a better person than she used to be. Although she never elaborated on what she meant by that, I think that's something we all have do in our training. Whether it's to be a better physical me through fitness or it's to learn to control my thoughts and mind to be a better inner me, or some hybrid of the 2, I think with everything I'm seeing happen this past year, I think we could all use a little time making ourselves better people. 

I know for me I'm a lot less forgiving and am just generally not as nice when I'm stressed which is affecting me at work and at home. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I am channeling my energy into some other activities and so I've resolved the worst of it. I really can't wait until the doctor tells me I can remove my air cast and return to the mat. That way if I have another week like this past week I'll be better equipped to handle that stress. 

Train on. 

Dealing with Injuries

So I didn't mention it in my last post, but I've been out of classes since Thanksgiving week due to a broken foot. While teaching in class I rolled it up on its edge and the 5th metatarsal popped. Was such a non-aggressive activity that caused it that at that moment I couldn't fathom that my foot was actually broken. It went numb on the spot and I hobbled out to my car and drove home, iced it and went to sleep. Laying in bed the next morning it felt fine, and then I tried to get up which caused so much pain that I collapsed. I had to slide down the stairs on my butt to get to my phone to call out of work, and then I had xrays done at the Urgent care clinic. As it turns out I have what's called a Jones fracture which is common with dancers, and martial artists. This fracture has a 25% chance of forming what's called a non-union, which means that the bones never actually refuse back together,  due to the poor blood-flow in this area, without a screw being put in to assist them. Thankfully my followup with my podiatrist yielded them ordering me an ultrasonic bone stimulator and strict instructions, to which I've been sticking to religiously. My 7 week visit shows the bone is remodeling, and in 3 more weeks I may be able to start physical therapy on my foot and being active again.

While I have other goals and purposes for studying karate, I primarily use it as a stress reliever. With night school and a fairly hectic full time job, on top of an autistic 3 year old, I'm often stressed out and karate takes the edge off in a healthy way. Since I've been out with this injury I've had to find less physical outlets, so that I can allow my foot to properly heal. I found myself stress eating a lot those first couple weeks and even having the more occasional beer, which isn't going to help anyone so I started trying to think of more constructive ways to outlet my stress.

As I'm a tech nerd, gaming was high on my list of stress outlets (loving Fallout 4) as well as listening to heavy metal in the car (I'm a major metal head. Killswitch Engage and Amon Amarth are some of my favorite groups if you care). I also have put a very large amount of energy in tinkering with my web server that I've recently gotten setup, but had been putting off due to other things occupying my time.

These other activities are helping me in a much more constructive way then how I was initially responding to the forced sedentary lifestyle that I've spent so many years breaking the habits on and I'm finding, especially with the server, I'm doing things more creatively than I normally do. I'm testing out some content management systems that I've not worked with in the past, to expand my knowledge base on some web design tools. I've also come up with some good ideas on ways to make some passive supplemental income on the web and I've also gone out of my way to learn some new, and more powerful video editing software to do some projects that I've been putting off.

While I miss karate more than anything, I think this experience has been useful and put some things in perspective. I plan to be back on the mat as quickly as possible without causing myself further risk. Many people who are as dedicated as me to their martial arts, will take the risk of coming back to training earlier than the doctor advises. I understand the mental state of these people because I'm there. It's really difficult to drive by my dojo when I'm out running errands knowing I can't go in and train for an hour that evening. That said, you're body is the only one you get. It's not worth risking further, or permanent injury, to satisfy that mental push you feel. Instead direct that energy into other things for a while. You might learn something that'll benefit you.

Train on.

Black Belt Reflections Several Months Later

Since I forgot to post about my experience testing this past summer, since it's new years, I was doing some reflecting and thought I would share about my experience now.

For the record, I will say nothing on the specifics of the test. The test is for us in our school and if you'd like to know exactly what's in the test, the only way to find out is to earn your way up to be offered the right to test in our school. The actual contents of the test are a secret to anyone who hasn't done it, including students of the school. It's a right of passage and an amazing milestone. This reflection is more on how the test made me feel and what it took to overcome it.

So first thing is first; As I'm sure you guessed at this point, I did test for my black belt this past August, and I did pass the 3 days of exams. I can honestly say it was one of the most difficult things I've ever done, and that includes my TKD black belt and 2nd Dan exams as well as anything I've done in college or other parts of my life. The test consisted of 3 sessions at about 3 hours each in 1 week. They were spaced intentionally to make sure you were super sore from the previous session at each of the following sessions. My prep leading to the test was crammed into daily intensive training as soon as my school semester ended at the end of July. I did what I could prior to that but the intensity went up times 10 when my summer semester ended. I had about 3 weeks to beat myself into as good of shape as I could possibly could. This included rising at 4:30 AM to run a few miles before work and evening calisthenics and strength training as well as my 3-4 sessions in the dojo per week. I squeezed in a few extra dojo sessions when I could without disrupting my home/family life too much. I also ate as clean as possible leading up to the test.

The 3 days of testing was a trial by fire for me. I had a mild case of a stomach bug over the weekend prior to the test where I was throwing up. It was over by Saturday evening but I was still not 100% on Monday when the test began. This caused me in the third hour of testing to start to get the spins and almost, on several points, pass out. Were I to do so I have the option of stopping, but if I stopped I failed. Thankfully I had a friend there who was testing for youth black belt along side of me. At 14 I can honestly say that she's one of the most impressive individuals of her age that I've had the pleasure of knowing and her parents should be proud of her as well as commended for producing such a well adjusted teen. She is very intelligent and mature for her age (honors in school) on top of being a star athlete in her class for soccer and track, on top of what she does in karate. Throughout day 1 of the testing process, she could see how much I was hurting and for that last 1 to 1.5 hours of the test, she turned into my personal cheerleader. In that time I was literally seeing a white fog in my vision so when I say that her voice was one of the only things that was piercing the fog, I mean it literally. All I could hear was my head instructor's voice calling out instructions and her voice cheering me on which was just enough to get me to the end. We've trained together a lot already so we were already close, but I love that kid for doing that for me. I was in such bad condition at the end of the test that my instructor advised me to eat a cliff bar, drink a Gatorade and wait 30 minutes before operating a vehicle to drive myself home.

That first day scarred me. I didn't connect the stomach bug to my poor performance and felt on day 1 that I barely squeaked by. For day 2, which was supposed to be harder than day 1 due to the difference in overall activities, I did prepare better food/drink wise and being that much farther from my illness on the weekend really helped. The physical push on day 2 was more intense but because of the type of exercise on which we were focusing and my better preparedness I didn't have anywhere near as hard of a time as I did on day 1. It's funny because I think all 4 of us hit a wall at one point or another during the test where we considered quitting. Mine was day 1. The 3 teens, including the star athlete I described to you in the last paragraph seemed to have a lot more trouble on day 2. It was because of this that I got to return the cheer leading favor for my friend. There was a specific part of the test she found so trying that she broke down into tears in the middle of it. I don't know if my yelling encouragement at her helped her like her doing the same helped me but when it was over she almost collapsed. We had a 30 second break to slug down some water, and in this time I basically carried her over to the water area. She recomposed herself and we finished the day together.

Day 3, which was the Saturday of the same week, was the open session where we could have family and friends come watch us test if we wanted. I had my wife, mother, sister, father-in-law and sis-in-law and her boyfriend (who I consider a friend myself now) all there to support me. Day 3, which was supposed to be about 3-3.5 hours like days 1 and 2, ended up running long; closer to 5 hours (second longest in school history). Before we put on the gloves to spar 2 fresh kick boxers from our Muay Thai program, we were pushed so hard that I had the muscles in my left arm and right leg lock up so those limbs were basically useless. Despite this I made it through the sparring and through a BJJ match with my head instructor and came out on top earning my 1st degree black belt.

I've not felt so good about myself ever, as I did when we bowed out after receiving our belts that day. Being a person that's always had struggles with my weight, having people come up to me to shake my hand and tell me that "I was a hell of an athlete" and "it was inspirational to watch" really meant something to me that even now, months later as I write this, causes me to feel a little emotional. That's never been a way that I've viewed myself ever in my life and to hear people say those things to me forced me to look at myself in a different way. As I drove myself back to my house that evening where my wife and family waited to celebrate with me I drove slowly to reflect (I did a lot of reflecting those next few days). I actually shed a few tears on the way home and at the time I wasn't sure why. Now I know that it's because people saw me, in my rawest most exposed form. The real me. The determined me. The martial artist me. Not the chunky 33 year old guy that so many probably see me as, but as the warrior that lives at my core and when active, makes me feel like a whole person in a way that nothing else does. They saw that person, and didn't just like it, but were impressed by it, and wanted to be like it which is not something that I've ever experienced before.

I've known for a long time that martial arts makes me feel good. It's a great stress outlet and while I'm still over weight, it's also helped me lose the roughly 100 pounds that I've lost over the years and keep it off. After that test, I now know how I stack against the others in my craft. It's been said that, in our school, the Sho Biyn Ju black belt test is the hardest test our school has to offer. It makes people pass out, vomit, bleed and in many cases quit. So if you make it through it, you wear an enormous badge of respect when you put that belt around your waist afterword. It's not like buying a black belt at a Villari's or some other chain McDojo. It has depth and meaning.

Having gone through black belt exams before I didn't expect what happened this August to be like it was, which was truly transformative. I hope all of you martial artists out there, get to experience that feeling at some point in your journey. 

Train on.

Recent Sparring Event and Closing in on Black Belt

Recently I participated in an open style sparring event through my school. All of the different systems that are practiced there were invited to participate and we were encouraged to invite friends from other dojos and styles. This wasn't meant to be a competition but a training day. I had a blast and look forward to another event like this. I have stated in the past that I use martial arts as an outlet or therapy for myself and I have to say I haven't felt as relaxed as I did walking out of the dojo that day, in several years. 2 straight hours of free fighting with Karate, Muay Thai and MMA fighters really took the edge off.

Here's a highlights reel.

On another note, I'm scheduled to test for my black belt this August and not to put a finer point on it, I'm getting nervous. I know the material in our curriculum very well, but am worried about my stamina. This test is not just a test of your knowledge but also of your body and will to push through.

I keep reminding myself that I've done something like this before, but for whatever reason, I want it more and for different reasons then I did back when I took Taekwondo. Back then, it was more of a status symbol. Sure I knew that it was a solid starting point, and something to be respected and hard earned, but now it feels different. Now it's a desire to earn something that which requires all of myself. This rank was respected at my old school to some degree but I think it was easier to obtain and therefore just didn't mean as much. Also in my old school the focus was on the belt, whereas in this school, the focus is on the journey. In my current school, the rank of black belt in our Sho Bin Ju system is respected not just by the other traditional martial artists, but also by the MMA practitioners, BJJ fighters and Thai boxers. 3 4+ hour sessions in 1 week will be a hard earned rank.

I'm nervous as I said before, but I also can't wait.

Train on. 

Chuck Norris in MMA and Some Inspirational Words

Just saw this video and thought it was pretty cool. I've read his biography and watched many different videos with Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee in them. This is especially interesting though because it's just Chuck talking about Bruce as a friend, because they were friends. 

Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris are both icons in the acting and martial arts worlds so, like so many actors and performers, it's easy to forget that they are/were just guys with regular hopes, dreams and goals. Chuck has spent a lot of his later years now, working on his charity foundation to help kids resolve conflicts productively and reduce gang violence. I have a lot of respect for him and what he's accomplished between his charity foundation and his amazing career. What I find most impressive is that, with all he's done over the years, every time I watch an interview with him on a talk show or in a YouTube format like this, he always seems very down to earth and even humble. 

I think I might have a little bit of a swelled head if I spawned a whole genre of jokes, simply because I'm a bad-ass. ;-)

Enjoy. 

Haiku About Blocking

Ran some great blocking drills last night. This popped in my head this morning. If you like the occasional Haiku and martial arts, enjoy. 

Blocking drills, arms sore

Bruises develop at night

Pain makes you stronger