Swamped

Between work and home, I've been swamped. I only trained twice this week, and didn't work out separately at all. I've taken a new assignment at work that's is a step up, and I'm alternating between being excited, terrified, and having to work very hard to master it.

Life outside work has been demanding as well--some discouraging issues, some positive ones.

We did have a happy Mother's Day this morning for my wife, with some presents very beautifully wrapped by our daughter, and a pancake breakfast including some M&Ms in a few pancakes.

I did try my first grappling class since the bone bruise on my ACL-repaired leg several weeks ago. I took it easy, "rolling" instead of truly grappling--that is, going through the moves to learn them rather than trying to submit my opponent. (At least that's what I think rolling means--BJJ practitioners like Steve could say for sure.)

I'm concerned that the leg still hurts when I voluntarily hyperextend it, and that it doesn't feel quite right when I torque it (even gently as a test). I may go back to the orthopod to see what he suggests--probably physical therapy, though when I'll be able to fit that in, I don't know.

Karate from Young Perspectives

Paula is a blogger who's re-starting karate in her 20s and has had a knee injury (though thankfully, it doesn't sound like it's the ACL... let's hope not). She has an interesting story. Welcome, Paula.

Black Belt Blues is a classic ambitious ACL recoveree and karateka. We all need those PT fixes, Chad!

Will Our Knees Be The Same?

Michele of Just A Thought has a thought-provoking post as she's approaching one year after ACL reconstruction surgery.

For me, her bittersweet post--her knee may never be the same, but her karate has become "a search for deeper understanding"--made me think (as I commented) on the thankfulness and regret that are my experience as I grow older and doors close.

Perspective

My wife, daughter and I will be taking a mini vacation starting today, traveling to Philadelphia to see Ansel Adams photos (Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park above) and Frida Kahlo paintings at the Philadelphia Museum, run up the steps of the museum and hold up our hands like Rocky, and do other things tourists do in Philadelphia. So no martial arts class this weekend.

I went to two "core" classes in the past two days. One day I parked in front of a nearby Lucille Roberts gym. As I was getting out of the car, a young woman came out of the gym on crutches. I wondered, of course, if she was yet another ACL recoveree.

She was missing a lot more than her ACL, it turns out. She was missing her entire right leg.

I felt so impressed that she was going to the gym--she looked like she was in good shape--and seeing her helped me put into perspective an ACL operation a year ago and a bone bruise a few weeks back.

Exercise, Socialize

I've fallen off on my training a bit, not only because of my bruised femur, but also because I've been having more of a social life lately, which isn't such a bad thing. Work has also been very busy, which again, isn't so bad in the grand scheme of things.

One corollary to having a little more social life is the occasional drink. My impression is that some people, in intense training, don't drink. One very quick Google of alcohol and exercise yields this quote: Consuming alcohol the night before an activity can hinder your performance by causing dehydration and loss of minerals and electrolytes. I think even one drink affects my athletic performance the next day. And yet a glass of red wine a day is supposed to be good for the heart. I guess, for those of us able to use moderation, it comes down to how intensely are you training. If it's intense, I probably won't drink at all.

Today I did half an hour on the elliptical machine in the afternoon, and in the evening did some leg PT, sit-ups and push-ups. Tomorrow, one of our "core" classes--shadow boxing, hitting and kicking pads, a little self defense, and LOTS of push-ups and sit-ups/crunches.

Finally, the Calzaghe-Hopkins fight Saturday night was a GREAT boxing match because it was about two minds contesting. Hopkins, the amazing 43-year-old (on the left in the photo above), had studied Calzaghe and come up with a plan, a way to fight him, a way to nullify the 36-year-old Welshman's incredible speed. After about four rounds, Calzaghe figured out how to combat Hopkins' clever plan. And Hopkins couldn't readjust, leading Calzaghe to the win.

Godoctor

3:30 PM Today: Phone call from doctor's office: There's a problem with the X-ray machine that has to be fixed, so the doctor is seeing patients at a different building.
Me: A problem with the X-ray machine? Like radiation?
DO: No, it's not a radiation problem, it just needs to be fixed.

3:40: Leave house for different office.

3:45: Return home to retrieve MRI images; try again.

4:00: Arrive at doctor's office. Find seat in packed waiting room.

5:02: Still in packed waiting room.

5:09: Speculate that people seem to be going into the doctor's offices but not coming out. Maye they're being turned into Soylent Green.

5:31: Called to exam room.

5:45: Doc comes in. Bends my leg, it bends and straightens better. Reads report, MRI place says ACL is fine, slight bone bruise on femur (upper leg bone). Doc shows me MRI, the ACL looks great, the meniscus looks okay for having been operated on, there a little blood inside the bone (bone bruise) of the femur where it's at my knee, as a result of my injury.

Doc says to take it easy for a month. Work on quads and hamstrings, and stretch hamstring. No sparring or grappling for a month; no torquing the leg for a month, but I can attend core classes (non-contact) if I don't torque the leg. If it still hurts in a month, come back. I ask about why my brace didn't prevent the injury, and he suggests having it adjusted by the brace maker.

It's a relief that nothing serious is damaged, though I would rather be able to plunge back into things.

The Pursuit of What?

My wife and I had a serious talk this morning. I wanted to talk about her comment to me that she's "concerned about this pursuit of health that leads to injuries."

I said that for me, health is a wonderful byproduct of the martial arts, but not the reason I do them.

I tried to figure out, and to explain, why I like an injury-prone activity like sparring. I think some of it is hard-wired--as Sam Sheridan says in A Fighter's Heart, you can make the evolutionary argument that in a world of conflict and risk, the strongest father benefited his family/tribe/group.

I also enjoy the self-testing of physical combat. Will I be brave? Will I cower? That's also a topic in A Fighter's Heart.

And I enjoy the technical and mental challenges to improve. Can I stay calm and see where my opponent is leaving openings? How can I set up openings with feints? Can I execute that triangle choke?

My wife said she understood it's my decision to pursue this path. But when I walked into the house after sparring two Wednesdays ago, and said I had hurt my knee, she felt both empathy for my pain, but also anger that I had gone willingly into a situation where I've gotten badly hurt before. And she said, with some trepidation, that she doesn't want to see me try to get the black belt again. It was too painful for her to see me hurt the last time.

I told her I understood that feeling. I wouldn't want to see someone I love get hurt.

I said that one reason I did martial arts was to impress my woman; that when she (and my daughter) offer me encouragement when I'm, say, doing push-ups at home, or when she talks about how I've gotten into good shape, it's very encouraging to me.

She said she understood I wanted to impress her, but felt I should factor into my thinking that she strongly doesn't want me to get hurt.

We discussed how she might need to make use of a concept we call "letting go with love," a kind of Buddhist effort not to try to let go of a situation where you're concerned about someone you love, but aren't in control.

Now I have to sign off, because we're going out for dinner and a movie.