February 23, 2006
Don't Take Injuries Lying Down
I have met many people, both on and off the mats, who seem to take their injuries with resignation. They say things like: "I just have bad shoulders", or "I'm going to have to live with this bad back for the rest of my life", and are content to live a less rich life. My reaction to injuries has always been to try to educate myself, and then to tackle them head-on.
To illustrate, let me talk about my lower back. I first injured my lower back getting thrown onto a wooden floor back in my Kajukenbo Karate days. I then further aggravated it by getting into high-level whitewater canoeing, where you are exerting a tremendous amount of unilateral twisting strain on your spine and torso. It got so bad that, when I was doing Judo, even with proper breakfalling it only took 3 or 4 times getting thrown onto my back for my lumbar spine to sieze up completely.
Most of the time I just experienced a dull discomfort in my left lower back, but when it flared up (after a Judo class, or weightlifting with bad form) it was really, really BAD! The worst time it was so bad that I was trapped on the floor of my study for almost 24 hours because I simply couldn't walk, crawl, or be dragged to my bedroom.
All this time I was actively pursuing various treatments and therapies. Over a period of about 1o years I tried doing the following things to cure my back problems:
As you can see I tried about everything except short of putting a pyramid under my bed and having surgery! Now this was time-intensive and finacially-expensive process, and I was very fortunate that many of these treatments were partially or fully covered by a combination of the public health plan (I live in Canada) and my health plan through work. I realize that unemployed (or underemployed) people will have difficulty pursuing as many treatment options as I did, BUT some of these options are low cost or no cost.
My point isn't to talk specifically about back injuries and treatments per se, but rather to illustrate the lengths I went to in order to live a healthy and energetic life. My bad back cut into my training, my family time and my general enjoyment of life, and I wasn't about to accept it as part of the definition of who I am.
Next week I'll talk about some of the treatments that actually helped me make progress with my back problems.
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To illustrate, let me talk about my lower back. I first injured my lower back getting thrown onto a wooden floor back in my Kajukenbo Karate days. I then further aggravated it by getting into high-level whitewater canoeing, where you are exerting a tremendous amount of unilateral twisting strain on your spine and torso. It got so bad that, when I was doing Judo, even with proper breakfalling it only took 3 or 4 times getting thrown onto my back for my lumbar spine to sieze up completely.
Most of the time I just experienced a dull discomfort in my left lower back, but when it flared up (after a Judo class, or weightlifting with bad form) it was really, really BAD! The worst time it was so bad that I was trapped on the floor of my study for almost 24 hours because I simply couldn't walk, crawl, or be dragged to my bedroom.
All this time I was actively pursuing various treatments and therapies. Over a period of about 1o years I tried doing the following things to cure my back problems:
- stopping Judo and concentrated almost 100% on groundfighting
- switching from whitewater canoeing to whitewater kayaking
- consulting 'Western medicine' (i.e. family doctors,visits to the ER, back specialists, etc.)
- going to physiotherapy, developed and used my own routine
- using anti-inflammatories (3 or 4 different types)
- trying herbal and vitamin treatment
- applying Chinese tinctures and ointments
- doing Yoga
- acupuncture (from at least 3 different practitioners)
- having frequent professional massages (from at least 4 different massage therapists)
- trying deep tissue massage / Rolfing
- taking hot baths and jacuzzis
- applying ice packs and cryotherapy
- consulting a pelvic malalingment expert
- going to 'normal' chiropractic therapy (from at least 6 different chiropractors)
- trying 'no-touch' chiropractic therapy
- buying and using several traction and inversion devices
- having cranial-sacral therapy
As you can see I tried about everything except short of putting a pyramid under my bed and having surgery! Now this was time-intensive and finacially-expensive process, and I was very fortunate that many of these treatments were partially or fully covered by a combination of the public health plan (I live in Canada) and my health plan through work. I realize that unemployed (or underemployed) people will have difficulty pursuing as many treatment options as I did, BUT some of these options are low cost or no cost.
My point isn't to talk specifically about back injuries and treatments per se, but rather to illustrate the lengths I went to in order to live a healthy and energetic life. My bad back cut into my training, my family time and my general enjoyment of life, and I wasn't about to accept it as part of the definition of who I am.
Next week I'll talk about some of the treatments that actually helped me make progress with my back problems.
Labels: Injuries
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February 21, 2006
The MOST Important Training Gear
Over the last couple of months I have written about various pieces of training gear, ranging from wrestling shoes to mouthguards. Looking over these tips I realized I had left out the single most important, completely indispensable training gear of all: your partner!
Grappling is a contact sport where we struggle to apply techniques to our sparring partners while these same people are doing their very best to resist and apply similar techniques to us. The training of techniques against partial or full resistance is the central pillar of our training method, and it relies absolutely on having sparring partners. No sparring partners equals no sparring equals no improvement of skills.
So given that this is true, then why do some people take such poor care of their sparring partners? Why do some people think it is acceptable to crank armbars, or apply full force toeholds? At best that person will stop sparring with them, at worst they may sustain serious injury requiring surgery. Either way, the person without control loses a sparring partner and makes it more difficult for himself to improve his skills.
Preserve your training partners - it's the only way to get better!
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Grappling is a contact sport where we struggle to apply techniques to our sparring partners while these same people are doing their very best to resist and apply similar techniques to us. The training of techniques against partial or full resistance is the central pillar of our training method, and it relies absolutely on having sparring partners. No sparring partners equals no sparring equals no improvement of skills.
So given that this is true, then why do some people take such poor care of their sparring partners? Why do some people think it is acceptable to crank armbars, or apply full force toeholds? At best that person will stop sparring with them, at worst they may sustain serious injury requiring surgery. Either way, the person without control loses a sparring partner and makes it more difficult for himself to improve his skills.
Preserve your training partners - it's the only way to get better!
Labels: Injuries
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February 11, 2006
On Relaxation, Aggression and Intent
In the last week I have added two new articles to Grapplearts.com. The first article is a selection of breakthrough stories sent in by the readers of this newsletter. Andreh Anderson contributes the second article, where he shares a revelation about relaxation, prompted by a private lesson with possibly the best pound-for-pound submission grappler in the world, Marcelo Garcia.
As I was preparing these two articles I was struck by a seeming contradiction. One guy (Andreh) says that his game jumped when he became LESS relaxed on the mat, whereas several other people said that they had breakthroughs when they finally learned to become MORE relaxed while sparring. How can this be?
Well first of all it could be a case of: "Dosis facit venenum." which translates to "The dose makes the poison" (Paracelsus). Perhaps Andreh, being an advanced brown belt, was too relaxed, whereas the other guys were too tense. Perhaps each person needed to find their optimal state of relaxation, and that meant that one guy needed to dial it up whereas the other guys needed to dial it down. This issue was addressed in a previous tip of the week (Optimal State of Arousal)
It is also possible that people mean different things by "relaxation" and "aggression". Some beginners might think that being aggressive means tensing every muscle in your body all the time. Obviously this is different from what Andreh is talking about, which is more a focused intention to control the flow and rhythm of the game. Various limbs may or may not be tense at any given moment, depending on what he is trying to accomplish, but he isn't draining his gas tank by spazzing out for the whole match.
I hope that you have fun looking at other people's breakthrough stories. I am sure you will be struck by the diversity of physical and mental realizations that propelled these grapplers to a new level. Some breakthroughs may seem completely obvious, whereas others may seem rather esoteric; this reflects the diversity of skill levels, training backgrounds, and physical gifts of the contributors. I hope that somewhere among all this advice you can find the right "dose" for what ails you.
A sincere thanks to all who sent in their stories!
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As I was preparing these two articles I was struck by a seeming contradiction. One guy (Andreh) says that his game jumped when he became LESS relaxed on the mat, whereas several other people said that they had breakthroughs when they finally learned to become MORE relaxed while sparring. How can this be?
Well first of all it could be a case of: "Dosis facit venenum." which translates to "The dose makes the poison" (Paracelsus). Perhaps Andreh, being an advanced brown belt, was too relaxed, whereas the other guys were too tense. Perhaps each person needed to find their optimal state of relaxation, and that meant that one guy needed to dial it up whereas the other guys needed to dial it down. This issue was addressed in a previous tip of the week (Optimal State of Arousal)
It is also possible that people mean different things by "relaxation" and "aggression". Some beginners might think that being aggressive means tensing every muscle in your body all the time. Obviously this is different from what Andreh is talking about, which is more a focused intention to control the flow and rhythm of the game. Various limbs may or may not be tense at any given moment, depending on what he is trying to accomplish, but he isn't draining his gas tank by spazzing out for the whole match.
I hope that you have fun looking at other people's breakthrough stories. I am sure you will be struck by the diversity of physical and mental realizations that propelled these grapplers to a new level. Some breakthroughs may seem completely obvious, whereas others may seem rather esoteric; this reflects the diversity of skill levels, training backgrounds, and physical gifts of the contributors. I hope that somewhere among all this advice you can find the right "dose" for what ails you.
A sincere thanks to all who sent in their stories!
Labels: the mental aspect
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February 06, 2006
Taping (aka 'External Ligaments')
An old judo coach once tried to help me with an injury by saying: "there are internal ligaments in the body, but there are also external ligaments that are available to you" as he handed me the roll of white athletic tape. I often think of his "external ligaments" comment as I tape up the small injuries that plague me since I am no longer in my twenties.
Applying tape correctly accomplishes two things: 1 - it limits the mobility of a joint and providing stability, and 2 - it provides compression. Both of these actions can be useful when trying to train with an injury, and prevent re-injury of a weakened area.
Taping techniques can be very simple, such as wrapping your finger to provide protection to a hyperextended digit, or very complicated, such as trying to provide protection and support to a damaged shoulder. There are books, courses, and internet resources available on the subject of athletic taping, and if you use tape for anything more complicated than wrapping your fingers you might want to to track them down.
One golden rule of taping is that it MUST NOT IMPAIR CIRCULATION. Getting your taping job tight enough to offer support, but not so tight as to cut off blood flow, can be a tricky balance at first; don't be afraid to unwrap your taping job and start again if it is too tight.
I would also caution you against using tape each and every session, because you may be weakening the joint in question by making it reliant on the additional support. Tape is only part of the solution, not the whole solution. If you have a joint that is so unstable that it always requires tape then perhaps what you really need is some skilled physiotherapy instead.
Buy tape in large quantities (it's cheaper that way) and take it to every class. Ed Beneville, author of The Guard and Passing the Guard, contributes: "I am a fan of duct tape. Athletic tape is great but the prices are ridiculous. Duct tape does the job almost as well but at a fraction of the price." Regardless of the type of tape I am using, I try to always have some tape in my gym bag, because even if I don't need it, someone else surely will.
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Applying tape correctly accomplishes two things: 1 - it limits the mobility of a joint and providing stability, and 2 - it provides compression. Both of these actions can be useful when trying to train with an injury, and prevent re-injury of a weakened area.
Taping techniques can be very simple, such as wrapping your finger to provide protection to a hyperextended digit, or very complicated, such as trying to provide protection and support to a damaged shoulder. There are books, courses, and internet resources available on the subject of athletic taping, and if you use tape for anything more complicated than wrapping your fingers you might want to to track them down.
One golden rule of taping is that it MUST NOT IMPAIR CIRCULATION. Getting your taping job tight enough to offer support, but not so tight as to cut off blood flow, can be a tricky balance at first; don't be afraid to unwrap your taping job and start again if it is too tight.
I would also caution you against using tape each and every session, because you may be weakening the joint in question by making it reliant on the additional support. Tape is only part of the solution, not the whole solution. If you have a joint that is so unstable that it always requires tape then perhaps what you really need is some skilled physiotherapy instead.
Buy tape in large quantities (it's cheaper that way) and take it to every class. Ed Beneville, author of The Guard and Passing the Guard, contributes: "I am a fan of duct tape. Athletic tape is great but the prices are ridiculous. Duct tape does the job almost as well but at a fraction of the price." Regardless of the type of tape I am using, I try to always have some tape in my gym bag, because even if I don't need it, someone else surely will.
Labels: Injuries
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