# What to do - new and clueless



## ScottJJ (Mar 29, 2011)

Hi guys.  I've been lurking for a little while as I am new to martial arts but finally got the nerve to post something.  This is a great forum with tons of insight and assistance and I'm glad that I found it.

I am a white belt for about two months in Japanese Jiu-Jitsu.  I was progressing quite nicely and just about to be able to test and move up but pulled something in my lower back.  Then I thought it was healed up and joined class again only to reinjure it even worse.  After some bad Dr. advice I stayed on the injury as it was supposed to get better if you moved it around but wasn't taking any falls or doing anything too strenuous.  Fast forward a few weeks and its not any better so I seek another opinion from a specialist who determines my intercostals have a tear and that's why I have trouble sneezing, coughing or anything.  Now that means I have to completely sit out of activity for a few weeks.

Here is my issue.  I'm new to the class and its pretty competitive in there so it really, really sucks to sit out and watch as I've had to do that a few times lately.  My Sensei tells me to come and watch and take notes and he will catch me up on ranking when I'm healthy but I feel so frustrated when i do this.  What is customary?  Do you go and just watch or do you sit at home and rest and then come back when ready to roll again?  I have no idea and don't want to appear disrespectful to my instructor.  We don't get much time to chat about these things in or out of class so I'm in need of other guidance.  Any help is appreciated.


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## jks9199 (Mar 29, 2011)

Go and watch.  Pay close attention to how your seniors are doing things; how do they make entry and find the balance keys, where do they position themselves, and so on.

This is a chance to really catch how the techniques work, because you will be watching and not worrying about doing it right away.  You can really pay attention to what your sensei is doing, and to what people are doing right and wrong.


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## shesulsa (Mar 29, 2011)

ScottJJ, welcome to MartialTalk.com!

I have been pregnant and injured and forced to sit on the sidelines a few times myself.  I totally agree that you should go and watch. Yes, it's frustrating to not participate, but you will have a fine opportunity to focus, watch and learn.  

Take the time you need to heal *fully* and come back slowly so you don't re-injure yourself.

Enjoy!


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## ScottJJ (Mar 29, 2011)

Thank you for the tips jks and shesulsa.  I didn't know what the protocol was so this is extremely helpful.  

I do have to admit that it will be a relief not to have to perform and I can probably have a clearer head not worrying about screwing up the techniques.  This should help me to get down some of the things you both mentioned.  

All I can do is this so its what I will do.  I just wish my injuries could have set in a few months down the road but there never is a good time I imagine.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Mar 29, 2011)

It some times is a great opportunity to just go and watch!  I advise anyone to do so if they are injured.  It also keeps you going so you do not get out of the habit and motivates you more when you can return!


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## jks9199 (Mar 29, 2011)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> It some times is a great opportunity to just go and watch!  I advise anyone to do so if they are injured.  It also keeps you going so you do not get out of the habit and motivates you more when you can return!


That's another great point...  Once you start making excuses, they have a tendency to multiply.  You missed last week, because you were hurt... and you're still hurt, so you won't go this week... and when you're feeling better, it's been so long...

Another reason I always attended, even if I was hurt and unable to participate is fear!  I was always certain that the one thing I really need to learn would be taught the night I missed class...

One exception to the rule of attending class is contagious illness, of course!  If you're going to make me or the rest of the class ill -- stay home!


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## ScottJJ (Mar 29, 2011)

Those are more very good tips.  As good of habits as I've developed attending class it would be just as easy to develop bad habits and miss class continually and never return.

It's also good to know what to do when I get sick.


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## ScottJJ (Mar 30, 2011)

It was definitely helpful to go and observe class. I learned a lot and was glad that I attended. While I was there I took some good notes and hopefully those will help out down the road.  Its going to suck to miss out on testing due to this injury but at least I know I can do what's required although I can't perform at the present time.


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## shesulsa (Mar 30, 2011)

ScottJJ said:


> It was definitely helpful to go and observe class. I learned a lot and was glad that I attended. While I was there I took some good notes and hopefully those will help out down the road.  Its going to suck to miss out on testing due to this injury but at least I know I can do what's required although I can't perform at the present time.



Right now, I would like for you to try to embrace a particular idea - it is important for you and anyone who wants to train martial arts long-term:

_*Your training is about you.*_​
This means you test when it's time for YOU to test.  Do NOT rush to meet deadlines for regularly scheduled or interval testing ... make sure your training is *quality* and you can really only do that by your own measure.  Get it *right* instead of getting it *fast* and if that means you skip a test date (even when you're healthy) then do it.  The long-term payoff will be well worth it.

Get used to the notion that this is likely not the last injury you will sustain during your training.  You are approaching this with what sounds like a good attitude - visualize yourself in your body doing every movement with perfection.  When your lower body is compromised, train your upper body. When the upper body is compromised, train the lower.  When your back is injured, absolutely heal your spine and recover it before you continue.  If you require rest, envision yourself recharging like your laptop or a solar battery.

Don't skimp on the physical therapy and don't leap ahead of your solid ability during recovery.  

Keep that training journal and notes going throughout your training. I never kept a training journal and I now regret it.

I hope you're with us for a while - It would entertaining and likely educational for some of us to read your observations during your recovery.  Please consider starting a blog here - let me know if you need help getting it started.

Good training to you and, again, welcome!


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## ScottJJ (Apr 6, 2011)

I am continuing to watch my class but it has been good for me to be there with them as I don't feel like I've really missed anything other than of course the physical part of practice.  There is no anxiety with worrying what I have missed so its been a good overall experience.  Finally my Sensei understands whats going on with the injury and seems to really understand why I am sitting out and for how long.

My therapy has been interesting but these guys are the best in the biz. For the first few days I was getting electro and heat therapy as well as a sports massage to the area and it hurt like hell because I was so sore. What is so difficult is that its the most challenging area to get bloodflow to so lots of tricks are necessary to trigger the body to send more bloodflow that way.They have also wrapped me in a rib wrap to keep me from having certain burts that could reinjure me as would occur during a cough or sneeze.

At the end of last week they began getting me in a pool to test how I would react to water pressure that the jet creates and that was quite painful at first but I got used to it the more that I stayed in there. This really benchmarked where I was and now we can mark my progression on how much pressure that I can take.  I graduated up to about the toughest pressure which is pretty cool.

Today I was allowed to do some planks and core exercises for the first time but they had to be done perfectly in order to make sure that I didn't hurt myself.  I finally am gaining a bit of confidence.  They say that I am a little ahead of schedule so that's a good thing.  I might get this rib wrap off in about 5 days which is also a big progression.  Hopefully I'll be back in Jiu-Jitsu very soon.

Thanks for the words of encouragement.  They were quite helpful.


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## Mark Jordan (Apr 6, 2011)

Trust your instructor.  It's no use worrying about your health and what you can't do. Take this opportunity to watch and learn.


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## ScottJJ (May 13, 2011)

I've been back for a few weeks now.  Those in my class seem pretty blown away with some of the things I have been able to do.  The few things I was having difficulty with I just kept watching a few guys that were my size do them and finally figured the essence of the technique out.  I survived though and didn't quit.  I've seen a couple of new white belts that came in after me quit after a few classes due to bumps and bruises.  I'm all in.  Martial arts will always be part of my life.  I hope that I will always have a Jiu-Jitsu dojo nearby.


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## Grasshopper22 (Apr 12, 2012)

You can and most probably will learn a lot even by watching. If you're back is so agonising (and I hope it gets better very soon by the way) that it hurts to walk, then don't go, but if it's only painful during strenuous exercise and you'd rather watch than sit at home, then go. It's entirely up to you but as I said, you will learn an awful lot more from watching than you think and certianly than you will from sitting at home and watching the television or whatever.


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## Chris Parker (Apr 12, 2012)

Grasshopper, for the 17th time now, please check the dates of the threads you're responding to, as well as the posts past the first one. This thread hasn't been updated for nearly a year now, with the last post being the original poster commenting on how these issues weren't as much of a problem anymore. Hell, man, it's just one page, you can read that before jumping on like this, yeah?


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## dougmukashi (Apr 23, 2012)

An injury is a great opportunity to learn. Ask yourself, "what would I do if I got into a fight with my injury?" . If someone attacks you and you are injured, you need a plan. You need to know just what you can and cannot do. What your limitations and your strengths are. Ask your sensei to work with you on this. I teach cane as a weapon just for this reason. May be a good time to try that. Hope this helps you. Speedy recovery. Another piece of info. I learned and applied, strengthen  the areas around your injury. Keep those muscles strong.


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## K-man (Apr 23, 2012)

dougmukashi said:


> An injury is a great opportunity to learn. Ask yourself, "what would I do if I got into a fight with my injury?" . If someone attacks you and you are injured, you need a plan. You need to know just what you can and cannot do. What your limitations and your strengths are. Ask your sensei to work with you on this. I teach cane as a weapon just for this reason. May be a good time to try that. Hope this helps you. Speedy recovery. Another piece of info. I learned and applied, strengthen  the areas around your injury. Keep those muscles strong.


As *Chris* said above, make sure you read the thread *before* you post.  If you read the OP's last post from May last year, *ScottJJ* had been back training for a few weeks. 
Unfortunately your advice is about 12 months late ..   but welcome to MT.


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## jks9199 (Apr 23, 2012)

K-man said:


> As *Chris* said above, make sure you read the thread *before* you post.  If you read the OP's last post from May last year, *ScottJJ* had been back training for a few weeks.
> Unfortunately your advice is about 12 months late ..   but welcome to MT.



It's still not bad advice -- and we do have a few other members newly on the injured reserve who might have found some use in this thread's bump, too.


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## K-man (Apr 23, 2012)

jks9199 said:


> It's still not bad advice -- and we do have a few other members newly on the injured reserve who might have found some use in this thread's bump, too.


Don't have a problem with the advice, just that it's actually addressed to the OP.



> May be a good time to try that. Hope this helps you. Speedy recovery. Another piece of info. I learned and applied, strengthen the areas around your injury. Keep those muscles strong.



If the post was prefaced by, "I know this is an old thread but .... ", I wouldn't have a problem.    :asian:


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