# Newbie saying hi! and a question...



## subzero (Sep 5, 2007)

I just found this forum and wanted to drop in and say hi. I've browsed a little already and am quite happy with how helpful and considerate everyone seems. It can be a rare commodity on the internet these days.

I also have a question.

I'm looking to start training again after many many years of inactivity. Mostly because my 2 sons have started Karate and are really enjoying themselves, and I would like to be able to spend time with them doing something we can all participate in. Which leads to my question.... I'm wondering how practical it would be for me to start after suffering a fairly severe broken leg and having recontructive surgery? 

It's been 5 mos since the accident and I'm still in physical therapy, but progressing nicely. I have 2 plates and 18 screws holding my tibia together just below the knee. I no longer require crutches or a cane, but still have a noticeable limp (although I'm working hard to get rid of it).

Does anyone else here have experience in training after suffering an injury to the legs (or any injury in general)? Or maybe just someone with advise either for or against attempting to train?

I have not yet discussed this with my doctor, but have with my physical therapist, and he seemed to think it was not such a great idea, but I was hoping to get some insight from someone that has maybe had a similar injury and could share their experience.

Thanks in advance, and any advise is much appreciated!


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## theletch1 (Sep 5, 2007)

Welcome aboard!  As for training after an injury I'll tell you what most folks here will tell you...ask your doctor.  Asking a bunch of strangers on an internet forum (no matter how nice we may be:angel is no substitute for the advice of your doc or PT who will be much better positioned to give that advice.


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## subzero (Sep 5, 2007)

Thanks for the quick reply. There you go throwing logic and common sense into it. :ultracool I do intend on asking the doctor at my next appt, but thought I would look to the active community for their perspective.

You know how some doctors can be. They tell people all the time they'll never walk again, or ride a bike, or play the piano, or etc... but many of their patients go on to defy the odds and participate in their chosen activity. 

I guess what I am really looking for is a success story. A "I beat the odds and conquered the obstacle" sort of thing.

I understand that asking on an internet forum isn't sound medical advise, but seeing as neither my doctor or therapist have a MA background, I thought maybe people active in the MA community could share their experiences and triumphs.

Appreciate the response :cheers:


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## JBrainard (Sep 5, 2007)

subzero said:


> I understand that asking on an internet forum isn't sound medical advise, but seeing as neither my doctor or therapist have a MA background, I thought maybe people active in the MA community could share their experiences and triumphs.


 
First of all: Ave.
Second, if you could find a doctor who has studied sports medicine they may be more informed about your condition in relation to martial arts. How to contact this kind of doctor? :idunno: One idea would be to call your health insurance provider and ask if any of these kinds of doctors are in your area.
Best of luck.


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## theletch1 (Sep 5, 2007)

subzero said:


> Thanks for the quick reply. There you go throwing logic and common sense into it. :ultracool I do intend on asking the doctor at my next appt, but thought I would look to the active community for their perspective.
> 
> You know how some doctors can be. They tell people all the time they'll never walk again, or ride a bike, or play the piano, or etc... but many of their patients go on to defy the odds and participate in their chosen activity.
> 
> ...


A success story?  Sure, I took a swan dive off of a two story building, broke my back and tore up my right rotator cuff.  Went back to training in aikido too soon and wound up having to start rehab almost from scratch again.  I did eventually get back to as close to normal as I'll ever be and the up side of it is that my wife was inspired to go to college to get her physical therapy assistant degree.


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## subzero (Sep 5, 2007)

theletch1 said:


> A success story?  Sure, I took a swan dive off of a two story building, broke my back and tore up my right rotator cuff.  Went back to training in aikido too soon and wound up having to start rehab almost from scratch again.  I did eventually get back to as close to normal as I'll ever be and the up side of it is that my wife was inspired to go to college to get her physical therapy assistant degree.



**Note to self...no swan dives!**
Now I feel like a wimp asking about my little broken leg 

I would like to know how you feel about training now (assuming that you are training)? Do you worry about getting re-injured all the time? Does your wife wish you would take up something less physically demanding or dangerous?

My older son is also taking judo, and I can't help but cringe every time he gets thrown to the mat, thinking "Wow...if that was me, would that have broken my leg again?" (I have no intention of taking judo. Seems to be too much of a risk there)


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## morph4me (Sep 5, 2007)

subzero said:


> Thanks for the quick reply. There you go throwing logic and common sense into it. :ultracool I do intend on asking the doctor at my next appt, but thought I would look to the active community for their perspective.


 
First of all, welcome. Second you have to watch out for theletch he does that logic and common sense thing all the time.



subzero said:


> You know how some doctors can be. They tell people all the time they'll never walk again, or ride a bike, or play the piano, or etc... but many of their patients go on to defy the odds and participate in their chosen activity.
> 
> I guess what I am really looking for is a success story. A "I beat the odds and conquered the obstacle" sort of thing.
> 
> ...


Doctors will give you their best guess and educated opinion, what you do with it is your decision, but I have been around long enough, and done enough stupid things to know that after talking to the doctor the most important thing to do is listen to your body, and don't be in too much of a hurry, or you end up back at the beginning. Good luck.


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## theletch1 (Sep 5, 2007)

subzero said:


> **Note to self...no swan dives!**
> Now I feel like a wimp asking about my little broken leg
> 
> I would like to know how you feel about training now (assuming that you are training)? Do you worry about getting re-injured all the time? Does your wife wish you would take up something less physically demanding or dangerous?
> ...


My wife actually holds the same rank that I hold.  We've trained together in kempo and now nihon goshin aikido.  I am still training and have actually progressed to the point of teaching my own class on Sunday afternoons.  The first year I was back I was petrified that I was going to re-injure my back.  My instructor was very careful to keep an eye on me and shut me down when I got too full of myself.  My wife would push me just as far as she new I could go...she knows me better than I know myself.  Since my recovery we've gotten back into off roading in our jeeps, kayaking, camping, hiking etc.  If she catches me on a roof, however, I had better stay up there until she leaves for school or work.  The fall, oddly, didn't make me afraid of heights.  The injury did, however, help improve my technique in the dojo.  In aikido you can't muscle anything.  When my back was healing if I tried to muscle anything I would hurt like crazy.  I refined my technique in order to save my back (Although, I'm sure Morph would disagree after training with me during my visit to NY)
:ultracool

     Know your limitations.  Listen to your doctor.  Train with an empty cup.  Thinking about the injury will cause you to modify the techniques unnecessarily and could even result in a re-injury that doesn't have to happen.


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## subzero (Sep 5, 2007)

Thank you all very much for the replies and advice.

I think I will check with a couple dojos and see what seems to fit me best. I'll be sure to make the instructors aware of the situation and hear any recommendations they may have as well as my doctor and therapist.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. I truly appreciate it.


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## Brandon Fisher (Sep 5, 2007)

If you start training again at this point in your recovery I would recomend taking it extremely slow. Without sounding like a broken record I would talk with the doctor also.


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## stoneheart (Sep 5, 2007)

I imagine with your injury, kicking would be very difficult since you must balance on a single leg.  If you decide to practice karate, you must talk it over with your sensei and discuss your limitation.  Perhaps he will be willing to work with you and let you initially practice only the more stable movements like punching and avoid kicking and even the more dynamic footwork for a while.

Honestly, 5 months since your accident sounds like a very short time, particularly since you are older and have not been physically active for some time.  Please don't be discouraged if you find a seemingly simple movement to be beyond your abilities at first.  Much of what looks like it is easy or simple in the martial arts isn't, even for someone without injuries.


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## subzero (Sep 5, 2007)

stoneheart said:


> I imagine with your injury, kicking would be very difficult since you must balance on a single leg.  If you decide to practice karate, you must talk it over with your sensei and discuss your limitation.  Perhaps he will be willing to work with you and let you initially practice only the more stable movements like punching and avoid kicking and even the more dynamic footwork for a while.
> 
> Honestly, 5 months since your accident sounds like a very short time, particularly since you are older and have not been physically active for some time.  Please don't be discouraged if you find a seemingly simple movement to be beyond your abilities at first.  Much of what looks like it is easy or simple in the martial arts isn't, even for someone without injuries.



Very sound advice. I'm thinking that maybe I will take it slow and just start working on building strength in my leg first. It's quite difficult for me, being the very impulsive person that I am to not just jump right in and start doing it. Maybe now is the time to take the common sense approach. Besides, if I break something again...my wife will kill me!


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## aplonis (Sep 5, 2007)

My guess would be you should ease into MA very slowly. The footwork for MA, as you surely recall, involves quite a lot of torque on the legs and knees even when pivoting on the ball of the foot. And you can never be sure just how much traction you're going to have. Too much would be bad, yes.

Meanwhile, however, you have the world's best excuse to carry a cane nearly all of the time. A right and proper hickory cane like this one...

http://www.canemasters.com/index.php/canes/standard-canes-c-1_5/

...from Canemasters is a truly awsome weapon. In fact it is my very favorite. For self-defense it beats anything short of a gun. Best of all is that it allows for all degrees of response form mild through moderate and on up to deadly. In that regard it is superior to either a gun or a knife both of which allow only the highest degree of response.

The cane is perfect against dogs and such, too. No need to kill them. A poke in the nose will do the trick.

Thing is, you could start now practicing the basics with the cane and have it as an aid if you needed it on a bad day. In due course you've got just about the ideal weapon, one you can carry anywhere and use in any adverse situation. With your history you could carry it onto an airplane and nobody would say boo to you about it.


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## Kacey (Sep 5, 2007)

First, welcome, and happy posting!  :wavey:

Second, others have covered "talk to your doctor" quite well, so I'm going to bypass that and go on to "next, talk to the instructor".  There are some instructors who understand that we are all different, and have different abilities and needs, and there are some who are of the opinion that if you cannot perform at the same level as a well-conditioned 20 year-old, you have no business in their class :lol:.  Once your doctor gives you some idea what you can and cannot do, and the time frame in which you will reach optimal recovery, you need to take that information to instructors in whose class you are interested, and discuss your personal needs with them.  Good instructors will be willing and able to work with you, and to modify whatever they are teaching to meet your physical needs and recovery; poor instructors will not, and should be avoided.

There is a compilation of discussions onChoosing a school in this same section of the forum, which may help you decide how to choose a school, and what to look for when choosing a school, and often of greater importance, when choosing an instructor.

Good luck!


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## subzero (Sep 6, 2007)

Thanks for the continued information. I feel much better armed now to make an informed decision.

I really appreciate the time and effort everyone has taken with their responses.

~Tod


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## Drac (Sep 6, 2007)

subzero said:


> I'm wondering how practical it would be for me to start after suffering a fairly severe broken leg and having recontructive surgery?!


 
Greetings...I had a 1/2 ton of steel fall on me and break both legs, bi-lateral fractures of the Tib and Fib..I was lottis nailed back together and I had to learn how to wallk all over again...I progressed from a walker to a cane, as soon as I was free of the cane I started taking Shorin-Ryu..I spoke to Sensei prior and explained what I had been through..There were things I couln't do at first, but betwen the stretching and drills I got better..Best of luck..


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## subzero (Sep 6, 2007)

Drac said:


> Greetings...I had a 1/2 ton of steel fall on me and break both legs, bi-lateral fractures of the Tib and Fib..I was lottis nailed back together and I had to learn how to wallk all over again...I progressed from a walker to a cane, as soon as I was free of the cane I started taking Shorin-Ryu..I spoke to Sensei prior and explained what I had been through..There were things I couln't do at first, but betwen the stretching and drills I got better..Best of luck..



Wow Drac! That's pretty inspiring. Shorin-Ryu is actually what my kids are taking and what they wanted me to take with them. I was sure that all their kicks (seems similar to TKD), that there was no way I would be able to try that. They have class tonite, and I'm going to talk to Sensei and get his perspective as well. Thanks for the information.


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## Drac (Sep 8, 2007)

subzero said:


> Wow Drac! That's pretty inspiring. Shorin-Ryu is actually what my kids are taking and what they wanted me to take with them. I was sure that all their kicks (seems similar to TKD), that there was no way I would be able to try that. They have class tonite, and I'm going to talk to Sensei and get his perspective as well. Thanks for the information.


 
You are more than welcome..Although its been quite awhile for me I cannot recall Shorin-Ryu having kicks that are similar to TKD...That not withstanding keep me posted..


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## Brandon Fisher (Sep 8, 2007)

The kicks in Shorin Ryu are definetly not like TKD.


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## Drac (Sep 8, 2007)

Brandon Fisher said:


> The kicks in Shorin Ryu are definetly not like TKD.


 
Thanks Brandon..Like I said its been quite awhile...


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## Brandon Fisher (Sep 8, 2007)

Drac said:


> Thanks Brandon..Like I said its been quite awhile...


No problem glad to help out a bit.


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## subzero (Sep 8, 2007)

Drac said:


> You are more than welcome..Although its been quite awhile for me I cannot recall Shorin-Ryu having kicks that are similar to TKD...That not withstanding keep me posted..



I guess that's right. I hear terms like side kicks and round houses and automatically associated them to being similar to TKD. After watching more closely, I can notice that the kicks are not aimed nearly as high as in TKD.

After meeting with the instructor for a while, I've decided to go ahead and give it a try. I start Tuesday! He says if he can teach a man with no legs Judo, he feels confident that he can teach a man with 1 bum leg Karate


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## theletch1 (Sep 8, 2007)

That is outstanding to hear.  One of the great things about long time martial artists is that there seems to be a certain mindset regarding overcoming adversity to continue to train.  That mindset usually, not always mind you, carries over into everyday life.


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## baron (Sep 9, 2007)

hello subzero:  i can relate to your questions i suffered a complete rupture of the quadacept (tore the muscle from my kneecap).  will take about a year to a year and a half to recover.  doctor told me that i will be limited in martial arts due to the muscle being reattached to the bone and the knee being screwed in to hold it in place.  he recomends no front snap kicks plus a lot of other restrictions.  so does my physical therapist and a sports doctor i have seen.  i have trained with other martial artist that have suffered worse than me and their advice is take it slow and never give up.  thats what i plan on doing when the time presents itself.  untill then i take one day at a time and get a little stronger each day.


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## Drac (Sep 9, 2007)

subzero said:


> I guess that's right. I hear terms like side kicks and round houses and automatically associated them to being similar to TKD. After watching more closely, I can notice that the kicks are not aimed nearly as high as in TKD.


 
And that alone was good news for me..If the kicks had been TKD type I never would have lasted as long as I did..



subzero said:


> After meeting with the instructor for a while, I've decided to go ahead and give it a try. I start Tuesday! He says if he can teach a man with no legs Judo, he feels confident that he can teach a man with 1 bum leg Karate


 
He sounds like an excellent teacher..The* BEST* of luck to you and *PLEASE* keep us posted..Your experiences may help a lurker in a similar situation get back to the dojo and start training again..


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## subzero (Sep 11, 2007)

Well...I did it! Had my first class tonite. It was pretty awesome! I was able to keep up (for the most part), and the best part was...my leg held together.

Oh..and a correction...it's Shuri-Ryu not Shorin-Ryu.

Thanks to all again for your advice and support.


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## Brandon Fisher (Sep 11, 2007)

subzero said:


> Well...I did it! Had my first class tonite. It was pretty awesome! I was able to keep up (for the most part), and the best part was...my leg held together.
> 
> Oh..and a correction...it's Shuri-Ryu not Shorin-Ryu.
> 
> Thanks to all again for your advice and support.


Thats good news!!  Shuri ryu is similar to Shorin Ryu so its not to much different in its approach but I know some of the stances are deeper depending on the Sensei.


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## Drac (Sep 12, 2007)

subzero said:


> Well...I did it! Had my first class tonite. It was pretty awesome! I was able to keep up (for the most part), and the best part was...my leg held together.
> 
> Oh..and a correction...it's Shuri-Ryu not Shorin-Ryu.
> 
> Thanks to all again for your advice and support.


 

Glad Brandon is here as i don't know squat about Shuri-Ryu..I'm glad to hear it went well..Yeah the first couple of times are the roughest, more than once I had to bow out and sit because the pain of of those dormant muscles and tendons now being worked became intense.It soon passed..The BEST of luck..


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