# Grading this weekend



## Orion Nebula (Oct 20, 2019)

I haven't had much time lately for visiting the forum (I'm in a busy phase of my PhD research), but I wanted to share that I passed my second exam this weekend and have made it to 7th kyu in Shotokan! My performance wasn't quite as good as I wanted. My knees were hurting and it affected my kicks, but it was passable! I'm glad I decided to tape my knees, too. Our exams are held after a full day seminar, and the very last session had a ton of kicks and squatting, which in retrospect, I should have excused myself from, but the tape definitely saved me so I could do my exam.

My knee issues that I was dealing with all summer resolved for about 5 days in September, then came back with a vengeance after class one night. So I headed to the sports doc after two weeks of no improvement, who confirmed some patellar tendonitis and suspected a meniscus injury. However, I don't really have the full symptoms of a meniscus tear (and the two tests they do for it were a negative). So I've been visiting a physical therapist who has done wonderful things for my knees. I have some muscle imbalance and tightness issues that are causing the tendonitis - foam rolling and rolling pin work has been a real help.

Those icy hot patches meant for your back are also surprisingly effective in reducing tendon pain temporarily!


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## Papageno (Oct 20, 2019)

Those knees, those knees... Always painful. Happy to see you made 7th Kyu though. Congrats! Foam rolling helped you? I tried, but gave it up since it was so painful. Maybe I should reconsider.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Oct 20, 2019)

Congratulations! Make sure to continue taking care of your knees and back as much as you can.  Once they go, you won't get them back.


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## Gweilo (Oct 20, 2019)

Congrats on the grading pass, well done and keep it up.


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## _Simon_ (Oct 22, 2019)

Congratulations, very exciting!!! And yeah take care of yourself, everyone has different issues they come across along the way, finding a routine that addresses yours individually is key. Mine are keeping check on and prehabbing pelvis/abdominals, glute medius, wrists and even knees too every now and then.

Enjoy the feeling of 7th kyu *bows* osu!


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## isshinryuronin (Oct 22, 2019)

Congrats on your advancement.  Bad knees are the bane for many athletes.  Mine would put me into a limp a couple times a week.  I blamed it on my 25 yrs of karate and many thousands of kicks.  (Maybe now being a sr. citizen was part of it.)  I started working out regularly again last year (karate and some wt. training) - to my surprise, my knees are now pain free most all the time!  Be careful of hyper-extending your kicks, and if you do a lot of kneels, wear pads if you're not on a mat.


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## Buka (Oct 26, 2019)

Congrats on your grading, brother. And best going forward in your PhD research.


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## Orion Nebula (Nov 15, 2019)

Life has gotten so busy, I'm just now coming back to this thread! Thank you all!


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## dvcochran (Nov 16, 2019)

Congrats on the promotion and more so on the PhD journey. Great to see the balance there.


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