Bad news and more bad news

[terryl965]

My doctors have advised me to stop training because of the stress on my heart. This bothers me because training has been a big part of my life for the last thirty years. He says I need to be more worried abouy my health and well being instead of my school, I really cannot even imagine not being able to train even a little or teaching my students. My wife has been doing alot of the training the last year with the help of my oldest Zachary but I always feel the need to get out there to show techniques every now and then. Can one still be the head instructor if he never trains anymore? I have a big problem with this and my doc. knows it but what am I suppose to do? Well I guess I will get though Nationals and see what happens after the weekend of July 4th.

:rofl:

 

[RSweet]

I am so sorry to hear this. My advice - get a second opinion. I don't know details but I can't imagine that they would want you to cease all exercise. That having been said, cutting back is possible. I taught from a wheelchair and crutches when I tore my achilles tendon. Adjustments can be made. Does he understand how stressful it would be to cut out a big part of your life?

 

[StudentCarl]

Terry,
I don't know the details of your medical situation, but I would not be satisfied with the answer you give. If you cannot even train TKD, that gives me great concern about your quality of life and long term prognosis. Everything I know about exercise says that being able to exercise helps you live longer, though there might need to be some limits on intensity and duration. The normal limit is to what you can tolerate.

I certainly don't believe that stopping training will improve your heart condition. I strongly suggest getting at least one second opinion and identifying what other options you have. A specific diagnosis would help you identify costs and benefits of different options. Get all the information you can!

Hoping to meet you at nationals.

Best wishes,
Carl

 

[terryl965]

Rhonda this has been a big problem for the last five years and it keep getting worst, he understand how I feel but he is also worried about my health issue more he says. I have really cut back the last two year where I really only take care of the competition team anymore but travel and all the B.S that comes from orgs. are just taking me a part. On the second opinion, I have three specialist that talk to each other and all three believe this maybe the best thing for me. I am hoping maybe if I get lap band surgery that will relieve some pressure off my heart and will help me manage my wieght problem which is caused by all those steriods they give me for my lungs so I can breath. I diet with little to no results because a ssoon as I stop taking the steriods I loose wieght but as soon as my lung doc. put me back on them I gain the wieght back plus an extra twenty pounds. I go between 220 and 303 all the time up, down, up, down it is driving me crazy. When I workout sometime I have these caughing attacks that can go on for thirty minutes or longer. This is why they believe I need to stop, they did say there is a chance after stopping and going though alot of things I maybe be able to go back at a lower level but to me stopping is not an option but dieing is not an option either. It sucks to be me right now.....

 

[igillman]

Terry,
I know how you feel. I was told a couple of years ago to stop doing any excercise at all due to very high blood pressure. I did not know then if I could ever get back to training again as the doctor also informed me that my heart had suffered damage as well.

I started out by stopping all exercise. However, I just couldn't sit there and do nothing so I decided to do something about it. I would spend half an hour or so every day doing my poomsae. Nothing else, just poomsae. After a couple of times of doing that I went ahead and taught myself the next few poomsae higher than my level. I then added a little bit of kicking, nothing heavy or stressful, just a couple of light kicks, then a poomsae, then a couple more kicks. If I felt a little out of breath or my heart was beating heavier than normal I would stop kicking and do another poomsae.

I reached the stage where I was doing all the poomsae I knew followed by some kicking and then the poomsae again. It formed a nice half hour or so of moderate exercise.

Explain to your students what has happened. Tell them that you will still be instructing them but you personally will not be doing too much stressful stuff due to this condition. You can still teach everything you already teach and you can still train, just not as much as before.

After one year of this moderate exercise we got my blood pressure under control and my doctor was surprised to find that most of the heart damage has mysteriously vanished. Who knows, maybe the same thing will happen to you? Maybe a year or so of moderate exercise and low stress on the heart is all that is required to get it back in shape again?

Just because you cannot run around the track with your students or kick for 15 minutes straight does not mean you have to abandon the martial arts. Just slow down and take it easy for a while. Mr Miyagi didn't run around but he still managed to train the Karate Kid.

 

[dancingalone]

I agree. Seek a second and third opinion. Fortunately, you're in the Dallas area and I know they have some very qualified heart doctors/surgeons there.

My prayers will be with you.

 

[terryl965]

Terry,
I don't know the details of your medical situation, but I would not be satisfied with the answer you give. If you cannot even train TKD, that gives me great concern about your quality of life and long term prognosis. Everything I know about exercise says that being able to exercise helps you live longer, though there might need to be some limits on intensity and duration. The normal limit is to what you can tolerate.

I certainly don't believe that stopping training will improve your heart condition. I strongly suggest getting at least one second opinion and identifying what other options you have. A specific diagnosis would help you identify costs and benefits of different options. Get all the information you can!

Hoping to meet you at nationals.

Best wishes,
Carl

Carl it is not just the Heart but also the lungs, I have emphasima(mis-spelled) and cronic ashma(mis-spelled), I get these caughing attacks when I workout, they want me to workout but not martial arts, they want me to go to theraphy and be in a place where nurses and doctor I guess can be there to control what I do.

One of my problems is being hands on with the school and I believe a good instructor should be able to do the techs he is teaching and right now it is hard to even get though certain techs and my balence is so off that doing simple poomsae like Koryo is a joke with me not having proper balance I look like a yellow belt with a few months training and not someone that has forty plus years in it. I will do what is best for me and my family but it will not be easy, one more National and then it is decission time for me my wife and the school as a whole. Thank you for your advice and should have explained more of what they want out of me.

 

[terryl965]

I agree. Seek a second and third opinion. Fortunately, you're in the Dallas area and I know they have some very qualified heart doctors/surgeons there.

My prayers will be with you.

Dancingalone I have seen some of the best doctors in the area and all of them are agreeing right now with what I need to do, maybe I am making more out of this and should do it there way for a year and see what happens. Thank for the prayers.

 

[terryl965]

Terry,
I know how you feel. I was told a couple of years ago to stop doing any excercise at all due to very high blood pressure. I did not know then if I could ever get back to training again as the doctor also informed me that my heart had suffered damage as well.

I started out by stopping all exercise. However, I just couldn't sit there and do nothing so I decided to do something about it. I would spend half an hour or so every day doing my poomsae. Nothing else, just poomsae. After a couple of times of doing that I went ahead and taught myself the next few poomsae higher than my level. I then added a little bit of kicking, nothing heavy or stressful, just a couple of light kicks, then a poomsae, then a couple more kicks. If I felt a little out of breath or my heart was beating heavier than normal I would stop kicking and do another poomsae.

I reached the stage where I was doing all the poomsae I knew followed by some kicking and then the poomsae again. It formed a nice half hour or so of moderate exercise.

Explain to your students what has happened. Tell them that you will still be instructing them but you personally will not be doing too much stressful stuff due to this condition. You can still teach everything you already teach and you can still train, just not as much as before.

After one year of this moderate exercise we got my blood pressure under control and my doctor was surprised to find that most of the heart damage has mysteriously vanished. Who knows, maybe the same thing will happen to you? Maybe a year or so of moderate exercise and low stress on the heart is all that is required to get it back in shape again?

Just because you cannot run around the track with your students or kick for 15 minutes straight does not mean you have to abandon the martial arts. Just slow down and take it easy for a while. Mr Miyagi didn't run around but he still managed to train the Karate Kid.

Thanks sound advise and I am glad you was able to beat the odds it gives me hope. It is scarey not knowing and when you think about it we never know do we, but it is never brought to the front like this.

 

[RSweet]

Seems pretty clear that you are in a quandry. Can you stand to sit back and add verbal instruction only, or handle the office work only or would that stress you out? I would say that if you can handle just sitting there and telling them to move the foot or whatever, or to give that verbal advice to whomever is teaching the class, you have much you can offer. However, if you can't do that. If it is emotionally impossible, then maybe they're right and you need to remove yourself from that environment until there is enough change in your condition to take baby steps back. It is an impossible decision.

 

[stickarts]

I am sorry to hear this Terry. Definately put your health first. There are too many people that want you around for a long time! You still have a wealth of knowledge and experience that your students and school can benefit from.

 

[Manny]

MI amigo Terry, I can feel your pain (soul pain) believe me, I really did not know you have heart/lung problems and also I did not know you were taking steoriods for health issues, my dad took a,lot of cortisona years ago and I know whay happens.

Listen to your doctor, take a rest and keep in charge of your dojang, you don't need to work out with your pupils, I think you can wear your dobok and belt and give the instrcutions and make the corrections on your students with the help of one or two instructors.

Like you there are some moves,kicks or what ever I can't do because my age nad or my over weight, my side kicks in Koryo are not good but my Kungam poomsae are very good for example.

It's gona be dificult to be on the mat and wont do the kicks and techs but even these you can explain them to your students. For example, when I teach the tornado kick (I can't do it) I explain with words and body languaje how the kick must be performed and the students get the point.

I will advise you the following, take note what doctors say and do it, stop teaching you shedule class and let your sons and wife help you and only teach one class per day (chose the one you think is the better for you) without physical efortth in this way you still in charge and keep an eye on bussiness and still teaching a few hours per week.

Maybe in some period of time you can double your teaching on a dayli basis when your health starts to improve.

Please Terry you know I apreciate you a lot, you can count on me, gladly I will try to help you.

Manny

 

[IcemanSK]

I echo what many are saying here, Terry. Seek a second opinion, & take care of yourself. I know how important TKD is you, but you are more important to your family. As romantic an idea as it is to die doing what you love to do, you want to be around for along time to come.

You are in my prayers.

 

[KELLYG]

Is the exercises program that they want you to take something like cardio/rehab after a person experiences a heart attack? I know in my area there is a 12 week program that includes exercises, heavily monitored, diet, stress management. I think a programe like that it would be very beneficial to you. This will allow you lungs and heart to become stronger so that you life is extended and who knows on the other side there you may be able to pick up and continue training.

I think that your family would agree when I say that they probably would like you to stay around a long, long time. Your presence in there lives is always more important than any of your martial arts skills or abilities.
As for teaching. I would rather learn from someone that can teach but, due to health reasons, can't preform than someone that can preform but not teach.

Best of luck!

 

[granfire]

I really don't have any ideas to offer.
You are in my thoughts because the choices are not easy.

naturally, talk to as many doctors as will listen to you. Also, there is training and training (30 minute cough attacks are really far out, not good, even if one does not have any history with repiratory problems)

fact is, when we get older things don't work as well as they used to, things change. For women it's easier to notice, but men have similar problems.

As when you changed the structure of your school maybe it is time to restructure your training. Some bulls just don't need to be grabbed by the horns. Scaling back training to maintain a basic level of fitness and skill, but not like when you were a grasshopper...

As for teaching: there is more than one way to skin a cat. You don't need to be able to perform the quadruple tornado kick across 25 students.
We had this discussion a while back whether or not a good instructor/coach has to be a good performer as well. You can still pass on your knowledge, maybe the means of delivery need to be revised.
Also, you have a vast choice of mediums at your disposal as well, you are not restricted to just the floor of your Dojang.

And last, a repeat from your restructure thread: Learn to delegade. Introduce your family into the fun world of organizatorial correspondence. Why is only one person to have the joy of it! (not to mention the more people know how to, the less chances of a snafu down the road.)


I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[ATC]

Good luck Master Terry and God Bless.

We all will need to take our journey into a different direction at some time in our life’s. You do not have to remove yourself from the school but it sounds like you do have to stop training.

There are many thing that you can do and still be a part of the school and its overall success. You can now simply focus on the back end of things. You will no longer be the front man but can have great impact from behind the scenes.

I wish you the best and take care of yourself as that is what your family needs the most.

 

[Touch Of Death]

My doctors have advised me to stop training because of the stress on my heart. This bothers me because training has been a big part of my life for the last thirty years. He says I need to be more worried abouy my health and well being instead of my school, I really cannot even imagine not being able to train even a little or teaching my students. My wife has been doing alot of the training the last year with the help of my oldest Zachary but I always feel the need to get out there to show techniques every now and then. Can one still be the head instructor if he never trains anymore? I have a big problem with this and my doc. knows it but what am I suppose to do? Well I guess I will get though Nationals and see what happens after the weekend of July 4th.

:rofl:

Change up how you train. I'm sure the doctor didn't mean to reduce your activity to zero.
Sean

 

[elder999]

My doctors have advised me to stop training because of the stress on my heart. This bothers me because training has been a big part of my life for the last thirty years. He says I need to be more worried abouy my health and well being instead of my school

And you should listen to him. Try some options, in the meantime, to address your health, but let that be your first priority.

. Can one still be the head instructor if he never trains anymore?

Yes. Sit on examination boards. Supervise class. Stay off the mat until you have the doc's okay.

You're in my thoughts and prayers......

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I am sorry to hear this Terry. Definately put your health first. There are too many people that want you around for a long time! You still have a wealth of knowledge and experience that your students and school can benefit from.

Health first Terry! I know Yolanda and the kid's are counting on you being with them for a long time. With restored health then you will be able to train and teach!

 

[Nomad]

Best wishes and good health, Terry!

My instructor was faced with a similar prospect a few years back, also due to a heart condition. He did not stop teaching, but drastically changed the way he was teaching. He does not do kicks, and many nights does not do much physical training at all (occasionally walks through a kata or part of a kata, demonstrates a partner drill at slow speed, etc), but instead has surrogates (mostly young, studly black belts) act as the physical examples for him. At the same time, he continues to demand the best of the students and doesn't let them get away with any sloppiness.

Like my instructor, I suspect you have a wealth of knowledge still to share, and may need to look into different delivery methods and training methods than what you're used to.

Oh yeah, and if you can, train someone else to handle the stressful organizational details! You may need to make some of the decisions, but others can definitely do the paperwork and spread out any stress involved from the politics side of things.