Real Self Defense - none of that namby pamby stuff!

[DArnold]

Last Fearner brought up a great thread about his injury that raised a flag in my head.

You know, I go on and on about how TKD is a way of life and how Self Defense is just a small part.

Well I have had to use TKD for real.
I used to fight PKA - full contact
I've competed nationally and Internationally

But thinking back for my self and all of my students...

The worst injuries had very little to do with class.

For instance, I got out of bed, quickly look to my right and then for the next week i walk around like Frankenstein because I can't turn my neck.

Or I've picked up the laundry basket (not using your legs) and I hobble through class like an 80 year old for two weeks.

Or like one of my students who stepped off a lader wrong and broke their foot and was out 6 months. (Had to have it rebroken because it didn't set right WHOA)

Now others pain is not funny
Well ok, I laugh at others pain
But for 28 years I have been going to class, and still to this day when someone walks in injured, everyone gets excited thinking they had to use TKD, and ask what happend!

And then as always, it is something like above.

Granted this is a good thing that people are not beat up or raped or killed but what are your stories?

 

[exile]

This happened not to me but to my mother:

Took our wonderful dog Skeeter to vet (I was around 11) to have injury from fight with German Shepherd treated. Brought him home in back of the car, got out, walked round to other side of the car. Bent over to get him out of the back (2-door station wagon). Lifted him up in that position to carry him out...

Major rupture of a spinal disk. Fell onto ground screaming. When the emergency vehicle showed up to get her onto a stretcher, could not bear to be touched—major disruption of neural paths meant that even just a touch caused excruciating pain all over her body. Took two hours to get her to the vast hospital a couple of miles away. Spent ten days in traction, and most of another week in rehabilitative care. Came home and spent the next two weeks in bed.

Just from lifting a small-to-medium sized dog out of the back seat...

 

[bluemtn]

The only real injury I got in my class, was when I landed wrong and twisted my knee a year ago. Some has been silly mistakes, too. For instance, clashing shins in sparring, bruised knuckles (don't ask, it's kind of embarassing), and more recently- had a knuckle in my thumb "popped" by a misplaced block (sparring partner).

Outside of class, though, is a bit more different. I've had to halt training due to a sprained ankle a few months ago. It happened while going down some steps in a movie theatre. Also, I had a broken ankle that happened long before I took up arts... On a rare occasion, it still gets sore and a bit swollen, which doesn't make training "easy" (if you want to call any TKD training easy ).

That's about all I had that has affected my training in some sort of way.

 

[DArnold]

The only real injury I got in my class, was when I landed wrong and twisted my knee a year ago. Some has been silly mistakes, too. For instance, clashing shins in sparring, bruised knuckles (don't ask, it's kind of embarassing), and more recently- had a knuckle in my thumb "popped" by a misplaced block (sparring partner).

Outside of class, though, is a bit more different. I've had to halt training due to a sprained ankle a few months ago. It happened while going down some steps in a movie theatre. Also, I had a broken ankle that happened long before I took up arts... On a rare occasion, it still gets sore and a bit swollen, which doesn't make training "easy" (if you want to call any TKD training easy ).

That's about all I had that has affected my training in some sort of way.

No, I'm talkin' about the stuff that shows up in class.
We do want the embarassing stuff.
The point was it is a good thing we train and can kick and punch because we usually fail at walking.

Have any of you ever hook kicked your own fist!
I have and boy it hurt, almost broke my wrist.:angel:

 

[terryl965]

Back in 1984 I went to Oklahoma for a tournament and got hurt changing the tire on that old van, when we got back to the dojaang everybody believed that I was hurt at that tournament, as far and as many times I told them that I lost and did not place for a trophy, they all where in dis belief, because I always came back with something this was the first time I actually came home with nothing. Still today some of the old student still do not believe I was hurt changing a tire, they belief I was hurt at that tournament. Some people will never learn. That has been the only time I have ever throw my back out and was in traction for two weeks.

 

[Kacey]

I was out walking my dog, stepped on a patch of mud, slipped, and hyperextended my knee... it's been 6 weeks and it's still giving me trouble.

 

[terryl965]

I was out walking my dog, stepped on a patch of mud, slipped, and hyperextended my knee... it's been 6 weeks and it's still giving me trouble.

Sorry to hear that Kacey.

 

[DArnold]

Sorry,
I was not clear.
The point was not ""Have you been hurt outside class"

But more from the aspect of Terry's story where everyone in class thought you were in a fight or altercation when in reality you did something stupid.
You know the stupid stuff.

 

[terryl965]

Sorry,
I was not clear.
The point was not ""Have you been hurt outside class"

But more from the aspect of Terry's story where everyone in class thought you were in a fight or altercation when in reality you did something stupid.
You know the stupid stuff.

Thanks I was stupid back then and young but those was the good old days.

 

[DArnold]

Thanks I was stupid back then and young but those was the good old days.

Yeah, that was my point.

I show up to class with my arm in a cast and the whole class gets excited.

What did you do?
What did you do?
Did it have to do with TKD?
Were you in a fight?
What happened to the other guy?

Yes, while fighting I hook kicked my own hand!

 

[Kacey]

Sorry to hear that Kacey.

Thanks, Terry.

Sorry,
I was not clear.
The point was not ""Have you been hurt outside class"

But more from the aspect of Terry's story where everyone in class thought you were in a fight or altercation when in reality you did something stupid.
You know the stupid stuff.

Ah... well, if you're looking for that type of thing... when I was testing for III Dan, I stepped wrong on an unfamiliar surface (very stiff indoor/outdoor carpeting), and caught my foot, coming down on the top of my foot, twisting my ankle very badly... and of course, it was near the beginning of the testing. I finished the testing - sitting on the side with ice whenever my testing group was not out performing (we were divided by rank) - but the next day I could barely walk, even with an elastic brace, the only brace I had with me.

That was on a Saturday - on Monday, when I had to go back to work, quite a few people who saw me limping starting asking questions about how I did it - assuming something spectacular (most people I worked with knew about the testing) - not stepping on my own foot.

 

[bluemtn]

I wasn't entirely sure, but I thought that was what you were aiming at...

Well, what happened when I twisted my knee was that we were doing jumping side kicks... No problem, I'm used to them... Well, for some reason, my supporting leg went down wrong. I heard a nice "pop!", and fell instantly to the ground... Yeah, that hurt A LOT!

With the much lesser injuries... Last night, we were doing a "bull in the ring". It was my turn to throw a punch, and the other blocked- off a good bit, and wound up blocking the bottom knuckle of my thumb (where it meets your hand). I had a tight fist and all, but it still didn't feel too good. Another time, I had just started sparring. I threw a down block a little too high, and wound up punching the person's leg. Bruised knuckles!

 

[DArnold]

Back in 1984 I went to Oklahoma for a tournament and got hurt changing the tire on that old van, when we got back to the dojaang everybody believed that I was hurt at that tournament, as far and as many times I told them that I lost and did not place for a trophy, they all where in dis belief, because I always came back with something this was the first time I actually came home with nothing. Still today some of the old student still do not believe I was hurt changing a tire, they belief I was hurt at that tournament. Some people will never learn. That has been the only time I have ever throw my back out and was in traction for two weeks.

LMAO,
I guess everyone on here is too young to have these kinds of things happen to them.

 

[IcemanSK]

I was 15 & riding my bike on one of the few days I wasn't in TKD. I hit a rock, went over the handlebars onto the pavement. I got a concussion (It was in the days before we rode a bicycle with a helmet) & was in the hospital for 3 days. Some of my friends at school thought I got clocked in class.

 

[Nomad]

I was playing with my kids at the park, and on the way out, went to hop over the 3' high concrete barrier to get to my car... and missed. Slammed my shin directly into the edge of the concrete... huge cut that is finally fading away 8 months later. From the force I hit, I was lucky it didn't break the bone.

Awhile back, jumping another fence (this one was a small metal railing deal) I learned that acrobatics and tequila are a bad mix. Had done the same thing about 6 times, went to jump it, slipped, and went headfirst to the ground. Managed a pretty pathetic roll, but sprained my wrist in the process.

Both times I got really interesting looks when I went into the dojo. Fences. I think I'll just walk around them from now on...

 

[Papio]

During a walk I crossed a river I must have crossed a hundred times before only this time when I landed the stepping stone my foot slipped backward dunking me in the river and landing my right forearm on the rock which snapped with a rather spectacular sound.

Thankfully since then the worst injury I’ve had is a strained muscle in my right butt cheek which is perhaps the most unrest-able part of the human body, again not TKD’s fault, I did it during a fitness class at my local gym.

 

[DArnold]

I was playing with my kids at the park, and on the way out, went to hop over the 3' high concrete barrier to get to my car... and missed. Slammed my shin directly into the edge of the concrete... huge cut that is finally fading away 8 months later. From the force I hit, I was lucky it didn't break the bone.

Awhile back, jumping another fence (this one was a small metal railing deal) I learned that acrobatics and tequila are a bad mix. Had done the same thing about 6 times, went to jump it, slipped, and went headfirst to the ground. Managed a pretty pathetic roll, but sprained my wrist in the process.

Both times I got really interesting looks when I went into the dojo. Fences. I think I'll just walk around them from now on...

This is what I'm talkin' about.
Did you tell everyone in class that you got hurt Fencing?

 

[Drac]

Did a play last year in which I had to carry this absolutley drop dead hottie blonde off stage..She only weighed about 110lbs and was playing that she had fainted and I caught her before she hits the floor..As I started walking I felt her slipping out off my arms but could stand her up and re-position her( breaking character is a no-no)..So I lean back and to the left to comphensate..I pulled muscles in my back and chest...I could barely catch my breath it hurt so bad..

 

[kik]

Well lets see, Hmmm..about 10 years ago I was training in flying side kicks and in the middle of one, I dropped my left leg. It caught the floor jacked up my knee and crushed the cartilage. I walked with a limp for almost 2 years and I still have problems kneeling. Another time about 5 years ago I was at a tourney. I was in the middle of doing a reverse side kick when for some reason I started pulling my shoulders in the opposite direction..I still don't know why I did that but it caused me to seprerate a rib out of my spine...It hut so bad I really though I was having a heart attack, Pain just wrapped all around my chest and I couldn't breath. Nothing a good Chiropactor couldn't fix with in about a week though.

 

[foot2face]

As I can recall, only one time someone came to class with a cast on, he blocked a wrench to the head and broke his arm. It was the only injury he suffered while opening up a can of WhupAss on a couple of thugs who were trying to steal his bike. There was also a bunch of LEOs at my school and occasionally one of them would come in with a few scrapes and bruises, they were usually the consequence of a resisted arrest. One time though, my brother and I were horsing around and a lamp fell and broke on my back. The glass had sliced up a flap of skin. My brother wiped off the blood slapped on a band-aid and we headed to class. Half way through training the band-aid fell off the cut opened up and started bleeding profussly, I mean just gushing blood. They quickly ran me to the the changing room where they administered first aid, cleaning and bandaging my wounds. By this time students had begun to arrive for the next class and were horrified when they saw my blood soaked uniform hanging on a hook in the back of the room. "OMG...it finally happened...someone got killed during class". Then the question started, "was there a challenge match?"..."Did a fight break out while sparring?.."Ooo, who died?" They demanded to know all the gory details. Needless to say I was supremely embarrassed to admit the uneventful stupidity that had led to this supposed bloodbath.