Training Injuries and their effects now

[paitingman]

Almost all of us have suffered injuries in our martial arts journey.
When I was 15 I broke my right elbow and never recovered full range of motion.

The atrophy along with limited reach actually caused me to switch from orthodox to southpaw years back since I couldn't use my dominant arm with the strength or flexibility I once could. Plus I couldn't reach with my shortened right arm all the way in the back.
I barely notice it now, but it has shaped my martial arts journey.

How has your body and maybe passed injuries (martial arts related or not) shaped your training and style?

 

[Dirty Dog]

Only having one eye means altering stances so I can see my target. And some moves are just going to be blind moves. No way around it.
My left foot is numb, due to a neuropathy from chemotherapy. So balance is a big issue. It's more of an issue with slow movements (demonstrating kicks, for example) but always an issue.
My left shoulder is numb and has limited range of motion because of the radical neck dissection I had for the tonsil cancer. Except when it hurts and has limited range of motion...
I have a rectus diastasus from having 18" of gut removed due to the other (neuroendocrine) cancer. That impacts balance, because some of the core muscles aren't connected where they ought to be.
Crap. I'm falling apart...

 

[jobo]

Almost all of us have suffered injuries in our martial arts journey.
When I was 15 I broke my right elbow and never recovered full range of motion.

The atrophy along with limited reach actually caused me to switch from orthodox to southpaw years back since I couldn't use my dominant arm with the strength or flexibility I once could. Plus I couldn't reach with my shortened right arm all the way in the back.
I barely notice it now, but it has shaped my martial arts journey.

How has your body and maybe passed injuries (martial arts related or not) shaped your training and style?

No I'm completely injury free, I did have a long term bad back/ disc problem , but that gone now, a bit stiff some times but some stretching sorts that out

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I have had issues with my knees for as long as I can remember (back at least to age 16). They have gotten significantly more talkative the last 10 years, and that has changed the depth of stances, length of steps (only when moving slowly, so far as I can tell), and which stances I choose (I often use a wide stance for hip throws, instead of the orthodox narrow crouching stance).

More recently, I've gone through a series of minor and moderate injuries to my arms: torn rotator cuff, sprained sternoclavicular joint, torn forearm muscle, recurring tendinitis at my elbows). Those have caused a few interesting shifts. Firstly, I hit more than I used to (because I temporarily lost much of my grappling ability on my strong-side with the two sets of torn muscles). I also seem to pull closer for grappling, which I think is partly a reaction to reduced range of motion during injuries. Since the injuries have happened on opposite sides of the body at different times, some things have shifted in which side I'm more likely to use them on - probably based upon what was injured when I trained them last.

 

[geezer]

Crap. I'm falling apart...

The way I see it: DD: 2, Cancer: 0. That makes you a champ with some battle scars.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

The way I see it: DD: 2, Cancer: 0. That makes you a champ with some battle scars.

I don't think there's any other way to see it, man.

 

[marques]

I remember being in a room of maybe 20 guys and all but me with serious chronic injuries. Lucky for that. The only thing was a few concussions and it always worries me, but it is hard to tell what consequences are from training or not.

What shapped my style (I still want to participate in this ) was not injuries, but lack of exceptional fitness or physical habilities. So I try to use well the easiest techniques (punch the head, kick the legs), mixed with some weird but still quite simple ones. Priority to good tactiques and timing, rather than pre-set combos and speed.

 

[Headhunter]

Never really had any injuries

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Never really had any injuries

Mutant.

 

[Buka]

The outside of my left thigh, my right bicep and pectoral muscle do not hurt at all, not even a little.

Everything else feels like it was hit by an angry train.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

The outside of my left thigh, my right bicep and pectoral muscle do not hurt at all, not even a little.

Everything else feels like it was hit by an angry train.

Okay, what did you do to piss off the train?

 

[Mitlov]

I twisted a knee badly in about 2005; no ligament damage but messed up my meniscus a bit. It took me out of martial arts training (except for taiji) for a couple years to rehabilitate, and I never could do a side snap kick with that knee again without it hurting. Luckily, my current style doesn't have anything akin to Shotokan's side snap kick.

I'm currently out of training for the week after having my right shoulder dislocated at a tournament last Saturday, but it's feeling a lot better within days, so I'm hoping there will be no long-term issues (fingers crossed).

 

[Buka]

Okay, what did you do to piss off the train?

Go to the 2:22 mark. And, because, you know...it was there.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Go to the 2:22 mark. And, because, you know...it was there.

Well, after all that abuse, it's no wonder it was angry with you. Hit me like that (without letting me at least TRY to hit back), and I'll get grouchy, too.