I'm still on the mend from a car wreck in Sept. 06, and have to take it super-easy. Prior to the wreck, I did my front shrugs with 3 plates on each side of a Smith machine; now, with nerve damage to my neck, I do them in rehab with 4 lb. aerobic dumbells. Pretty demeaning when I compare myslef now to where I was.
Before that, I still avoided sparring hard-core. Only in my early 40's, I'm already courting a high-mileage string of injuries. I played hard when I was younger, and now wear the effects of that in my bones. I will (after rehab and mending) get on the mat to roll. I will do heavy-bag work, drills, light sparring. I'll even do continuous with light head contact, heavy body contact, competitive throwing, all the way through submission. But my days of having something to prove to anybody about anything are done; I've had my wins, losses, and more MMA-type mixers and challenge matches in boxing gyms and parking lots than I care to count. Not to mention the many, many altercations I got into while bouncing my way through college (and since, due to some anger management concerns).
I'll roll to keep limber and in better shape, but it'll be in what they used to call "play ball" mode, where you wrassle up to a submission, then release into continuous grappling; this saves the injuries that come from strong-arming out of locks and chokes, while allowing you to work position, perception, technique and timing. Stand-up...I'm not down with getting my melon rocked anymore. My guys and I used to go at it hard enough, we'd bust up each others noses, teeth and jaws, and give each other whiplash with hard-assed head shots several times a night, several nights a week. We've all had our septoplasty's and rhinoplasty's, have careers in the public, and bills to pay; the discs in my neck have finally caught up with the crapped out discs in my back, and my cervical x-rays look like they belong to a man in his 70's to 80's..arthritis from repeated training and work traumas.
I feel an obligation to myself to keep flexible enough and strong enough to take care of business when business needs to be taken care of. I'm at my weakest now...skinny little arms, no meat on my legs, chest sunken like a skinny teen...and I know I won't be happy until I've gotten some beef back on ze bones, and some snap back in ze blows. I also feel an obligation to future students to be active enough to get on the mat with them, and experientially ensure they have it right...and the only way to do that is to train with them, in contact.
However, it has become necessary at this point in my life to temper machismo with discretion; my measure of masculinity has switched from being able to exchange poundings with my sparring partners, to being able to make enough money to get out of debt, help take care of my parents when that day comes, and plan for retirement.
My input, for what it's worth.
Best Regards,
Dr. Dave
I've been rocked with some good punches and have had a few welts from the padded sticks, but hey, its the badge of hard work!!:ultracool 
