Grading this weekend

Orion Nebula

Green Belt
Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Messages
110
Reaction score
115
Location
Oregon
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!
 

Papageno

White Belt
Joined
Nov 18, 2018
Messages
17
Reaction score
6
Location
Sweden
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.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

MT Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
12,187
Reaction score
6,278
Location
New York
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.
 

_Simon_

Senior Master
Joined
Jan 3, 2018
Messages
4,383
Reaction score
2,880
Location
Australia
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!
 

isshinryuronin

Master of Arts
Joined
Feb 28, 2019
Messages
1,821
Reaction score
1,935
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.
 

Buka

Sr. Grandmaster
Staff member
MT Mentor
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
12,929
Reaction score
10,396
Location
Maui
Congrats on your grading, brother. And best going forward in your PhD research.
 
OP
Orion Nebula

Orion Nebula

Green Belt
Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Messages
110
Reaction score
115
Location
Oregon
Life has gotten so busy, I'm just now coming back to this thread! Thank you all!
 

Latest Discussions

Top