I get badly hurt

[Stuarto85 4]

Thank you, everyone has been so kind in their replies. For some reason I always feel like such a failure when things like this happen and I put myself down. I appreciate the support. Osu.

Not a failure, things just happen in life that can't be controlled. Things like injuries which can definitely happen in MA even when you're trying to be safe. Osu

 

[skribs127 148]

Apparently it’s my fault and i shouldn’t have resisted.

We're not trying to cast blame, but rather find solutions so that it's less likely to happen to you again.

If you recognize where you're likely to get hurt and what steps you can take to keep yourself safe, you're less likely to get hurt in the future.

 

[HighKick]

By 'popped knee', I mean...The first time it happened I was pulling away and the girl let go. My back leg (right leg) was straight so when she let go my weight pushed into that leg and at that angle... I heard a loud POP and my leg gave in. It felt like when you knock your elbow on the funny bone. It swelled up but no brocken bones, I didn't have money to pay for an MRI so I just went to physio who also did some acupuncture. It healed well enough but not fully, I cant sit on my knees in seiza position.
This time however it was a different move, my partner pushed my knee to get me off balance and I heard a clicking sound. I knew it was over for me.. I was so angry/frustrated/disappointed. I felt like Ive made so much progress in my fitness (trying to build stamina), its like for every two steps i take forward something happens to put me 3 steps back and I have to start all over again. Its a bit disheartening, but I guess part of the journey.

It is absolutely part of the journey. At least your journey, which is all we are talking about.
At 38 I was still rolling and out-fighting so it is not an age issue, at least for the average person it is not. For me, things changed radically at 38, but that is for another conversation.

There are a Lot of unknowns in your query that just cannot be answered from a keyboard. First is the training and environment. Is it of quality and effectively safe? 'Safe' is a question for both the program and specifically You as the participant. I have seen more than a few people who can and do push themselves beyond the point of safe training repeatedly. When we are in our teens most people can do this repeatedly with no recourse. In other words, we quickly bounce back. When that same person is pushing 40 they likely will not bounce back as quickly, especially if they have had a long break in training. But that is not to say they cannot train hard. They just have to learn to accept more aches and pains and be more careful and smart about what they do and, more importantly, what they do Not do. Remember, your life, your body, your time/money in training, so ABSOLUTELY your choice. And , I cannot over-speak the importance of diet & hydration.
I cannot speak to your options on health care but it sounds like it is subpar and you are not being adequately treated and fully recovering. Again, I have no true idea. But, food for thought, I have had students missing appendages who trained HARD. Granted, everything they did was completely different (because it had to be), but they did everything they could and went as physically as hard as anyone else. But to be Very clear, it was Their battle and journey. 'Blood, sweat, tears', and yea, pain was part of their journey. Same as anyone else.
And here is a little secret that has been proven many, many times. Pain is a brain reaction/stimulant that more often than not isn't real. It is a protective measure done to Prevent actual injury. In other words, we can take a hell of a lot more than we think we can.

 

[Y2K2020]

It is absolutely part of the journey. At least your journey, which is all we are talking about.
At 38 I was still rolling and out-fighting so it is not an age issue, at least for the average person it is not. For me, things changed radically at 38, but that is for another conversation.

There are a Lot of unknowns in your query that just cannot be answered from a keyboard. First is the training and environment. Is it of quality and effectively safe? 'Safe' is a question for both the program and specifically You as the participant. I have seen more than a few people who can and do push themselves beyond the point of safe training repeatedly. When we are in our teens most people can do this repeatedly with no recourse. In other words, we quickly bounce back. When that same person is pushing 40 they likely will not bounce back as quickly, especially if they have had a long break in training. But that is not to say they cannot train hard. They just have to learn to accept more aches and pains and be more careful and smart about what they do and, more importantly, what they do Not do. Remember, your life, your body, your time/money in training, so ABSOLUTELY your choice. And , I cannot over-speak the importance of diet & hydration.
I cannot speak to your options on health care but it sounds like it is subpar and you are not being adequately treated and fully recovering. Again, I have no true idea. But, food for thought, I have had students missing appendages who trained HARD. Granted, everything they did was completely different (because it had to be), but they did everything they could and went as physically as hard as anyone else. But to be Very clear, it was Their battle and journey. 'Blood, sweat, tears', and yea, pain was part of their journey. Same as anyone else.
And here is a little secret that has been proven many, many times. Pain is a brain reaction/stimulant that more often than not isn't real. It is a protective measure done to Prevent actual injury. In other words, we can take a hell of a lot more than we think we can.

I think that's part of the frustration and struggle... In my mind I can do it but then my body says NOPE. And I kind of feel 'defeated/ let down' by my inadequacy. Also a lot of the time I have to disclose to my partners that I have a knee problem and it feels like an excuse because i look fine.

This second knee injury has now really taught me something about my body. It can be pushed, but in small increments. So I need to up my consistency. And I absolutely need to strengthen my joints. I wont stop training completely during recovery. I'll keep doing body weight exercises and see what low-impact leg work I can manage. I have an appointment with a 5 star google reviewed sport physio this Saturday. I'm hoping they can set me on a proper road to recovery, and I'm willing to pay for an MRI this time if need be. And no more imposter syndrome... I'm a *student of martial arts*, injuries are inevitable. Its not about how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up

 

[drop bear127 3]

I think one of the top 3 reasons for knee injuries in grappling is resisting a throw or take-down that you shouldn't. The other two reasons in that top 3 list are: uncontrolled falling body weight (i.e. flying scissors take-down) or ripping leg submissions on people that aren't familiar with defending them).

I don't think the problem is that you're injury prone. I think what's happening to you is what happens to a lot of beginners in grappling: viewing each round or technique as a win/loss game, and not accepting a loss when it happens. Know when someone is throwing you when you've lost that battle, and make the decision to breakfall and hopefully land in a position that isn't too disadvantageous.

This is a smaller youtube channel mainly focused on BJJ, but he's got some good ideas regarding building up to full-contact takedowns:

The club could also be kind of crap at grappling and therefore do any old random thing.

 

[Darren]

Hi all, sorry my first post is a bit of a downer but nobody else will understand how I feel right now. They’ll really tell me to quit.

Here’s my backstory: I started kickboxing classes almost two years ago now, when I turned 39.
I joined to get fit and enjoyed the sense of accomplishment. At the time I didn’t even realise what the sport was really about and how it becomes a lifestyle and part of your identity. I love being part of the community.

As a mother with a full time job and studying I trained when I could.
Not long after that I joined full contact karate with my 8yo daughter.
I felt the two sports had many similarities so it helped a bit. Kickboxing was always my first love.

However I often got hurt at training, I thought I might have undiagnosed arthritis.
In October last year I popped a knee while resisting a throw in karate.
7 months in and I’m not fully recovered… guess what happened today… same thing happened to the other knee.

Now I’m sitting with ice on my leg thinking I can’t afford to get hurt like this. Maybe all those debby downers who told me I’m silly and too old for this were right.
I’m not even good at either sport. I haven’t fought a tournament in kickboxing at all. I suck at karate in general.

I always say there’s no expiry date to join martial arts and winners never quit.
But I’m really struggling to keep a positive attitude right now. It’s the second time I’m going to miss a grading because of an injury.
I feel like why even go back, I’m just a liability, my body is too frail.
I don’t believe in myself at all right now.

So to get fit maybe I should just do yoga and get a hobby that’s less violent

Thank you for listening.
Some words of inspiration would be great

i have mild cerebral palsy,trigeminal nerugia,Dyslexia and hard of hearing, 61 years old working on my black belt in stand up and a blue belt in BJJ, started Kenpo back when i was 27, 32 yeas later(then) got back into Kenpo and been doing it ever since, proper nutrition,sleep,exercise, is essential, and you never mentioned what your stances look like, of course never took kickboxing, but proper stances is important to safe guard those knees, maybe a knee brace to wear while training i wore one for while after hurting my knee in BJJ, but unless your just tried at the end of the day and it sounds like you should be! just go easy and listen to your body and never ever quit, ever always been a believer in the human spirit and it sounds like you have a lot of that and you can do it! best wishes and good luck.

 

[opr1945126 13]

My personal experience is that as you age you become weaker and more fragile. You can slow the process down, but not stop it. In the end time wins.

When I was 52 years old I had my first heart attack. It was minor, no big deal. But, it got me to the cardiologist. His finding was that if untreated I was a year or so away from a widow maker attack. I changed my lifestyle and treated the blockage and that was over 20 years ago. The first one was a wakeup call that saved my life. I suggest you abandon actives that cause pain before it gets worse. The are lots of styles of martial arts. good luck.

 

[Y2K2020]

@all
Thank you for the encouragement. Turns out it was my ACL that snapped, I had surgery on the 14th July and recovering at home now.
I was devastated when the injury first happened because I just KNEW this was a serious injury and that I probably won’t be returning to martial arts even though I was just getting into it.
I will definitely keep a fitness routine but can’t put my body at risk like that again.
I am however very happy that I will still have a role to play within the karate and kickboxing community. Firstly as a parent and also as an official. Since they need volunteers to assist with tournaments etc. I am happy to be involved in any capacity. It gives one a sense of purpose outside of your regular (boring) job.
I’m excited for what lies ahead.

 

[Y2K2020]

@all
Thank you for the encouragement. Turns out it was my ACL that snapped, I had surgery on the 14th July and recovering at home now.
I was devastated when the injury first happened because I just KNEW this was a serious injury and that I probably won’t be returning to martial arts even though I was just getting into it.
I will definitely keep a fitness routine but can’t put my body at risk like that again.
I am however very happy that I will still have a role to play within the karate and kickboxing community. Firstly as a parent and also as an official. Since they need volunteers to assist with tournaments etc. I am happy to be involved in any capacity. It gives one a sense of purpose outside of your regular (boring) job.
I’m excited for what lies ahead.

Don’t know how to edit this.. I also want to mention that I know I can still participate in something like kata and weapons training. I think for now it’s just too overwhelming and emotional to think of participating again. Like forcing something that’s not meant to be.
I guess I have some ptsd and my own confidence issues to deal with first.

 

[Gyakuto128 137]

Continue and enjoy your officiating duties but there are so many other physical things you could try: pottery, archery, axe throwing, dancing, bodybuilding. Being physical is so important especially as we advance in maturity. Add on some sort of cognitive activities, learning a language (Japanese), number theory mathematics (), learning to use a Japanese abacus (my current frustration) and you’re golden!

An ACL injury and repair is unpleasant and annoying (!) but shouldn’t be PTSD-inducing as might be having a cancer or MND diagnosis or seeing awful things during war. PTSD is a very serious, debilitating condition and it’s more likely that you’re a bit worried, frustrated, feel helpless and indeed sad. Grit your teeth, do what your healthcare professionals to the letter and you will get back to good health quickly! After all, you were a combat sport participant so you have that determination.

Best of luck!