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cvvelle
11-28-2006, 01:54 PM
Please help, especially those of you who train aikido for long time. I hawe hemophilia an i want to start training
aikido.Few years ago i braked my left leg and now i hawe knee ligaments on that leg a little bit shorter, and that results in weight of body is differently distributed on my left foot. more weight is on a front part on foot and on the fingers. (Not too much but it is present,i still use my whole foot when i walk).
Is this a big obstacle in training and how to overpass it?

akiy
11-28-2006, 01:57 PM
Hi Marko,

First and foremost, what has your doctor told you about your conditions and training in aikido?

Here is a pretty recent thread on the topic of training with hemophilia:

http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11278

-- Jun

cvvelle
11-28-2006, 05:27 PM
The problem is not with hemophilia. I live with it for a long time and it is not so bad like many people think. Doctors (hematologist) usually say that the only sport that somebody with hemophilia should take is computer games. And that is mistake. I believed in that till i met doctors (orthopedic and phisiatric specialist) that said that if i don't start with gym and some sports i will have my spine braked under my body's own weight,because my muscles atrophied. The hematologist said that gym and any harder sport activity will make bleeding that will kill me. That was couple of years ago , and i feel better than ewer.I walked with crutches ( broken leg was atrophied from lack of physical activity) and now i can run over some short distances.So,about doctors, they all have different opinions. I even got the idea about training aikido from a couple of people hawing hemophilia like me and their doctor. But they were unable to tell me how my leg will affect training.I want to learn about aikido and train it,but there is so small amount of information on forums in my country. So i was thinking that this is the best place to ask.(hope i am not wrong):-)

paulb
11-28-2006, 07:27 PM
One leg shorter than the other. There is a thread on here about symmetry in your practice. Kind of rules you out.

cvvelle
11-28-2006, 09:06 PM
Paul,please can you tell me exact location of that thread?i hawe hard time finding it. Thanks
.

mickeygelum
11-29-2006, 06:48 AM
One leg shorter than the other. There is a thread on here about symmetry in your practice. Kind of rules you out.

EXCUSE ME...That is a load of crap, one of my Sensei who is a multiple dan holder in different disciplines, does not have full use of his legs....I have a student, that has only one arm, and is a full-time police officer...another of my students has a cerebral palsy and is also a shodan in karate, and competes in open tournaments...the human body is resilient and will adapt to many things.

Marko, seek out a dojo and discuss your concerns with the Sensei, come back and tell us how you fare.

Good luck and have fun!

Miku-san

Mark Freeman
11-29-2006, 07:03 AM
One leg shorter than the other. There is a thread on here about symmetry in your practice. Kind of rules you out.

Paul, that seems either in bad taste or in bad humour ( use a smilie if it was supposed to be funny ).

Asymmetry in a persons body does not stop them from becoming excellent aikidoka.

regards

Mark

cvvelle
11-29-2006, 10:40 AM
Thanks, i will ask Sensei. You helped me a lot, especially the story about Michael's students.Thanks again.

James Davis
11-29-2006, 11:13 AM
Marko,

Please, if your sensei doesn't make your fellow aikidoka aware of your hemophilia, do so yourself. Your situation with your leg can probably be seen fairly easily by your classmates, not so with your hematologic diagnosis.

A shot in the nose bleeds pretty readily. If randori gets a little too playful...

I'm glad that you choose to train, even if only to a certain level. Be careful; Accidents happen even with the best of intentions. There's no shame in bowing out if it could save your life. Good luck to you. :)

Jaikido
11-29-2006, 11:41 AM
Yes, always let people know about any vulnerabilities before you train. I know a couple of guys who have a bit of tape around one shoulder so people know to go easy on that one (they tell you as well, but it helps when you catch it in the corner of your eye). I remember he told me before he did that every now and again his shoulder would dislocate and he'd have to run up to wall and smash it back into place!

cvvelle
11-30-2006, 05:34 PM
i will,but i hope that wont make people go extremely easy on me.after all, i want to train aikido, not drawing.;-) I talked with one neighbor ( he trained aikido when he was younger ),and he said that his Sensei paired together students with some problems like mine with some older and more experienced people , or he himself helped in training. He usually sayed that is for "because there is always some hot headed kid who is there just to show that he is tuff guy , and it is smart idea to put people with some problems with experienced and calmer people from who they can learn something , and not to pointlessly compete." I think he had one student with sewere trombocitopenia who is now maybe first or second dan!

cvvelle
11-30-2006, 05:43 PM
Is there some part of protective gear i could and should use , just not something that will make problems in training? (please, no jokes about helmets and armors) :-)
And what do you think is necessary for a beginner? ( especially somebody like me ).

charyuop
12-01-2006, 01:56 PM
I am a beginner too, so I can tell you my personal experience as beginner.
I started in a class where we are all new except 2 Senpai. In the beginning everything goes smooth and slowly. Due to the fact that you are not very good at Ukemi (basically falling down) even the techniques are carried out slowly so that you get used to the "preparation" to the Ukemi.
In the beginning (of course it depends on the school and Sensei) you will work on techniques which will help you understand the correct postures of Aikido and how balance works. We used an Atemi (a punch) only the first day, which never reached the target.
The partner there for you to practice the techniques on (Uke) is there to help you learn, not to kill you...just like you will do for the attacker (Nage) when it is your time to help him learn. When the Uke attacks you (or when you attack if you are the Uke) is supposed to mean it, in other words it has to be a true punch, aiming past you so that you can actually practice your technique and see if it works or if you do it it wrong. BUT mean a punch as if true doesn't mean punching at the speed of light, you can punch with the intention of hitting even slow, which will help you to stop in time if the new beginner Nage freezes thinking what he has to do (and to me it happens alot LOL).

So far, concerning bruises, I have had only a couple of them on my wrists. It was an exercise of Tenkan (a turning movement) where we had to keep the wrists without letting go to learn the "whole" body movement and not the moving only the arms. Maybe a couple of those spongy bands for wrists (like the ones tennis players use) might help you on the wrist thing, but you should ask your Sensei if he will let you use them since they could cause the grabbing from Nage to slip off.

Gernot Hassenpflug
12-01-2006, 05:29 PM
Every person has some asymmetry to deal with eventually, either from birth, or from injury. I used to think the reason some people were so well-coordinated or balanced was due to their symmetry being better - to some extent that is true (it takes more effort to hold a position when the hip is tilted and muscles as tense). But for the most part, I have found that all the ballet dancers I have met, who have really impressed me, have had either a) one leg slightly shorter than the other (birth), b) twisted spine (birth), or c) some serious ligament or muscle damage (injury) that they have to work with. And guess what - the top judges would see some slight "bad habit" there but it doesn't affect balance or coordination. So go ahead, practice, you are not in any way disabled by your asymmetrical condition!

cvvelle
12-14-2006, 03:59 PM
Thanks to all of you.I talked about my condition with my doctor an she said that movements in aikido, can only benefit my stance and help my natural reflexes to go on a higher level, and to make me learn how to use movement of my muscles in fluid way witch is naturally best for joints.But only if i don't overdo with my trainings in a beginning it can't make some damage to me.