barron

Starting Aikido at 49, and practicing for the past 13 years, I have been lucky enough to have suffered only two or three minor injuries. My first incident came after my first month when I did a roll into the dojo wall and sprained my big toe to discover how important the big toe was for walking and balance! My other injuries were a sore shoulder from a new student who thought ikkyo was a break verses a persuasion. My previous being a rather aggressive senior student who hyper extended my arm beyond where it wanted to go, and where he decided to take it.

Now am faced with simple wear a tear on my right knee probably caused by my half century of endurance sports. Osteoarthritis is not a nice repercussion of doing what one loves, and really gets in the way my aikido. (sawari waza and hamihandachi are definitely a thing of the past).

With age has taking the next step, I am hobbling and experience pain simply walking. I've had cortisone, acupuncture, leech treatment (yes that's right little blood suckers) and doctors telling me I'm getting old.

I managed, with a large dose of fear and adrenaline, to get through my last test but now need to deal with this if I want to keep playing/practicing.

I meet with my doctor soon to discuss possibilities and am looking for advice from the aikido world on the specialized knee braces ( Fusion XT OA Knee Brace) build to take the pressure off the knee. If any one has any experience, advice or suggestions I would appreciate it as I'd like to play for another 15 to 20 years.

Thanks