Aikido withdrawal

I somehow managed to fracture a bone at the 29th Kansai Aikido Tournament, and the doc told me not to do any aikido until the bone knits itself back together (about a month). Fair enough - I could some time to fully recover for all my nagging injuries, not just the bone. It's only been a few days, and already I seem to be going through with drawl symptoms - I'm doing really obvious taisabaki through crowds, the cleaning lady at work caught me doing tegetana dosa (and seemed a little off put by the sight). I keep getting the urge to tell my friends, coworkers, and students to grab my wrist. Okay, I usually have that urge normally, but it's gotten really strong recently!

Overall things feel really empty (that's a little melodramatic, I suppose, but it fits) without my usual training schedule... I might even go back a week early and do some very light practice (no ukemi or randori). Anyone else ever really needed an aikido "fix" (Psst... hey. Buddy. Got some nice atemiwaza here... first one's free. You can trust me, I'm your friend! )?

Unlucky. Enjoy your enforced holiday and don't go back too early, or you will be off twice as long

Hori, we've all been there: wandering along twisting your wrist while muttering to yourself; cutting with an imaginary sword while listening to a boring presentation (note - shomen's easier to hide than yokomen) - but don't given in to the call of the mat, you know what'll happen.

OK, it starts off fine with just a little bit of suwari-waza and the odd tenkan, before you know it you're flinging yourself in sumio-toshi with a mad kiai, then the heart-break of buggered bones again. Just sit on that there couch, watch the pretty videos and think of all the nice things you can do to uke when you get back.

Do footwork exercises, read Aikido books, watch Aikido video, hang out at the dojo -
or just get away from it all for awhile.

watching class when you can't practice isn't a bad idea. you can learn a lot through observation.

Sorry to hear that.

I'd give it a total break. I had to do the same after a bone graft. I'm back training but it's still not up to full randori -- which is irritating.

Get well soon.

watching class when you can't practice isn't a bad idea. you can learn a lot through observation.

I agree! You can't imagine what you don't see while participating in class... Very enlighteneing.

I didn't train at all during pregnancy on principle. Then I had a severe hip injury from a car accident at the end of pg and physically couldn't train. I'm just getting back after 2 YEARS!!!!!! off the mat!! I never thought I'd get through it, but I'm back with a ferver. And it is good!

Hang in there, you CAN do it! And I second (or third?) that it's a bad idea to train too early. Maybe why you have many nagging injuries???

When I dislocated my collar bone I could do very little exercise, but I did mange to spend alot of time just kicking a punch bag - it improved my kicking ability tremendously and is one of those things I would never have focussed on previously!

Since you did not say what you broke, your options are difficult to determine. When I had knee surgery, I did a lot of standing weapons practice since I could not sit seiza.

I feel your pain. I'm just getting back from three months off after a rather spectacular bicycle accident - I was hit by a tree along Saint Paul Street.

My injuries were and are all above the waist so I had planned to do all of those good foot work things and memorize a video or two. Despite my best intentions, and Sensei's admonitions, it didn't really happen. I did manage to watch at least one class a week, and that was really helpful. It kept me a part of the community, kept the patterns in my head and it taught me different things.

I'm back now, but taking it really easy. The medical professionals aren't exactly happy about it, but I'm attending smaller classes and going really slow and careful. We are all leaning how to compensate for my temporary wrist disability. And I'm following Sensei's exhortation to learn different things during the time of my injury.

Hori-san I feel for you Bro. Been there as well.

I tend to use the time to catch up on my intellectual training - lots of reading/videos on Aikido or other MA, reflecting on technical aspects I may need to work on, philosophy and its applications, memorizing the Goshin no Kata, thinking of how to get greater efficiency of movement in tanto randori. angles of attack, application of force etc.

I also tend to practice my next grading's techniques as much as I can solo. If the problem affects walking/seiza I practice the hand work while sitting in a chair.

Going to look at class may have a mixed effect. What I have found is that it is very good for learning, but the call of the mat is so strong when you are next to it and most people I know (me included) can't resist it at that range and step on just to show a kohai a technique or something. We have to be careful though not to take the next step and start doing Ukemi and the other hard stuff without having warmed up, since we just stepped on the mat to show something and things just proceeded from there. This is a formula for even more injury, so watching is good, but one has to fight the addiction and the call of the mat from so close.

Anyway, one month may not be as long as you think and you can look forward to cold weather training in early January next year.

LC

Hori-san...on the bright side, at least the dojo will probably be closed one of the the weeks in that month for new year's holiday stuff. And that will probably help you *not* go back before you're all knitted back together.

I feel for you though. Good luck and try and find something productive to do in all those empty hours. I agree with LC that the call of the mats might be too strong to resist as your enforced vacation comes to an end...don't get reinjured or we'll all be saying "I told you so" and you wouldn't want that, would you.

cheers,

--Michael...thinking I gotta get me one of those animated gif thingies

Hori-san didn't tell you which finger - and the particular impression it gave all bandaged up.

He also didn't mention doing shiai with that finger - protected only with a bit of tape.

I still think he should come down to Himeji Saturday and enjoy my hospitality and take the opportunity to get some teaching experience. But such is life.