Learning from injuries

[Spartacus Maximus]

Training can be a risky activity and there is always the possibility of getting injured. What is your worst martial arts training injury? How did it happen and how did it/does it affect continuing to train? Did you learn anything from it?

Maybe it is just luck, but nothing serious. Here are the two memorable ones:

#1: Black eye. jiyu kumite for shodan in previous organization. Punched in the face by senior BB when moving in to strike and not covering up.

#2: Badly sprained, nearly broken thumb. Doing intense oyo bunkai/kumite and blocked with a loose fist. Opponent's limb landed directly on the thumb resulting in pain and sensitivity for two months. Keeping fists tightly closed prevents this learned the hard way.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Well I've had two "injuries" from training over the years, excluding miscellaneous strains and sprains.

1. Dislocated a toe from my own sheer stupidity (Sorry Patrick!) where I was too close to the person next to me and i somehow managed to snag my toe on his Gi Pants and dislocated it! and that was about 12 years ago.

2. Hyperextended my Right Knee, OMG did that hurt! It was the night that I was awarded my Shodan. It occured from me running on the mats, but i extended my leg out a bit too far and it happened. I was out for 2-3 Weeks getting rehab on it, caused me to be unable to do a lot of things for a good 3-4 months because of the lack of movement.

And I learnt to be more careful when running!!! hahaha

[bushido_man96]

The worst I've had:

1. A pulled hamstring. I really noticed it when it was the base leg, doing a reverse side kick. It really pulled, and did so forever. Keep stretching...

2. Some sprained ligaments or something in my elbow from an Americana. I wasn't paying attention to my arm, but my lower body position, and the Americana got set in fast. By the time I tapped, it was too late. Still feeling some twinges from it, but its mostly healed. Tap early, and tap often.

[JR 137]

i threw a roundhouse kick, which my opponent blocked, and I ended up kicking the point of his elbow with my instep during a tournament. It didn't hurt too much at the time. I stuck around and watched some classmates' kids and younger siblings compete. Sitting in the bleachers, I remember my foot throbbing, but it wasn't too bad. When I tried to take my shoe off at home is when it really started to bother me. And I could barely get my shoe off even after taking out the laces.

I went to an urgent care the next day. The doctor looked at it and said "there's no way that thing's not broken." After the X-Ray he came in laughing and said "I guess I should get X-Ray vision before I open my mouth." No break.

I had to wear slippers for 5 days unil I could get my foot into any pair shoes I owned. It must have been hilarious to watch me hobbling around in slippers while trying to bartend.

[Nidan Melbourne]

i threw a roundhouse kick, which my opponent blocked, and I ended up kicking the point of his elbow with my instep during a tournament. It didn't hurt too much at the time. I stuck around and watched some classmates' kids and younger siblings compete. Sitting in the bleachers, I remember my foot throbbing, but it wasn't too bad. When I tried to take my shoe off at home is when it really started to bother me. And I could barely get my shoe off even after taking out the laces.

I went to an urgent care the next day. The doctor looked at it and said "there's no way that thing's not broken." After the X-Ray he came in laughing and said "I guess I should get X-Ray vision before I open my mouth." No break.

I had to wear slippers for 5 days unil I could get my foot into any pair shoes I owned. It must have been hilarious to watch me hobbling around in slippers while trying to bartend.

That is what I love about Human Physiology is that it can decide to some weird but amazing things, all whilst being a pain in the butt.

It sucks when it comes to you potentially breaking your foot but in really it just swells like crazy. Although it has happened to me in the past (what happened to you), and has taken ages to heal.

[tallgeese]

Training can be a risky activity and there is always the possibility of getting injured. What is your worst martial arts training injury? How did it happen and how did it/does it affect continuing to train? Did you learn anything from it?

Maybe it is just luck, but nothing serious. Here are the two memorable ones:

#1: Black eye. jiyu kumite for shodan in previous organization. Punched in the face by senior BB when moving in to strike and not covering up.

#2: Badly sprained, nearly broken thumb. Doing intense oyo bunkai/kumite and blocked with a loose fist. Opponent's limb landed directly on the thumb resulting in pain and sensitivity for two months. Keeping fists tightly closed prevents this learned the hard way.

The worst for me, amid a plethora of minor ones, is/was a fractured scaphoid fx. some 20 years ago. This never healed and developed into a nonunion fracture that still bothers me to this day. The thing is taped like a cast 9 times out of 10 on the mat. A close second was three ribs that I tore up during a brown belt test shortly thereafter at a brown belt test. Add in a concussion that I lost, literally, 8 hours of my life to and I've run a pretty good string of non-surgical injuries.

[Alan Armstrong]

My worst injury was psychological. A black eye given to me by my girl friend, that is now my wife. I did a summersault over her head while she was sitting on the bed. I did it to impress her. She was so impress that she elbow strikes me in the eye. I had a real classic black eye shiner.

So my friends just thought (having a black eye) it was just me going at it with someone in the dojo, but no my girlfriend did it.

Sympathy 0. Laughs 53.

I wouldn't mind so much if she did it in a clumsy or accidentally done way. No! She brought that elbow perfectly straight down with full force like a professional wrestler. I'm still suspicious of her fighting background, that she claims to have none.