Tag: shoulder

Let’s see where we stand…

I managed to get in a week of Krav (Monday and Wednesday). Then we took a week off for Thanksgiving.

I tried to fence in the interim. I went to practice Friday but didn’t fight. I realized on the drive over that I really didn’t want to go. I was in a negative head space and was worried about injuring myself or someone else since frustrated fencing is generally unsafe fencing.

I slept through practice on Monday because I felt completely lousy. I had some kind of dry head cold that messed with me all week but didn’t keep me down too hard. We cancelled yoga on Tuesday because it was the day before Thanksgiving Break at work. I went to practice on Wednesday, fenced a few rounds, and geared down. I kept getting overheated and felt like I was moving through JELL-O. Friday practice was cancelled. I stayed home Sunday and graded papers while Nik ran practice.

As far as fencing is concerned, I’m in one hell of a slump. I have an event this weekend, and I don’t really want to go, but I need to go.

Tonight is my last night of review until my P3 test. We were going to test tonight, but some dates got mixed up. The test is tomorrow. Wish me luck, folks.

I have use of my shoulder, but I’m still not 100%. I can test safely, and I can fence a little bit, but it still hurts to put pressure on it when it’s extended upward (like laying on my right side).

I’m back, baby!

I’m finally out of the sling, and I even got to fight!

Let’s rewind. I didn’t see much point in updating during my recovery. Mostly my life consisted of being uncomfortable in the sling, occasionally taking it off and doing light stretching, and icing it regularly. I had a few opportunities to go watch other people fence, which wasn’t quite as terrible as it could have been. I enjoyed little victories like being able to wash my own hair.

Then came Thursday. I wore my sling religiously, even the entire ride up to Atlanta. I was so very careful that I felt comfortable leaving the sling off all day on Friday. I attended a discussion about destreza that morning and then a practical lesson that night. To play things safe, I went through the drills left handed and avoided doing ringen afterward. I didn’t even do both halves of the class, partially because I wanted to keep some energy in reserve and partially because my friends had arrived in town.

On Saturday, I fenced for the first time since the injury. I rigged together a shoulder guard and fought in my pool in the women’s long sword competition. I met my goal of not embarrassing myself.

After that, I competed in the dussack tournament. I fought left handed and wore extra padding but didn’t deal with any hard blows to that side. Unfortunately I did smash my fingers and need to sit out the rest of the day, so I missed the first blood rapier tournament.

On Sunday I elected not to participate in the open long sword tournament, and based on some of the fighting I saw, I made the right call. I was able to compete in the conventional long sword tournament, and I made it out of my pools but washed out in elims (fencing right handed since the tournament was thrust only).

I went back to Krav on Monday without the sling. This time I got to participate since I need to catch up on my P3 skills. My Krav buddies marveled at my bruises, and I worked out three weeks’ worth of pent up energy.

Now I’m experiencing a delayed event hangover, so I’ll take it easy tonight. I’m looking forward to Krav practice tomorrow. I’ll let you know when I get to test.

The ortho says I have a Level 1 sprain (so not too bad). I’m supposed to stay in the sling, keep icing it, and generally resting up. I’ve been abiding by those instructions pretty carefully.

I told him about SERFO and what I wanted to do. He said that if I really truly rest, I should be able to compete, BUT (and I can’t emphasize how big this but is), if I’m not feeling 100%, I could cause further injury. A hard fall or blow could cause an AC separation, which would require surgery.

If I were going to SERFO today, I’d do rapier but probably not dussack and definitely not long sword. We’ll see how I feel in two weeks. I’m going to talk to the people in charge of the tournament, evaluate my armor situation, and otherwise figure out what I’m going to do.

In the meantime, my life is super sedentary and boring. I’m getting frustrated, and I don’t have much of an outlet. I am still doing yoga, but class doesn’t meet next week or the week after, so I’ll have to do gentle movement stretching on my own. I’m thinking I need to go for a walk or something to get moving around without straining the shoulder any more.

Last weekend Nik and I took a bunch of our UWF fencing students to Gatalop. I couldn’t fight, of course, but I marshaled, and I had a great time watching our students have a great time. This weekend is Panhandle Skirmishes. I’m considering gearing up so that I can be on the field giving orders, but again, I’m not fighting. It may be better to leave my stuff at home to remove all temptation.

Krav was canceled on Monday since people in my class have kids to take trick or treating. We’re back at it today. I have no idea how class will go since Michael (the other “TA” as I call us) is also hurt – from doing the same move. He’s hurt way worse than I am, so I don’t know if he’ll come in or not. I know we’re mostly doing review, though, so class should be manageable.

I typed a post (painstakingly slowly) on Monday with a lot more detail and then lost it. I’m not a happy camper, so this will be a little terse. 

Saturday was a good workout/fencing day. I lifted some weights with Nik, and then I practiced long sword with Nik and Nikita.

Sunday instead of fencing, I practiced Krav with Gaby and Kita. I did a high forward roll poorly (after doing it mostly right) and crunched my shoulder. I iced it, dealt with it, soaked it… realized I needed to go to the ER. The shoulder isn’t broken, but it is quite painful. I have to wear a sling, and no fighting for at least a week.

I stayed home from work on Monday and slept weird tramadol dreams all morning. I felt better in the evening and visited Krav to drop off the pads and help call out activities.

I was back at work on Tuesday, and I explained my situation to my yogi. She came up with some yoga that I could do, and when I couldn’t do something, I visualized myself doing it and focused on my breathing instead.

Tonight I’ll go watch Krav some more. This has been a nice exercise in teaching using verbalization since I can’t demonstrate anything.

I see the ortho on Monday. I’m going to ask for a fast (if temporary) situation so that I can possibly still fence at SERFO. At the very least, I’d like to do rapier and dussack left-handed. I really really want to do long sword though. Really. Keep your fingers crossed.

At any rate, #fightingeverydamnday is on hold. In the meantime, though, I can read, watch films, and visualize… and be jealous as Nik continues with #fencingeverydamnday

Today was a good day at yoga, fortunately not as challenging as last week since I think I may have strained something in my left shoulder while I was doing the full expression of chaturanga (toward the beginning of class, too). I came home, took a hot shower, took a muscle relaxer, and taped up the shoulder.

I really hope this doesn’t mean I’m benched for the rest of the week. I’m looking forward to helping with the ladies’ self-defense class on Thursday!

Day 23

Today I went to practice and helped teach. I did my official lunges before class and while Nik was explaining hand position.

I also did lunges and basic footwork with my students. Sometimes I go to the front and help teach, but I like being in the ranks with everyone else to show that even if you’ve been doing this for a few years, it’s always good to go over the fundamentals.

The shoulder is okay. Lowering the target helps. My quads are still tight. I stopped to stretch frequently. I think this tightening might be causing me to narrow my stance a bit. I don’t know how much this change will impact my fencing. More on that later, I suppose.

Day 22

Today I skipped Krav and went to fencing to see off my friend who is moving. I got to help teach and spar a little bit. I also worked in 100 lunges. Now we’re adding an advance step.

My legs are sore, but my shoulder is finally piping down. No anti-inflammatories or muscle relaxers for the past few workouts.

Yesterday I hit the gym with Nik and worked the left arm more than the right as much as possible. I figure if I’ve overdeveloped the muscles on the right side without trying over the course of 30 years, if I make a concerted effort to catch up the left side, then it should take less than 30 years. Wish me luck.

After our gym time, we did a demo with the UWF fencing club. The event itself was poorly organized but well-attended. Our students were awesome, as always. They were where they were supposed to be and doing what they were supposed to do regardless of how hectic everything got.

Even though I didn’t do my usual regimen of ibuprofen before and muscle relaxers after, I wasn’t in pain after the gym and the demo (which was short, I admit), so I feel like that’s a step in the right direction.

I went to a fencing event this weekend. I participated in two tournaments and was really in the zone. However, I also spent a lot of the day waiting to fence. I’m so worried about not being in the right place when my name is called that I spent a lot of time just standing around with my gear on instead of doing pickups. I’m going to try to keep that frustration in mind the next time I’m running an event.

I didn’t win anything, but I did do good fencing. I was in a really good head space during the invitational tourney, and I felt like I was doing my job well in the five-man melee tourney. Some fencers whom I really respect complimented me, and that made my weekend.

In the evening, a dear friend of mine won an award, and I stepped forward to pass on a piece of regalia to him. I’m proud to see my CAR* garter on such a worthy arm.

On the way home from the tournament, Nik and I talked about scheduling fight time since I can’t come to two of the three weekly practices at the college. I also want to work in more yoga – just a few sun salutations each day will probably help me with my flexibility and stiffness.

Speaking of stiffness, my shoulders were fine all weekend. I took ibuprofen at the beginning of the day before fighting, but I didn’t take any muscle relaxers at night (unless Scotch counts, in which case I had a modest dose). I was only moderately uncomfortable on the ride home. I’m going to stop babying myself and start being more active. It seems to be what my body wants me to do.

*

Order of the Argent Rapier: given to those who have distinguished themselves with the rapier in war, on the tournament field, and in the training of new rapierists. Holders may place the initials CAR after their name.