I had an amazing night at Krav. My instructors were talking about setting tangible goals for us, so we did an exercise that works to prepare us for certification (not instructorship). We trained for an hour straight. No breaks. If we needed to stretch or drink water, we did it while we were moving. It was pretty intense. I hated the running, so I guess that means I need to do more of it.

I don’t have any specific goals for this class. I signed up because it sounded cool, and it’s affected me in ways I never could have imagined. I’m totally cool with seeing where the road takes me. It’s a low-pressure environment that somehow still pushes me and challenges me. Unlike other activities I’ve tried, it helps my fencing instead of hurting it.

It was just a really good night, folks. It’s tub time.

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.

I saw my GP about my shoulder today. He said that my issue is musculo-skeletal, not neural. That’s good. He said he could send me in for tests, but when I asked if anyone could do anything for me if those tests came back showing something, he said no, so I declined.

I’ve been prescribed muscle relaxers and given the broad diagnosis of “chronic injury.” Basically, I should take ibuprofen before activity and use heat to increase blood flow. I can live with this. I know people who fence way better than I do who have much more serious injuries.

I also feel that my doctor focused a little too much on the fact that I fence, no matter how many times I told him that I’ve had this numb spot significantly longer than I’ve been fencing. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he says I can more or less keep living my life.

I don’t think I really got any answers, but I did get some weak reassurance. I’m going to look for stretches and exercises for the upper back/shoulder region (the numb spot is on my scapula). If you know of any good stretches, please let me know (preferably with pictures). I’m mostly interested in back and shoulder (my shoulders are SO STIFF right now) stretches, but really, I’m interested in preventing injuries of all kinds.

I haven’t been doing much fighting, so I haven’t been doing much updating. I haven’t even attempted progress on my lunges.

I went to Krav on Wednesday and had a good and productive practice, but I was sore for days afterward. I’m going to both classes this week, but I’m going to tape my shoulder and tell my instructors what’s up. I think it’s pressure, not movement, that’s causing my problems.

I’ve been resting up as much as possible since then. It stinks, but it also really helps.

I see my GP on Thursday. Wish me luck.

Day 19

undetectable-extension-charm:

fencingmarie:

I was feeling pretty good, so I put in 100 lunges this afternoon. My right shoulder/back region started tingling about halfway through. I was in third hand position. I don’t know if the problem is hand position, body position, repetitive motion, or the time spent holding the sword out in front of me. Up to this point, my back has gotten tingly from sitting down. Leaning against a seat back usually helps.

I’ve noticed that when I do this drill, I square off a lot more than I usually do when I fence. I’m trying to turn sideways to present less of a target (you know, the way I was taught to fence in the first place). Unfortunately, whenever I think about narrowing the available target, then my lunge becomes narrower, or I stop hitting my target.

hi friend! as an epee fencer, i would suggest keeping your back straight instead of turning sideways. as youve noticed, you tend to miss the target. I too used to lunge like that but my coach told me to stop – for one, it’s also incredibly difficult to do a second action after the lunge. naturally, you should do what fit’s you best but my advice to you is to always keep your back straight and to not lean – this will stop bad habits from forming.

i think it’s really great that youre doing 100 lunges every day! that’s the kind of practice that will get you far.

Hi! Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep on doing what I was doing before then, but I have a question.

When you line up to fence, are you turning your body sideways, or are you more squared off with your opponent? When I do foil, epee, or single rapier, I try to present a small sideways target but almost always end up squared off. When I have an offhand device, being squared off has its advantages, but when I don’t, I’m not sure that I’m doing myself any favors.

If you’re interested in the 10,000 Lunge challenge, I’ll send you the document with details about each day’s prescribed drills. You’ll probably have to modify it to fit epee, though, since this was designed by a historic rapier fighter.

Day 19

I was feeling pretty good, so I put in 100 lunges this afternoon. My right shoulder/back region started tingling about halfway through. I was in third hand position. I don’t know if the problem is hand position, body position, repetitive motion, or the time spent holding the sword out in front of me. Up to this point, my back has gotten tingly from sitting down. Leaning against a seat back usually helps.

I’ve noticed that when I do this drill, I square off a lot more than I usually do when I fence. I’m trying to turn sideways to present less of a target (you know, the way I was taught to fence in the first place). Unfortunately, whenever I think about narrowing the available target, then my lunge becomes narrower, or I stop hitting my target.

Day 18

I decided to give it a try, and I did 100 lunges at practice tonight. I used Nik as my pell for the first 50 and hit a thumb-sized piece of tape on the wall for my next 50. We’ll see what the shoulder says in the morning.

I also got to do some endurance training. We fenced single sword for 10 minutes straight (well, 9 minutes, we were interrupted). We were going to do 11 minutes with sword and dagger, but I smashed my finger and had to stop. Somehow I managed to pin my middle finger on my left hand between the grip of my dagger and the hilt of his sword (yes, I got the kill). I’ll live, but I was done for the day.

I had an awesome night at Krav Maga. We did some HIIT at the beginning and end and spent the rest of the class throwing each other around in an alley.

Tonight I realized that I make weird faces when I fight but never had to confront them because of my fencing mask. Also, if you need to do sit-ups and are prone to frequent gas, next to a Dumpster is the best place to do it.

My right shoulder is fine, maybe a little tingly after practice. My left shoulder is tight. I feel invincible right now, but I’m not going to lunge until tomorrow. I think the ~2lbs of steel at the end of my hand is what’s worsening the situation, so I’m not rushing back in yet. There will be a sword in my hand this week.

Yesterday I did yoga and felt pretty good. The tingling on the right side hasn’t gone away, but it does seem to be lessening. The left side is super tight and almost hurts. I noticed the difference when I was threading the needle in reverse prayer. I could extend my right arm forward, but I had to keep my left arm flexed.

Since I felt pretty good, I considered trying to work in some lunges, but Nik told me to hold off for another day. His shoulder bothers him sometimes too, so I’m taking his word for it. Tonight I’ll go to Krav and spend an hour fighting my way out of bear hugs (surprisingly not too bad on the shoulders). Maybe I’ll try to lunge tomorrow or over the weekend. I definitely want to go to fencing on Friday.

I hate being laid up, but I know that if I don’t rest now, I’ll just be injured longer and more severely in the future. I’m really hoping my doctor will be able to help me with a minimally invasive option (home rehab routine, cortisone shot, etc.).

Also, for those precious few of you following me, I hope you don’t mind that this blog is shifting away from its focus on fencing. I want my injury to be visible so that people know there is a reasonable alternative to playing through the pain. With luck, I’ll be back to my regularly-scheduled ass kicking in no time.

I made an appointment to see my GP about my shoulder. I’m taking a break from the lunge challenge for the time being. I think the repetitive motion is doing more harm than good. I like being part of something, but it’s not worth my health.

If I feel better, I might work in a day from time to time, but I’m not going to try to play catch up anymore. I thought 200 in a day was reasonable, but it really isn’t.

Our culture values playing through the pain when we really need to rest and take some anti-inflammatories. “No pain, no gain” is a phrase we’ve all heard at least once, and I’m thinking it’s time for that sentiment to go out of style.