Body listening to Mind and vice versa

[powerof0ne]

A thought that has been in my head for some time, and something I might struggle to explain.

Over the years, especially the last decade or so, I have found through experience, maybe actually getting "wiser" in martial arts, I understand it a lot more now.

The funny thing is, my body, due to a permanent condition and very bad arthritis of my back, hips and pelvis that's now been confirmed doesn't allow my body to keep up with my mind.

Let me try to further explain it, and excuse me if I stumble upon the way.

There are things I used to could do (who can't?) and ways I know how to improve on them, to be much more faster, lethal, etc...maximizing them. I can in spurts do this, but pay for it 5x more later...my back, hips, and pelvis will cause me excruciating pain when I do.

I can, thankfully, in person train somebody to do this, and have many times over the last few years. I take pride in training a kyu student to not only handle their own with yudansha, but to beat yudansha.

Now, I know this seems painfully obvious to the older crows (reread this and didn't realize I said crows! Freudian slip??! LOL)....but when you're younger and for the most part, injury free, you don't think the day will ever come in martial arts when you'll do less.

If any of you are anything like me, you think that when you're older, you'll only be that much more physically better! Unfortunately, I'm not even in my 40s, and my physical prime for the most part was probably in my mid to late 20s, before I got hurt.

That doesn't mean I can't hold my own, I'm very confident in my abilities, but I am not going to be doing 10+ rounds of Thai pads anytime soon, neither...like I did on a regular basis.

I just find it very funny, the irony in this all. Much of martial arts starts to most of us when we're no longer in our physical prime. Hopefully, we can convince the younger to actually listen.

Anyway, if you find this to be rambling, please skip over. These thoughts have been something, playing over and over, in my head a lot, over the last couple of years.

I'm not dead, I still have a few tricks in my bag, but I don't pull out my "bag o' tricks" half as much as I used to...unless I want to be limping the next few days !
Osu!

[GJEC]

I know just where you are ...

We have to listen to our bodies. Many of us spent the first half of our training 'career' pushing ourselves hard, then have to spend the second half managing effort so we stay injury and pain free.

I rarely punch / kick fresh air as-hard-as-possible any more and don't enjoy the feeling when I do. For older students I recommend doing the kihon as skill training and NOT putting a lot of power into it - save that for the pads where the joints are a bit more protected.

It makes me laugh when people post that instructors must be able to do more than their top students. I could once, but we have to follow the laws of nature or pay the price. Getting older is no fun. Getting older with chronic injuries even less so.



Gary

[powerof0ne]

To people that knew me when I was younger, I probably seem like the biggest hypocrite now. I used to be the type of younger and injury free student, that never really fully believed somebody not being able to perform due to an injury, etc.

In fact, there are people that knew me a decade or so ago, that assume I'm still this way, and tell others I'm a jerk .

Maybe it's karma now, that I'm now one of those people with a permanent condition. Anyhow I won't give up, martial arts have been in my life longer than any other hobby, past time, etc. There is rarely a day that goes by that I don't train, talk about martial arts, write about them on here to some degree, or talk to another instructor online or by phone, etc.

I'll never give up martial arts, even if it means that I'm the old guy in the dojo telling tales to the young kids.
Osu!