Hello All

Well it's been just over a month since my last update and that puts me at just shy of 6 months post surgery.

I have only been to the see the physio guy twice since the new year. We continue to be on the right path according to him. Nothing special to note on problems or progress.

Just after my last post I had indicated that I got to start "jogging". Well this has been the hardest part of the process so far.

As I have said before I'm not a runner by nature. I have always hated running and that really has not changed as I get older.... Although I am still giving it the best shot I can.

I started running with my boy. Its good for him and give both of us someone to work with. We started a small route of about 3 km on the sidewalks around the house. No hills to speak of and 100% concrete surface. This was added to the Sunday, Monday, Wednesday workouts we were doing. Other than being really out of shape for a run it felt like it went well the first week. The second week didn't go so well. There was some pain in the knee which I hadn't felt in months. I did the three runs anyway the second week. I made a quick stop to see the physio guy because of the pain and he told me to take a week off.....

Basically too much to soon..... We were doing well on the choosen route. Improving our time every run and certainly feeling better for it, except the pain that is basically a warning sign. So the jogging has not stopped its just currently once a week on the sunday's and then the regular work outs as indicated in previous posts.

The only additional activities that physio has added are "speed hops" onto a raised board. The board is about 2 inches high and 12 wide, place your feet on either side of the board and hop up bringing your feet together, then hop down, as fast as you can as long as you maintain control. And then the extended lunges onto a flat air bladder... hard to describe and it does not get done at home since I don't have the flat air bladder. I just do extended lunges on a regular surface.

On the judo front I continue to add activities as I feel better. I am now doing all the previous activities and have added Uchi Komi both static and moving. This is a reasonably big step in the process as I was avoiding this due to my confidence level. We are a short step away from Randori but still at least a month in my opinion. I am doing Tai Sabaki & Grip fighting on the "old guy or injured" side of the mats when its time for everyone else to do Randori.

Unless something bad happens these acl updates are likely to be few and far between as we go forward. As long as I continue to do my assigned activities from the physio guy and make them harder and more frequent all should be well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Well 1113 views on the blog so someone is reading!! Thanks for taking the time.

***note to self... adding 5 lbs over the holidays is dumb.. it will take a looooooong time to get rid of that

17.5 weeks post ACL

Overall I am doing great on the recovery. I was in to see my physio guy last week and he is more than happy with the progress I am making. He says I can go back to Judo in April.. I told him "too late" I started back on Jan 5th.

After taking a few minutes to test the strength of the hamstring and check the ACL - we moved straight into quad strengthening.

Lunges - very specifically though - do NOT allow the knee to pass the front of the foot. Lunge step, and lower my center of gravity, raise up, lunge step with the other foot, lower center of gravity, raise up - repeat... over and over and over again...

Squats - do NOT raise the heels of your feet. start with body weight only then add light weight as we go. Lots of reps......light weight.....

****no quad curls**** ever... this particular motion continues to be a problem for the ACL and should always be avoided but especially during the 1 year recovery period, apparently there is a "shearing" action that happens to the ACL with this motion??

So my workouts currently look like this:

*** wearing a 5 lb ankle weight on the affected leg

Step ups - running - one stair high 3 x 25
Hop downs - 2 stairs high - do not bend the knees on the landing - catch it 3 x 15
Hamstring curls - rubber bands (3 strands), standing - as many as possible 3 directions (toe pointing in, out, straight)
Judo Pushups - 3 x 15
Eliptical - 25 minutes, level 3, fat burn, 10 km target distance
****** this is sunday, monday, wednesday *****
****** tuesday, thursday - JUDO - youth class warm up, newaza and assist teaching balance of class
****** tuesday, thursday - JUDO - adult class warm up, newaza and breakfall practice balance of class if the instruction is standing techniques

I need to incorporate jogging to assist with the quad strength, size and conditioning. He wants me to start with straight lines only but that will be next to impossible to accomplish however I not much of a jogger anyway so I will be going slow. I also live where I don't have to worry about snow or ice during the winter just rain.... there certainly isn't any room for another machine (treadmill) either in the house or in the budget....

The process is well on track and I am officially down to seeing the physio one a month at this point. I can see this becoming the problem area for anyone not following the advice of the therapist and not doing the activities at home. This has been key to the process - don't skip out on the at home work. I can easily say that without that work I would be months behind on my recovery and would not have a chance to be back on the mats or even walking properly... its that important.

There continues to be a bad "knee" day here and there but they are becoming few and far between. Lots of time it takes a certain motion to remind me during the day.

Key areas that I still notice:

First thing in the morning - going down stairs
Later in the day - going up stairs

Like I said earlier... I'm back in the dojo participating in most of the class. I am very cautious still to avoid any standing partner work. I am trusting myself to not mess it up but I am not ready yet to trust some else. Besides which, until I have 100% confidence in the knee I make a terrible Uke.

Have a great 2010!!!! See you again in a couple of weeks.

Dec 17th – ACL Update

Well its been a couple of weeks ....

I have spent a fair amount of time harping on the importance of the HAMSTRING and after the surgeon check up on Monday and the physio from last night I can’t emphasize it enough.

I have been fairly impatient to get this show on the road and have been pushing myself beyond the recommended exercises from the Physio guy. And I like to think that overall I was correct and alright by doing so... I was ultimately wrong. Seeing how I’m a fish monger and not a doctor I guess that is to be expected!!!

The surgeon checked me out and I mentioned that I had experienced some bruising behind the knee, twice in the last 4 weeks. This was accompanied by some fairly decent pain running the length of the hamstring ..... The first thing he asked me was “do you have any deformity?” and I of course said yes... I have a large “divot” in the hamstring.... I have managed to separate some of the hamstring muscle strands from each other... Overall not great but not the worst that could have happened. I will have the divot permanently but should see no long term issues from it as long as I follow my physio instructions.

FOR ANYONE FOLLOWING THIS – NOTE TO SELF – FIND A GOOD PHYSIO THERAPIST AND LISTEN TO THEM!!! If you are in Vancouver/Coquitlam BC – Port Coquitlam Rec Center – Shafeen is your guy.

I have had to take the better part of the last two weeks off from the most intense activity due to the above. Both occurrences of bruising I believe to be a result of my work and doing things out of habit when required but not recommended!! The previous posts workouts were working well.

So at physio last night we finally added some new exercises!!

- I was doing step ups already – now we have switched those to “jog ups” ??? same as the step ups but now with some speed
- Jumping from a 4 inch platform – land on balls of feet but catch – don’t bend knees – I called him all sorts of names with this one since I have spent a lifetime making sure I bend them when I land!!

I see him next in January and we will start “cutting” exercises and Jogging makes the list!!

KARL

Well our first 2009/2010 session is over. It took a little prodding but I got him to finish the session! On the last night he “graded” for advanced white and received his certificate and his back patch for his gi!! He was very excited and it looks like he will be back in January! WooHoo. For those who want to know – he had to show a semblance of:

Osoto Gari
O Goshi
Koshi Garuma
Ippon Seo

Kesa Gatame
Yoko Shiho Gatame
Kami Shiho Gatame
Mune Gatame

He did the hold downs Bang on and could show what resembled the throws.. by name without coaxing.

Very Proud Dad!!

HARLEY

I would have to check where we left off but overall he is doing very well. He is competing now in U17, -60 kg and shime-waza are allowed.
He is the youngest and lightest in the Division.

Last Saturday he tried out for a spot on the BC Winter Games Team. Basically it was a show up and fight anyone in your division. Top guy gets the spot and second gets alternate.

4 guys showed up for the -60 div. And apparently in the BCWG – No Shime-waza – for any category! He had three matches (round robin) and for the first time ever didn’t win a match. Very close on a couple of them and I like to think he was disadvantaged due to the shime restriction but hey I’m the Dad and allowed to think that.

He fought hard and he fought well. He got caught. We discussed on the way home and I could see his disappointment. I would have been more concerned if he didn’t care. He wants to do better and try harder and we have mixed up his work outs because of it. I don’t think I can ask for anything more!

Very Proud Dad!!

HAVE A SAFE AN HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!! SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!

Harley
So on the 21st of November my boy Harley had his second competition of the year. I posted the following in the main forum under the “good tactics thread”.....
The discussion was around “changing” weight to avoid certain competitors. Our route was a little different... we went up a weight category ......
My son stepped on the scales on Saturday am and had a weight of 57.5 kg...... fully clothed. We went on our merry way with him fighting in the (U17) -60kg div. He could have taken his pants, shirt, hoodie and socks off and made -55kg no problem.
We decided in Sept. that since nationals are in June there was little point in trying to continue at the -55 div. He is just to close to being over and has over 8 months to go. He is a 14 year old boy, one growth spurt and he's up a div anyway.
He may as well start fighting in that division now and see what happens, get used to the size and feel of his opponents so he has time to adjust and get used to it instead of putting all his competition time into a div he likely will not qualify for later. Then he would have to worry about "making" weight etc. We went through that last year and it wasn't fun for anyone.. its just not good for a kid that age to be worried about their weight. So he's the youngest and lightest in the div. It can only get better from there!!
He did not place this time, 1 Loss, 1 Win, 1 Loss. He made them work for their wins though! 2 weeks ago in the same div he placed 2nd. So you never know what will happen.

Karl
Well for those that have followed a little of this know that Karl is my youngest @ 6 and just started in Sept after being rather upset for the past two years that he could not come with big brother and Dad to Judo!. Well its been a struggle. We have discussed on the forum a little and around our house when you are 6 you don’t get to choose to not go etc.... Well we changed that a little after two and a half months of telling me he doesn’t want to go... every tues and thurs night.... How quickly they turn around!!! On Thursday the 19th he got clocked pretty good and had a nose gusher... he’s 6 and does not like to see his face bleeding!! Surprise, surprise.... Anyway the next Tuesday I asked him if he wanted to go to judo that night. The answer of course was no...... so I asked him.. Why Not?

And as all children of that age are prone to do... he came up with the following doozy... “Dad.....sometimes... I’m just Lazy...” .. so after I stopped laughing I gave him a big hug and told him he likely could not have been more honest than that!! Around our place we expect honesty from our kids and encourage it every opportunity.. he got to stay home that night (no video games though!)... He decided that he wanted Thursday night off as well and we agreed that he would go back next week after this week off.

We have grading coming up for the kids and he is up for his “advanced white....” a little encouragement is a good thing so he will get his white with yellow stripe belt and club patch for the back of his gi. It should be good for him and may get the desired result. I am hoping to get him to finish out 2009 and ask him again in January if he wants to continue or try again later.

ACL and me.

So I am now 11 wks and 3 days post op on the ACL reconstruction.
I am continuing on all the exercises that have been approved by the Physio guy. He continues to tell me everything is going very well and we are on track. I have been “harping” on the hamstring aspect of this recovery and we have more or less passed the point of concern on that particular area (assuming I don’t do anything stupid!). The addition of the light and progressively harder hamstring curls has done wonders. Basically leave it the hell alone for most of two months and then start slowly and the progress has been great. Lots of work left to do to get the entire leg back into shape but we are getting there.

The single largest issue I have now is my groin muscle on that leg. It seems that there is some scar tissue around the area where the hamstring attaches to the groin muscle and it is pulling regularly. Its very wet around these parts and the other morning when I stepped on the deck my foot slid straight out about 6in -12in, the pain was ...pretty intense. I have confirmed with Physio that it a groin issue and not hamstring but its a new issue and needs to be addressed --- currently massaging it “across” the muscle fibres is the recommendation. Because of this he has delayed the approval of running. He did add another exercise for that muscle specifically so hopefully that will help. Overall progress is good.

I put my gi on again on Tuesday night and started working with the kids class again. There’s lots of good kids in that class and sometimes we are pretty short on Instructors so it feels good to be back even if its limited capacity... I even managed a little newaza randori and then spent the rest of class working with some white and yellow belts coming up for grading. When that class was over I did the warm up with the adults and then a little newaza randori. I sat out the rest of the class. Its better than nothing though! Thursday night I had Physio so I only managed to participate with the kids class but I’ll take it!!! Physio guy is not impressed but oh well. ... I just can’t stay away or sit out anymore!....

November 13th, 2009

Well its been officially – 9 weeks and 2 days from surgery.

Physio started at 2 times a week and we are officially graduated to 1 every two. The key here is that I do my exercises at home and my physio guy can tell. If I wasn’t he would still be recommending 2 times a week.

He is still cautious about any twisting motion on my knee and won’t approve any exercises/activity that involve twisting for another two months or so.

I am cleared for the stationary bike and elliptical 100% (currently 25 min no resistance) and resistance to what my leg says I can handle. All other exercises in my previous posts continue with additions of:

Low resistance hamstring curls - sitting with a (low) resistance band around my ankle – foot extended – draw the heel in
Lunges – don’t allow the knee to pass the toes
Balance board lunges – same deal with the knee
Groin stretches - light – careful of knee twist

Overall it feels pretty good and I have not “tweaked” anything in a while. It’s nice getting back to working out on a regular basis. Listening to my physio guy is a key part of this process. He has been great and is listening to me as well as tempering my need to push the process. We have a good balance.

I expect to be running – or allowed to run in another two weeks or so. I’m not much of a runner and the weather in my neck of the woods does not make for great conditions, I live on what is commonly called the “wet coast” and this time of year is gross..... if it’s not raining its getting ready to...... My son wants to start though and I used to so I may venture out and do a little, it will assist both of us.

Based on progress so far and the physio assessment I should be back in the Dojo and in Gi actually participating in January. The only thing I will have to avoid is, Tai Sabaki, Tachi waza Randori for a while. Uchi Komi – very controlled should be ok. Ne waza will be more or less back on 100% assuming I continue stretching and strengthening my hamstring.

I’m pushing the whole physio thing a bit mostly because of one of the other guys in the Dojo. He is about 2 months ahead of me with the same injury on the same leg. He’s about my age and physical condition. We are currently at about the same stage of mobility (extension/flexability), pain, etc etc... He stopped going to physio about a month in. He should be well ahead of me in progress.

What this hopefully means for me is that I will be ready for Montreal in Aug 2010!!! World Masters!!! That’s the goal anyway.

Well being the typical idiot... I put on my gi on Tuesday night for the first time in basically 8 weeks. IT FELT GREAT!!

I told myself I was just helping with the little kids and the teens. I won't do anything I'm not supposed to.... right...

Everything went well with the 6-11 year olds. Help out sensei and try to keep a semblance of control over 30 hyper kids...

After that comes the 11- 16 year old class. I figure, if I go light I can get a few rounds in of newaza randori. I have been assisting with this class for two years now and they know me and I know them. It was great to get in there. ..... Until the first one grabs the wrong knee to pass..

So as I indicated in previous posts, its all about the hamstring.


The Physio guy is describing the result of the operation as a 3rd degree tear of the hamstring. Basically the worst before full separation. If I'm not careful I can be in some serious trouble and off the mats for a lot longer than originally planned. And if I continue to hurt it in the early stages I can cause a lifelong issue....

I went to physio on Thursday night and fessed up. There is no sense in hiding it. I got the disappointed look and the head shake and verification that I'm an idiot. He did however introduce an new excercise. I am now allowed to do lunges as long as they are not deep.

I have also been cleared for the eliptical as long as I start slowly and increase time only if everything feels ok the next day. I have been up to 7 minutes so far and now can go to 10 then 15 then 20 then 25 then 30. NO RESISTANCE. Cardio work only.

I will not be putting on the gi again until January sometime. I just won't be able to stop myself from getting into the fray if I do it any sooner.

Physio approved:

Stationairy Bike - no resistance
Wall squats with exc. ball
Balance board
Walking
Lunges - not deep, knee doesn't pass foot
Bridges - shoulders flat, knees bent, raise hips
Range of motion stretches for knee
Hamstring engagment - ie - sit down, legs at 90 deg to floor, press heel back into chair, move foot to inside, straight, outside angles
eliptical - no resistance
Swimming laps - front crawl only
Calf raises
*** any upper body work that does not engage hamstring or put strain on knee

Alright,, October 25, 2009!

This is the day after my Son’s first tournament of the season. He is now fighting in U17 and in -60 kg. So basically one of the youngest and certainly the lightest in this last one. He weighed in at 57 kg with all his street clothes on! We have discussed this and trying to maintain -55 kg from now to Nationals next summer is not a healthy plan for him. So he sucked it up and went for it. He had three matches, He lost the first one with a failed counter, he fell on his back instead of his side, next match – win with a wazari, I can’t recall the throw at this time, next match – win by submission, rear choke. I haven’t seen it used much in Judo but its legal and he did it technically correct (rear naked choke). He was a little worried about moving up in age and weight but he did fine. He has been in the adult class since September as well as his own and he was with the mixed class all summer so he is used to dealing with guys bigger than him. I’m very proud of him, it was a great performance.

Tonight was the first night I got back down to doing some working out since the surgery. Nothing to heavy as indicated by my previous posts but here’s the start:

1. Knee warm up – physio assigned exercises.
2. Sit ups – bent knee, wife sitting on feet, 10lb ball, basically ball starts with arms extended over my head on the floor, bring the ball up and plant on one side, back down and up again on the other side. Complete count of 50 (25 each side)
3. Standing twists with the 10lb ball. Ball starts at the belly button and goes up and over the shoulder, arms extended.
4. 7 minutes on the elliptical machine, no resistance,
5. 30 minutes working light newaza with my son on the living room carpet. Basically I defend from my back while he attacks. Causes me the lease amount of knee stress. He needs to pass and either pin or submit and I need to defend first, find submissions second.
6. Uchi komi – Ippon SeoNage – 25 each side – ****My target is to get my pyramid back up ... 10 Left, 10 Right, rest, 20 L/R, rest, 30 L/R, rest, 40 L/R, rest, 50 L/R rest and go back down to 10.

Currently sitting around with my ice pack on as a preventative measure. I definitely did more than “allowed” but it feels good and tomorrow will be the tell all. We will see how we feel in the morning. I am hoping to be back on the workouts Sun, Mon, Wed .

Well I just got back from the surgeon and he is pleased with the progress so far. We don't need to go back in for another round of fun!

He checked range of motion and did the "tug on the lower leg" test and sent me on my way. See you in two months!!! Half a day off work, 1 hr to get there, 45 to get home and 5 minutes with the dr.... something is not right with this picture!!

Overall progress is as expected for him. When I asked about increased activity he made a nice graph for me and talked about Load VS Frequency. We are currently in an important time.

The jist is that the ligament can handle either high loads for short frequency or low loads for high frequency and a decending load vs increasing frequecy. If prior to injury I was 100% I am somewhere well below that now call it 30% now on the same graph....the numbers don't mean anything other than for point of discussion... what means something right now is "it feels a lot better than it actually is" I can redamage fairly easily if I push to hard.

There is a little scar tissue that needs to be massaged out and the occaisional twinge in the general knee area. The only other key factor I always have to be aware of is that they took a tendon from one of the many muscles in my hamstring... the hamstring is prone to tearning if not treated with some respect. Trust me you find out real quick all sorts of ways the hamstring is used!!!

Basically - follow the advice of my physio guy, RICE and/or MICE when required, don't over do it but also don't under do it...

So here we sit almost 6 weeks post surgury. I have been going to physio twice a week since the last post and am now moving to once a week. Progress is good as far as i can tell and my physio guy thinks I am doing great. The swelling is almost gone, I can only really feel it when I try to kneel down. I have full extension and full range of motion back towards my butt. These two things have been the targets for the intitial phase of the physio treatment. Now we start on the hamstring. This was the peice I was not prepared for prior to the surgery or now. Since the tendon used to fix my ACL came from my hamstring, I have basically no strength left in my HS and the majority of the physio from here out is to build the strength back up. As long as I do my excercises for my knee and don't do anything stupid my ACL will be fine.

I see my surgeon for the first real post opp check up. He will be looking for signs of trouble within the joint and ensuring that the work he did is holding. After that I will basically be on the path back to the mats. I have a small build up of scar tissue where he went in with a couple of the instruments but nothing serious and nothing that will get in the way. If I massage them regularly they will disipate.

Overall the feeling is weird. There is a spot just down and to the outside of my kneecap that has no feeling, the hair has not grown back and just this week have I started walking without a limp for most of the day. My job requires me to be on my feet most of the day so by the end of the day its really tired. The muscles on the inside and outside of the thigh in the front also received some damage from the surgery and they are just starting to fire properly again. I am basically in a critical stage at this point because it feels a lot better than it really is. I have to be super careful not to mess it up over the next couple of weeks.

I am on track for getting back and anticipate being able to start decent cardio workouts again in the next two weeks and then back to the mats in January for light work. Newaza Randori and Uchikomi to start.

JUDO - The Boys

So being off the mats for so long is not good for my head. But I have managed to fill the time I would normally spend on the mats coaching from the sides. Normally I would be in my Gi and helping teach the kids and then participating with the adults. Since I am on the sidelines I get lots of time to spend watching my boy as he goes through both classes. I have learned a lot about his Judo and can now coach him way better than before. This also holds true for the other kids that I tend to coach and who tend to come to me with questions etc. I have clean uninterupted time to watch them and see what is working for them and what isn't. Its been really good.

Harley is doing very well now that he is doing both the kids class and the adult class. And so far he really likes it. The quality of Judo is so much different between the classes he gets exposed to a variety of different situations and can feel better what is working what isn't etc. There's only two or three kids that present a decent challenge to him in the kids class but when he hits the adult class he's bottom of the heap! i think it gives him a bit of perspective and he has to work really hard to get anything even remotely close to success!!

Karl is another story... each and every night we get ready for Judo he tells me he doesn't want to go. As per the thread on the forum ... he's 6... I get to decide for him if he's going or not. the trouble is its been a full month and even though he loves it every time he actully gets on the mats he won't get off the "I don't want to go.." so of course I question making him go.. I will be keeping him in until the new session starts for us in Jan and revisit the decision then.

Overall things are good with Judo, my kids and my knee. Progress is progres..

Well what to update!!

We have officially had two nights of Judo in the 09/10 season so far.

Harley is taking both the youth class and then the adult class right after. This is giving him 2.5 hrs of Judo twice a week. This in the long run will be pretty good for him or better than the 1 hr twice a week he was doing. The adult class will add a new dynamic to his training (i'm hoping). Everyone is bigger than him in this class. Although there are a few 16/17 years olds that he will be able to work with. The rest of the time he has to work fairly hard to try and secure any kind of technique as the experience level is that much greater. He can no longer get away with sloppyness in this class like he could with the kids his own age/size etc of the youth class. I am hoping he wants to continue this process for this season just to see how he improves.

Karl started Judo this week and has had two lessons so far!! He looks great in his gi!! So far so good, he is enjoying the class and making new friends. i had to do a little convincing for the first lesson but he was all over the second one.

Sunday Team Practice - BC - well this is currently a mess.. .as of this moment the practice is off. No one will commit to the sunday schedule to teach and run the practice. Pretty rediculous and it only hurts the kids. This is my first true taste of politics and its a pile of horse .... This is one of the best practices they had each week as it brought all the potential team members together, they get to know each other and help each other out, besides the technical training aspect.... I've even thought of volunteering but I pretty much don't count in the grand scheme of things when it comes to this level. Its just very frustrating that the provincial board can't pull this one together...

My ACL. Well we are now in the recovery phase of the process. I have my first physio appointment next tuesday and today is officially day 11 after surgery. The scars are healing nicely, most of the swelling in the area is gone and I am now working on getting my range of motion back. I don't get to see the surgeon again until the end of October (6 weeks post op) he will checking rom and healing at that point and make his recomendations at that point. I can mostly walk normally now, there is little or no pain (completely off meds), I have a cane but don't use it (its a just in case), I can walk upstairs at a almost normal gait/pace but down is still a struggle. Lots of ice and rest. Even at work I put the leg up and wrap in ice every hour at least. Fitness level is deteriorating fast but I'm 37 and still a smoker. I am hoping to be able to get on my eliptical very soon and the smokes are on the chopping block for the end of the year. Don't want to start the prescription again until the knee is well on the way to recovery. We shall see how everything progresses.

The World Masters are in Montreal this coming year and that is my target. This should give me lots of recovery time and training time. I have never been to an event like this so I am looking forward to it.

Thats about it for now....

Well on Tuesday Sept 8th I finally went in for my ACL reconstruction.

It was a relatively quick process. I was in at 745 am and home by lunch same day. So far so good. Its Thursday now and I will be removing the dressing for the first time.

There is a “compression” sock that goes from toes to thigh that has been holding everything together for now. I am on two different types of meds. The first being Celebrex, and the second being tramacet. I am stopping the tramacet today as I need to see where the pain actually is. I have almost 50 left but will only be using them if required.

So far the process has been interesting. I can get around more or less ok with my cane and there seems to be very little pain. This is the point where I need to be careful as I don’t want to be overconfident and do some damage. I go in to see the surgeon on Monday to assess the first week and discuss physio options etc. I am hoping there is great progress and I won’t have to be off much longer.

I am a little concerned as my knee has “overextended” a couple of times while moving around and I thought that was one of the things that should have been fixed with this procedure. Again, no pain so I will wait until Monday and discuss with the doc.

So not much to report other than that. Day by day at this point and now its a matter of how long before I can get back on the mats and practice.

In other Judo news:

Both Harley and Karl start Judo this Tuesday!! New season registration. I am looking forward to Karl starting and seeing how he takes to it. And Harley will be doubling up classes with the “youth” and “adult” classes this year. I think it will be good for him and certainly gives him the extra Judo he needs if he is going to take the competition side seriously. He will have to maintain his school grades etc but I think he will be fine.

I finally get to start my coaching certification this weekend. I will be taking level 1 theory and then in two weeks will be taking level 1 practical. I am assuming that my knee will hold up for these. We have been waiting almost two years for these to run so I don’t want to miss them!

Well there you have the update. I may be getting some pictures up as we go of the knee. Beware, I assume its not going to be pretty!!!!

So as you may be aware I reside in the lovely city of Vancouver, BC. This year we have the pleasure of hosting the World Police and Fire Games.

Really, with work and life I have not paid much attention. Its not my area of expertise and for the most part I cannot stand to be around crowds,,, I get all twitchy etc. I avoid crowds if at all possible, and really besides Judo I don't have a single sporting interest. So anyway it was noticed but not something I thought I would be attending etc.


Well last night was our regular summer training night. Tuesday mixed adults and kids from around 7 until 9pm. And we have a visitor. .... from afar!!

One of the guys is hosting a couple of policemen from Croatia and he invited them to come down and get a work out in before the weekend competition..

Well let me tell you!!! This guy was something else to see. He is fairly young, perhaps late twenties at the most. Dan grade(?), -90 kg division and Athletic.. no dougnut shops in this guys daily rounds thats for sure!!

I have to assume that for the vast majority of us we are not "international" level Judoka. We are the twice a week get a great workout in hang with some like minded people and perhaps compete a little, or not.. We enjoy what we do but have no illusions of were we are going with our abilities. We work hard and learn as much as we can... Well with that assumption in mind we also all have at least one or two Sensei that we randori with and our measure of success with them is "how many times was I thrown this evening".. not how many throws did I manage to get.. I hope you know what I mean... because the point is...

this guy took those guys and threw them all over the place!!!! It was amazing to see him work!! His calm, his analysis, his gripping and then.... down they went.. every time. You could see it happen ahead of time. He didn't even break a good sweat that I could see and he was gentle! This was not some cocky visitor dumping people on there heads or using force etc it was just really really beautiful Judo. Its certainly not every day we get to see this type of technique Live in action.

After randori he was invited to show us a technique and we spent the next 30 minutes going over a very nice, clean and effective turnover, with a pin, choke or armbar as the finish. It was great! And it shows another awsome thing about Judo... he doesn't speak much english and we all got it.

Well needless to say - it was a great night! It finished late and everyone left with a grin on there face! I don't even know his name!! It looks like he will be back on Thursday and I won't miss it!! There was discussion about some standing technique demo's, I'm ever hopefull.

I am hoping to make to the competition on Saturday!! This will be a rare chance for me to see some incredible Judo if this was a sample!

Well I finally got my surgury date!

September 8th I go get my ACL fixed! Sooner if there is a cancelation .. here's hoping!

6 Months to full recovery (hopefully) and then back to full on training, teaching and competition by May 2010!

Not much new going on around here.

I am still waiting on my Surgery date for my knee... should recieve it by the end of next week!! Early September is my hope...

I've heard lots and read more about recovery time and I don't know what to believe.. I am assuming it is completly up to the individual on healing time but I have heard anywhere from 6 months to 18 months to be fully recovered and back on the mats... I am really hoping I will be in the 6 month range, and that I will not have a confidence issue!! I don't right now as I am dying to get back out there and I likely push a little harder than I should already!!

When I can't participate directly I get to assist and that has a lot of rewards. I like working with pairs and seeing what might need to be adjusted or tweaked. It has always amazed me that you can see what someone else is doing wrong and help correct but can easily perform it wrong yourself (and not realize it)!!

I have been doing regular cardio on the eliptical (so much so that the machine is getting fixed today!!) and on Tuesday and Thursday I get down and do Newaza and as much Uchi Komi as I can, generally with lighter partners but hey I still get to participate!! Its something.

My knee tends to "loosen" up after any workout and the next day feels "open" and a little sore but I also need to keep using the muscles so its a trade.

So the routine is currently:

Sunday - Eliptical 30 min, Upper body stretch bands, ashiwaza stretch bands, judo pushups and chin up bar
Monday - Eliptical 30 min, Upper body stretch bands, ashiwaza stretch bands, judo pushups and chin up bar
Tuesday - Judo Night!!
Wednesday - Eliptical 30 min, Upper body stretch bands, ashiwaza stretch bands, judo pushups and chin up bar
Thursday - Judo Night!!
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Gardening (it counts!!)

OH and I received my "winning" copy of Underground Grip fighting but have yet to spend a lot of time with it. I am looking forward to sitting down and really getting into it! I have a whole bunch of video that I really should go over. Not much point owning it if its going to sit on the shelf.

Harley has been away for a couple of weeks and gets back Monday so we will sitting down to see what kind of training he may be interested in for the upcoming year. How competitive does he want to be etc. He will also need to make a decision on his weight. He may be able to maintain his current catagory but it will be very restrictive for him on diet etc. I would prefer that he jumps to the next catagory and that will allow him to eat how he wants and work out how he wants. Then the focus can be on Judo instead of the scale and what he eats or doesn't. Oh well we will tackle that when we get to it.

Well the last few days have been pretty good.

I took some time off from doing much training, mostly because I can be a real lazy a** if I so choose! The excuse I'm using is the Nationals for Harley was the focus and I was "away".....

But like I said the last few days have been pretty good. With the ACL injury I am being exceptionally careful not to do more damage prior to surgery. Very specifically I don’t want any swelling in my knee when it comes time to get this thing done! That would be bad...

So the real motivator came when I looked at myself in the mirror the other day. Its amazing how fast the “trimish” belly goes all for a crap when you’re 37!!

So I’m back on my elliptical for 30 minute stretches to work cardio and shed some of this roll I’m developing again! I’m pretty happy with the time and intensity. I also do some stretch band work that I like to think is judo specific to help with Kuzushi etc.

I pushed a little harder last night though just to see where I was. I’m tired of going to the Dojo and not being able to participate in most of the activities and I end up leaving without getting a sweat on...

I have been able to do a bunch of Uchi Komi – carefully – but we don’t always do that, so last night I got down and participated in Newaza for the first time in weeks!!! I was a little worried but I needed to know!! As it turns out.. I’m pretty much good to go!!!! It was great. I was extra pleased since its been a while and I managed to hold my own and I wasn’t winded. Seiza is all but imposible still and I imagine it could be a problem even after surgery..

My biggest concern now is pushing it too much and doing exactly what I can’t afford to do and hurt my knee further and miss my surgery... I was injured on Mar 31 don’t forget so it’s a long haul to get in and get this done plus recovery time...

Oh well I’m a big boy and its up to me to ensure I don’t screw this up..

I WAS JUST A REALLY GOOD FEELING TO GET BACK IN THE FRAY AND PRACTICE!!!!

Being time keeper is only so much fun.....week after week....

Well up to this point I have been updating about Harley and the Nationals. He is currently on a break from all things Judo and enjoying his summer. We will get back to him later!

I am getting very excited about my youngest! Karl will be joining the ranks of Judo in September. He will be 6 in October so he just qualifies for our kids class.
He is just as excited as I am I think! For the past two years he has basically had to stay home each time Harley and I left for the dojo. This has made him very unhappy and in turn made him want this even more!

In anticipation of September we have started a few small things when he's in the mood. We have been practicing forward rolls in the yard and when Harley's around they try to do handstands and cart wheels together. Trying to keep it light and fun. We have also occaisonaly worked on "bowing" and how to enter and leave the dojo and get on and off the mats..

I'm pretty big on the respect thing and I get crochety when the kids don't bother with the bowing or the shoes etc.

I need to get him a gi, water bottle, flip flops and of course a little back pack all his own for his stuff!!! I want him to really feel involved and enjoy the experience as much as possible.

Some thoughts after nationals and moving forward.

So my last post was a little short and didn’t really say much....

The Canadian Junior Nationals were held in Calgary, AB this year. The BC team fielded 60 or so athletes of all levels and all age groups!
They looked really good in training (for those that I saw at team practice). BC’s a big place and they don’t all train in the south!
I missed the first day’s competitions (U17) as I spent the day vacationing with my wife and youngest son. We hit the opening day of the Calgary Stampede and had a great time.

We spent all day Saturday watching the U15 Categories. Lots of decent Judo throughout the day. These kids poured their hearts into the tournament and it showed in the matches. I spent a lot of time focusing on the kids from our Dojo of course as I know them the best. I participated in their training and development and have been there for most of their local tournaments. Basically this was their introduction to a whole new level of competition. Each one of them was extremely excited to be there and it showed!! I can only assume that there were lots of kids there for the first time just like our group was. This had to be the biggest factor for each of them. The new environment, new coaches and the way it was run is so very different than the casual set up of the local tournaments that it would play a huge part mentally.

As I have talked about our Dojo had 5, U15 entrants. 2 which I pegged as potential placers based on training, intensity, mental balance and overall ability. 1 that I was unsure about as he is does well locally but never really shows the “game face” and two which I figured were going to learn valuable lessons.... They just lacked the “want” the “intensity” etc.

Well I was optimistic... Each of them were knocked out in the first two matches. Now the line up did go as indicated. The first two put points on the board, fought their hearts out and overall their matches could have gone either way. Essentially I think their “plans” were sound but lacked the “how to handle the excitement” piece and left out the part about the other guy having a plan!! The one I was unsure about surprised me and put his game face on. It was a tough go and he got his butt handed to him, however he moved into the potential to place category for me after watching him at this level. Unfortunately the last two did as well as expected. They had their butts handed to them very quickly.

I have since had the opportunity to talk to all of them and they appear to be in good spirits and are already thinking about next year. This was a good sign for me. Basically, the lessons learned will show one way or the other for all of them. They seemed to bounce back quickly from the losses and are hopefully not going to allow this to set them off their path. We have since had a regular training night and only two of the five showed but it is summer etc so it’s difficult to determine where they stand. If they don’t show in September... we will know for sure.

Now the tough part for them starts all over. They have one year before the next nationals and they don’t automatically get to go. They need to go through the whole process again of qualifying for the team and earning their spot. Should they choose this road they will certainly need to step things up a notch to have the edge needed to place at this level vs local.

U20 was held on the Sunday. Now this was completely different Judo. There was some great action and some great clean techniques. For the most part it was a pleasure to watch these categories go toe to toe! There was the occasional crap either with the competitor or the ref’s but it was minor from where I was sitting.

So we had two competitors from our Dojo in this group. One that was on his last year of Juniors, he managed a Third place finish and with a massive Ippon to boot! I can’t tell you right now what the throw was but his TokiWaza is Uchimata so that makes sense. Very nice end to the Junior level for him.
For the second this was his second time at Juniors. His first match was over relatively quickly with a submission via Sankakyu Jime. His second match went the distance though and he lost that to a low score and even tried the hail-mary at the end of the match. It was a good showing for him, considerable progress. I believe he only has one more shot at juniors before he can only compete in seniors so next year is his chance. I think he was encouraged by his performance after he got through the emotions of the losses.

There is an overall theme at this event and it’s likely at every event just not as noticeable since they “don’t” matter... EMOTIONS and more to the point being able to control them to think and work the plan. It just does not matter how skilled or prepared you are, If you get caught up in the excitement of the whole thing and lose focus of the goal or your strategy... you’re done. The advantage goes to your opponent unless they are worse off in this department than you are. ((((I think this is key and something that needs to be addressed with those who choose to compete at the higher levels)))) Not that this is a revelation to anyone but seeing it first-hand sure puts it in a different light. This needs to be trained just like the rest, if only not to put yourself at a disadvantage.

So overall – the event was great. The location was good with ample seating and good sound. Easy to get too, lots of parking, food close by etc. In the full two days of watching match after match there were only a couple of instances of blatant poor calls that made a difference in the match. There was one decision that was clearly wrong , and one match that where they refused to call a false attack when it was clear to the masses watching. There were a few cases of poor sportsmanship and a couple disqualifications. Very few Negative memorable moments from where I was sitting.

Moving Forward:
Well this is the tough part. First and foremost the kids need to want to... this is a question that needs to be directed right at them when they get back on the mats.... Do you have a goal and does it include National competitions? If it doesn’t life moves on. If it does...... plans need to be formulated to allow them the best possible chance of success. Judo, Judo, and more Judo. Mental prep, technique focus, lots of Randori etc. Most likely the plan will have to include “club bouncing” – getting these kids out to other Dojo’s in the area to work with different people than they work with every session.

There’s time but its amazing how fast the year goes!! The qualifying tournaments start in September again!!

Well the day has come an gone.

Harley had a pool of 13 and his first match was the second of the day.

His first match, he looked good. He remembered all the things he was supposed to and worked his opponent very well. With about 40 seconds left he was up with a Wazari on the board. His opponent came in Hungry knowing it was almost over. 3 min matches with no Golden score... Harley goes down to a makkikomi for Ippon. Loss Number one.

Second match, he looks good. The first loss is behind him and he fights hard.... he got anxious right at the end and looses to a yuko..

We had a good conversation and he appears ok. It was hard on him but he had a great time and is already thinking about next year.

I could not be more proud of him!!!!

Our other first time kids had the same experience on Saturday. They each lost there first two matches but I have had a chance to talk to each of them and they are all in good spirits and are all talking about next year...

We had a 5th place finish on Friday and we have two more competitors today in U20.

Overall it appears to be an Ontario Show. Although BC did have 3 or 4 in the finals for U15.

The venue it pretty good with lots of seating and 4 mat areas. The quality of the refing is also pretty good.

Well here we sit in Calgary!

We had our final official training night on tuesday. We toned it down just a bit but made sure everyone had a good workout and worked on the techniques they are planning on using during Nationals.

We were up early on Wednesday and packed up the car. it was nice having the checklist discussed below as we felt really comfortable @ 6 am when we drove out, confident that nothing had been left behind!

We made the drive in about 12 hrs door to door. My youngest came with us of course and its amazing how small his bladder is when we get in the car!! Its like it shrinks two sizes or something when the door closes. Good traffic and weather all the way out and not too much construction. We even saw some big horn sheep.

We are just about to head out to the Dorms where the team is staying to drop off Harley for the next three days.

Confidence is good and weight is a non issue. All he needs to do now is step on the mats and have a great time. His matches are on Saturday and all I have left to do is make sure that the video camera is fully charged!

Harley had a great training session today. It was like he rememberd to do "everything" every sesei has every told him!

Randori for almost 45 min, on one off one. Nothing new again just standard warmup, drills, uchi komi, throw for throw then Randori.

I was able to talk to Tsuyuki Sensei again today about the "plan" we talked about last week and we reviewed what Harley and I had created this week.

I got the impression he was happy that we did it and gave me some great feedback on it regarding some details.

Just a couple days left before we drive out. We will start packing and going over the check lists Monday. Its about a 10 hr drive and then we get a chance to visit with my sister and her new fiance. The venue is about 30 min from her house so its nice to get to visit and nice that we get to save the costs of hotels etc.

One more training night left before we go.

Well another one down.. only two session left and we leave for Calgary for Harley to compete!

He has been training hard and is as ready as he's going to be. Physically he is ready. He has been pouring himselft into this process and the results are showing. He is certainly not the same now as he was 2 months ago when we found out he qualified for the team and to go to nat's.

He has 3 Judo sessions a week for about 2 hrs each and on top of that he is working out at home 3 nights a week.

The home workout mirrors mine and focuses on endurance, and strength. We spend zero time on building. The home workout looks like this(not in order):

Streching
30 Minutes on Eliptical - Mountain Setting, Maintain RPMS throughout
Judo Pushups - as many as he can (full forward and back)
Chin ups - as many as he can (would you believe that @ 14 he can usually do 20!! i'm all the up to 6 )
Leg raises - as many as he can
Uchi Komi Pyramid with stretch bands (10 LR, 20LR, 30LR, 40 LR, 50LR then down again)

This is basically the same thing I do and we just make sure we are not bumping into each other or waiting for equipment.

The absolute best part is that after about two weeks of initiating this workout I don't have to motivate him anymore.. He just does it!! He noticed his first "two pack" one day and that got him started!!

So all we need to do now is get through the next two training sessions and then travel. His matches are all on Saturday the 4th so just over a week to go. His weight is fine as long as we watch the Carb intake. He is -55KG and currently he is maintaining 53.5 or so. We religiously check weight so we always know where we stand. If he doesn't make weight its a $250 fine and disqualification from the tournament!!

We have started on the mental prep and that is coming along just fine. We have almost completed the "plan" and will hopefully have it reviewed on Sunday to make any adjustments we require.

Well where to begin on this one...?

How about , or .........

I have hinted at my injury but what the hell - might as well share and get it off my chest!!! Its not like i'm the first and only...

Basically - **WHAT A P*** OFF**

I had just come back from the Edmonton International a week and half approx before the Injury Night.... March 31st, 2009. The tournament was excellent but not my best showing.. Seniors - wipe out..... Masters... well I placed second but ...thats another story... Harley placed third!

Anyway back to training night... still recovering from Edmonton I'm sure, an incredibly difficult day at work and off we go to Tuesday Night training.

I was in a pretty crappy mood when I got there and had difficulty getting my head in the right frame of mind. I just could not drop the "work" from that day. I decided that this was not the best frame of mind to assist with the 11-16's and there were enough instructors so I sat on the side....

Pretty standard training night for the adults that night. Nothing stands out anyway. Except Randori time... As we get ready to start, I walk toward the end where the wounded go to "move around" without throwing - more of a Tai Sabaki session really. I look over and there is one guy up for Randori and no one stepping up to participate. So instead of listening to the little voice.. I step up to be his partner.. He's a young guy (18) and heading to Nationals. We have done this together many times before so really nothing new and should not be a big deal....

Well all I can say is this was a costly lesson in not listening to the little voice inside your head. We square up, bow in and away we go... not even two minutes in I go down with a searing pain in my knee from resisting - osoto gake. A few of the folks around said they heard a popping sound but I was busy screaming on the floor so I don't know.. it felt like a pop or more....

So they drag me off to the side and get an ice pack on it right away.. Amazingly the majority of the pain is gone almost right away. I do however know something is wrong....you can feel it. So I get help packing up and get help going to the car, I couldn't really walk - thats where the pain was!... I drop off my son at home and head to Emergency. Funny enough I can still drive... just not properly bend or put pressure on the leg.

Emerg was quiet thankfully and they get me in right away. But basically they have nothing to offer. "If its swollen in the am its probably your ACL" ......

So needless to say the satisfaction level is at a minimum and I have no idea whats wrong.

I called into work the next morning. I can do a lot from home so its not that bad.. My leg is swollen, a little.... I decide I need to see a doc and I don't have time to call in and make an appointment... sit 2 hrs in the waiting room but hey I get in!!! verdict - something is wrong, likely ACL, too much swelling to tell - come back in 10 days or so and get these xrays done..... lots of ice .... grrrrrrr. I'm officaly of the mats... and hobbling along.

In the time it takes for the swelling to go down - (ice 5 - 6 times a day) I keep an eye on the leg ... the outer thigh muscle has a problem... when sitting with legs straight in front - the upper 1/4 of the muscle will not contract! its all soft and jelly like. No pain but my head is going.. what the hell!!!

I get back in to see the doc, he messes with the leg some to check flexability and "slippage" and sure enough... there is some.. I am concerned that we are not going to get tests or MRI or ..... I show him the muscle thing... Very good idea... immediatly stops looking at the leg and tells me I need a sports speciality doctor!!! yippie!! progress... the soonest I can get in.... May 8th!!! in the mean time... lots of ice etc....

So now the wait begins...and now the mental games begin... This kind of thing I don't need. I spend time reading and learning about ACL injuries and brood over not being able to participate in the ONLY thing I want. .... I could not believe where my head went and how fast.. I was defeated, resigned, and hung up the Gi....

So the time goes by and I finally get to see the specialist. He spends a good 45 min with me working over my leg and asking lots of questions. The final test he does is the "duck walk" most of us should be familiar with. I have not done this one in ages but here we go. Squat down, lift up onto your toes, knees apart... now take a step with the "injured" leg... Ok.......

So I pick myselft up off the floor.. literally. I fell over on my side immedialty when my foot came down.. He looks at me and says, yup ACL....how do you want to proceed? Do Nothing, Wear a metal Brace, Surgery... well needless to say... Surgery... Ok, more xrays and come back in 4 days and we will discuss...

When I come back I am determined to ask about the MRI. Why not. Are we just postponing the inevitable? Will I have to wait 6 months for one of those and then move forward? How long, How Long? Why? What? HELP me get better.....

So a few days later I get in to see him. He's great by the way. He is taking it seriously and talking to me like its important. He reviews the xrays and finds nothing. He does more tests on the leg and is more than satisfied that its ACL and the options are as stated. So I assure him its surgury, period. This is what I enjoy and I have a long career left assuming I get better etc. He tells me that the next step is the Surgeon. The office will call me as soon as I can get in for consultation. ---- I made a point of asking about the MRI. He looks at me and says - its your ACL, if you want an MRI, you can either pay the $1000 and get it done privatly asap, or you can wait for one that is covered by our Medical system (4-6months). Either way the result will be wasted time for the same diagnosis...( I chose at that point to thank him and see the surgeon!)

So we wait...another month! and we get into see the surgeon. Now a month is really good but thats because I paid $350 and called it a private appointement!! If I had waited it would have been close to 3-4 months...

So the best part of this whole thing so far - I step into the surgeons office... and on the wall are all these signed posters and pics of Olympic athletes.. which is just plain cool but how did he get them.. Well it turns out this is Dr. Robert McCormack, Chief Medical Officer, Canadian Olympic Team!!!! WooHoo. I instantly feel better about the whole thing!

Mentaly I had been in a bad place. But between this and my boy with his "challenge" I am back to where I need to be and awaiting surgury so that I can get my butt back on the mats and training for Canadian (vetrans)Masters Nationals in May of 2010! Its good to have goals and thats mine. Plus I have to work twice as hard to keep up to my boy who thinks he's going to be able to "take" me in 4 years!!

So now we wait. I have been given the go ahead to use my Eliptical machine for training and I test every other excersize I can. I want to ensure I am at the peak I can be for Cardio and strength before I get surgery and then have to recover.

Surgery Date - not set yet, Likely September, if i get really lucky i may get in sometime in august.

Well once again.. thanks for taking the time. I will keep updates coming as I get them but in the mean time I need to find ways to keep up to my boy!!

(mutter, mutter mutter... take me in 4 ... rotten little.. )

Well another great night @ POCO JUDO (thats how we refer to the Dojo)

As a back-grounder we are a recreational dojo with what I think is a great mix of traditional vs competitive. We only run Tuesday and Thursday nights but we go all year with ony about 4-5 weeks off. We run a 6-11 kids class, 11-16 youth class and then the 17 - really old class. We don't have a dedicated Dojo as we run out of a rec center but the mats never leave the floor. We share with a day care, karate and BJJ throughout the week.

There is no end to the number of Dojo's in Vancouver so it is also assumed that if you want more training you will go and find it. What I have found so far is that once you know someone in one of the other Dojo you can generally drop in without an additional fee. Its good to work with a different group just to see what the heck is going on out there! ( I discovered one night during newaza while visiting a different dojo that I was leaving my arm out for Ude Garami - constantly! they trained more on this than we did and there it was.. I was submitted more than once when I finally realized it!! )

During the summer we merge the high end of the 11-16 class with the adults and last night there were almost 30 people on the mats! It was great to see the mix. We have 8 going to Junior Nationals this year and most of them were there so the focus was on them with only 3 training nights left before we head out to Calgary to see how we do! We have 5 boys in U15, 1 girl in U17, 2 guys in U20. All the kids in U15 are attending there first Nationals so we have no idea what to expect. Everyone else has been to at least one although none have placed before. Apparently that is normal unless you are "gifted". We'll see. If I have an eye for anything (and I hope I do, but its not likely!) I think we have a good chance to medal with at least 3 participants. Don't worry I have not said anything but encouraging things to all of them! I'm just thinking realistically from what I see on the mats, maturity, training intensity, etc. It will be what it will be and I am more than proud that we have so many that made the Nationals in the first place! (especially Harley!!)

So once again nothing new last night. Too late in the year for that. We focused on Tai sabaki, Gripping and Breaking Grips then moved straight to randori. Overall a good night for everyone. The toughest part about Tai Sabaki is we have lost what is likely the one Sensei that know's this the best. Now we try to work it but its not the same, the same feel is not there ..... Its a great loss to the Dojo. Sensei Fardin Aghaei (4 dan), from Iran. In the little time I was able to spend with him ... WOW. Hopefully he will be able to rejoin us!

Well another long ramble. Currently I am very much enjoying making these entries. Its good to be able to review the training and put some thoughts down. Like I said earlier, I tried writing it in a book but that never ever kept up. I also assume that the more I do this the more specific on training etc it will get. And then there will come September!! Lots of excitement expected there. Competition Season (Harley), ACL reconstruction (Me), New Judoka (my youngest 6) - so there will be no end of things to write about!!!

Happy Fathers day to all the fathers out there!! And happy solstice!

Harley went to team practice today. Its held every sunday until after the last nationals and then resumes in September. Pretty much anyone who would like to can come out and practice can.

As we gear up to the Junior Nationals for Harley I am full of questions of course! I took some time today to speak with one of the coaches Tsuyuki Sensei (mark). Turns out he is a 3 time world champion (66kg) and he was great. I was asking for general advice and some specifics and he made the time to talk to me about planning and the details around planning for this level tournament, especially for the kids.

I thought I would try to get it down here so anyone could have a look but also so I could remember better!!

So the main theory is PLAN the details, start with before you leave to go where you are going and then plan each day..

IE-
Gear Bag - What needs to be in it? What will I need mat side?, does it all fit, with the airport have an issue with any of it, pack it once or twice to be sure, make a list (tape, tide to go, clippers, judo passport, water, granola bars, etc etc)
Training Gear - How's my weight? Do I have running gear? Will it rain, am I covered? Extra socks, extra unders, especially if you get them sweaty doing an extra workout.
Night Before matches - what will I eat, when will I go to bed, when will I wake up, do I have an alarm clock etc.
Morning of the match - what to wear, do I know exactly where to weigh in, how's my weight, what to eat for breakfast
Match - one at a time, focus, detail action? what will I do if and list them???

Basically the Plan is supposed to remove any stressors once you arrive. Especially for those attending thier first event or Juniors who are easily distracted anyway! And when he was talking to me about it I could instantly see the logic behind it and the need. We will be starting Harley's tonight.

He also showed a turnover for Harley to work on. Fairly simple and not "new". So we will be drilling it at home before we head to Calgary. And I also noticed his ability to open his partner up for Osoto, the problem was he couldn't see it! So we will be working that at home as well. There were also some specifics about Harley's gripping and foot work that we need to try and address but there is only so much time left before Nationals so we need to keep it simple and effective and not get buried in to many things. Pick the most important and focus.

Anyway great training session learned heaps even sitting on the side lines and am looking forward to assisting Harley in his prep.

Excellent session last night.

We are into our summer session at this point and this means the 11-17 class is merged with the adults or the younger class. Basically the bigger kids move up and the smaller kids move down.

The sessions also get much harder with less focus on learning new, but on working old. And cardio etc. Lots of Uchi Komi and more Newaza Randori and Tachiwaza randori.

We actually have 7 members heading to Junior nationals in two weeks in Calgary so they spend a lot of time getting worked on. Generally they spend 3 to 4 rounds of Tachiwaza randori up before they get a break. Then they sit out one and go again. Harley had a great night and picked out mostly Dan grades to work with! He's hungry for nationals!!

Three new people showed up last night so I was able to work with them for most of the night. We spent most of our time on Ukemi. To ensure we kept them interested we showed them some basic newaza starting from the knees and then let them loose with some of the higher grades to get a feel for it. Then right back to Ukemi and one quick showing of Osoto Gari. Basically a little run down. At the end of the night they all said they enjoyed there night and will be back on Tuesday... I hope so. Fresh faces are always good. And it felt good to be useful! The knee thing is driving me crazy. I can't wait until its fixed!!

Well I thought I would give this a shot. There have been set backs and excitement over the past 6 months or so in our Judo and I wanted to share. I have tried writing it in a diary and that has not really worked out for me.

So to get the ball rolling.... In 2007 my middle boy requested that he be allowed to join some kind of "martial art". Not an issue for me but I was able to shelfisly suggest and convince him that Judo was the way to go. Mostly because I had experience with Judo. I actually held a green belt grading last time I participated (about 13 years prior). So in Sept 2007 we found a club and started attending.

He was of course at the right age to just pick up and run... I on the other hand.... had gained some weight, smoked a pack a day and was generally out of shape. Long story short... PAIN PAIN PAIN.. However... I stuck it out and holy man do I feel better and the bond between us is 100 times what it was. We have something passionate to share. He loves every session and can't wait for the next one!!!

So to keep the first entry reasonable in length.....fast forward to June 2009.

Harley, (my boy), has been graded to Green Belt on June 4th!! The best parts - he performed all his techniques well and did not pause between them. Sensei named the technique and BOOM there it was! No second guessing. When we got home... he handed me the shiny new green belt and asked if he could wear my old one!!! darn near brought a tear to my eye. Of course I said yes and with lots of pride and pleasure.

He has also been very busy with Judo in the past two months.... He has a spot on the BC Team!!! I am very excited for him!!! He will be going to Canadian Junior Nationals in July!!! I could not be more proud of where he is. Now I know there is lots of controversy over how old you should be when you engage in Shiai but he is hungry for this and all I really do for him is guide him down the path he wants to go. Trust me I have a wife ensureing that he wants to train as hard as he is and eat the way he does to etc etc. She is all over me making sure I'm not being one of those "dad's"!! He will be competing in the U15, -55Kg division on July 4th. We are making it a family trip and will be cheering from the bleachers... no more mat side coaching for Dad. The team gets to take over now.. (that was tough to take!!)

I have been out of real tatami training since March 31! It was a regular training night (tuesday) and we started Randori after a normal workout/training evening. Me and another fellow (both brown belts) bowed in and got our grips. We moved around a little and he went for a Osoto Gake, something went wrong.... down I go in a heap of pain and poping sounds.. I have a torn ACL in my right knee.... I knew that night I should have gone to the Old guys side and just moved around (no throws), always listen to the little voice!! So we've been to the specialist and I have finally seen the surgeon!! I will be operated on sometime in September. Most of the pain is gone now and I have been able to start working out again but man does it ever mess with your head! Complete relapse on the healthy living kick... setting a bad example for my boy etc.. Back to smoking and eating poorly, feeling sorry for myselft etc etc....

Well something finally clicked (i think it was when the boy had the nerve to tell me he would be able to take me on the mats in 4 years!!! likely 2 but don't tell him ) and we are on the path to recovery now. I have surgeons ok to get on the eliptical (be careful and monitor pain) and most other excersises (pushups, situps, chinups, stretch bands, even some uchi komi) I could have been doing all along and are now back.

I have kept the Gi on and have been able to work with the 11 -17 class some, which at least kept me going to class!!! I even participate a little in the Adult class now. I just don't want to do anymore damage so its limited but at least its Judo!! My plan is to fight in Canadian National Masters in May 2010. I missed my opportunity this year due to injury and this gives me a recovery goal!!

Well Holy C*** theres a lot to read there!! Thanks for reading my first entry... Theres lots of gaps since Sept 2007 and now but that more or less brings it up to date. Feels good to get it typed down..