For the past few weeks, I have been skipping out on Kendo and Iaido practice due to a back injury. Essentially, while doing things to take care of my stiff muscles in my back, my spine kind of just locked up. I have been visiting the Chiropractor to get things fixed and things have been improving with each treatment so I should be able to return within the next few weeks. According to the doctor though, I must have been living with a misaligned spine and muscles for quite some time, which actually sounds kinda creepy in retrospect.
However, even when I do return, I can't really just immediately start putting on my bogu and go at it. Once I finish the adjustment segments, I need to get some therapy to strengthen the muscles I have since they are going to be operating differently. I will be able to return to Kendo, but will probably have to spend that time just working on my basics and taking things easy until I feel more comfortable to get more active. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because I will have an easier time concentrating on all the basics, such as my footwork and suburi through either my own work or helping out any beginners that are attending practice. It would be interesting to see how it all plays out once I'm able to join the main practice though. Because the nature of Iaido isn't all that physically demanding, I'll be able to return to practice quite easily. Heck, I could do it now as long as I'm not in pain on that particular day.
But, until I recover to that point, I'm stuck at home while I recover. This has given me opportunities to catch up on some games I've neglected, but I've also been doing several things to keep my mind up to speed about Kendo and Iaido.
The biggest thing I have done was buy this book from E-Bogu. The order was actually in addition to an Iaido hakama and new bokken set so I could save on shipping ($13 shipping vs. a $15 book + free shipping...hard decision...). It's in Japanese so it's slow going as I actively translate everything, but there's lots of cool pictures drawings in there. Iho hanshi (the author of the book) does a lot of comparisons between Kendo and various mainstream sports in terms of teaching some of the basic mechanics, though I'll have to see how that plays out as I continue reading. I have also been reading various blogs and watching tournament videos on Youtube to keep things fresh and reflect on my own abilities.
I am awaiting the moment I'm able to return to practice. I'm honestly sick of having to sit around and wait but, if this prevents further injury and makes my body better than it was before, then all the wait time will all be worth it.
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2 comments:
Thank goodness that you got your back problems patched up, but you should take it easy for a while just to make sure that the injury won't come back to haunt you.
Thanks for the well wishes! Ever since the treatment, I've been feeling better than before the injury happened. I've noticed an increase in flexibility and ease of movement.
It's been over a year since the initial injury, and I've been fortunate to bounce back quickly and without suffering any major issues since then. With the previous experience, I've been regularly visiting the chiropractor and getting massages to ease up tense muscles that are giving me issues. I have also been paying much more attention to my musculoskeletal system by giving more attention to stretches and really paying attention to anything that might not be right with my condition. With that, I hope to prevent issues before they become big problems and, thus, I'll be able to continue doing Kendo and Iaido for a lot longer.
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