Just over eight months into recovery from ACL reconstruction surgery, I did jumping front snap kicks.
You may be wondering how I ended up in this predicament in the first place. Take a look at this post (“POP! Goes My ACL”) for the detailed story of how I injured myself and what followed in the immediate aftermath.
The short version is I tore my ACL doing a jump kick, and not even a good one at that.
Continue reading “First Post-Surgery Jump Kicks”
I’ve been so busy lately I almost forgot to do my yearly blog post. Today, April 15, my blog celebrates its SEVENTH birthday!
What started as a few rambling thoughts that had been haunting me since my color belt days has evolved into so much more. Thank you all for your readership and support.
As I always do on my yearly bloggiversary, I present my ten favorite posts of the past year:
Continue reading “Little Black Belt is SEVEN!”
The last time I swam laps was early March 2020. I remember waking up to my early alarm one morning and thinking, “Eh, I’ll sleep in. There’s always next week.”
Then the pandemic happened.
Then knee surgery happened.
Wait a minute…I’m getting the strangest sense of deja vu.
The last time I visited my gym was early March, 2020, mostly likely attending a Body Combat class.
Then the pandemic happened.
Then knee surgery happened.
Continue reading “First Post-Surgery Yoga Class: a Revelation”
I’m not a huge fan of the phrase “ramp up” because it’s one of the many buzz terms I hear in the corporate world, and it usually means I’m going to have to do a lot of work in a short amount of time.
But, it can also mean exciting things are on the way. Continue reading “Spring Sprint”
On January 7, nearly six months to the day I tore my ACL, I practiced jumping. I still can’t fully extend my leg and still walk with a slight limp, but by God, I was jumping.
It. Was. Terrifying.
Continue reading “Jumping (Cautiously) Into 2021: Staying Focused on What Matters”
I’m a second degree black belt. I could have tested for third degree black belt at the end of this year.
BIG.DEAL.
I had to relearn how to walk after my July knee surgery. When you can’t walk very well or even stand up in the shower, all that fighting, jumping, and sprinting nonsense goes out the window for a while. It’s hard to feel like the athlete you were before your injury. It’s depressing to feel out of shape. It’s frustrating to go through so much pain as you heal and gain strength.Â
Recovering from a major injury when you used to do a high-level sport can feel overwhelming and a bit daunting.Â
Continue reading “#1 Recovery Tip From One ACL Warrior to Another”
“One step at a time, one day at a time, it will all work out.”
This is something a mentor…er, friend….er…you know what, I’ll just be honest–This is something my therapist, whom I saw for seven years, used to say to me. You’ll meet my therapist “Ramona” in my upcoming memoir, Kicking and Screaming: a Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts. For now I’d like to reflect on her comforting words.
Continue reading “Taking Life One Step at a Time”
I come from a family of creators who enjoy challenging hobbies. My dad is a painter who is especially skilled in oils and portraiture, and he was a competitive swimmer in high school and college. My mom likes doing difficult and complex knitting patterns. My brother is a professional musician.
I hit stuff.
Kidding aside, any martial artist knows they have to put in hours and years to hone their craft. It’s not a matter of mindlessly parroting or mimicking motions their Sensei or Sabumnim does. You have to develop both the mental and physical intelligence required to perform and improve upon your martial art. You have to understand why you do certain things.
You have to be a good mechanic.
The other day during a text exchange with my mom and brother, my brother said he was learning the classically-influenced 1970s pop song “MacArthur Park,” and was doing some “woodshedding.”
Woodshedding?
Continue reading “Woodshedding: (Re)Perfecting Your Technique Like a Musician”
Ten months and twenty-three days into what has been the most bizarre year of my and probably everyone else’s lifetime, I finally felt a deep, comfortable, settling sense of normalcy, if only for a few minutes.
My moment came when I was doing “bungee walks.”