Some surprises, some not surprises

The last two days have been interesting. While I haven't taken any classes since the school tourney, I've had two significant events happen. They aren't necessarily HUGE, but they have their impact.

The bad news is that the knee problems I've been having are not psychosomatic, or just arthritis as I was told almost 4 years ago. I had the MRI done on Monday, two days before my tourney, and post-tourney my knee is feeling worse. The results came in, and today I talked to my MD about it. Turns out that I have all sorts of problems going on. The main problems include fluid in the knee, inflammation of the joints, the kneecap out of whack (which I already knew), but the clincher was that I have a torn ligament. See, I knew something was bad! It could've happened anytime. Could've been that time I crashed down on my knees when literally trying to keep up with the 2nd and 3rd degree guys doing advanced kicking (double kicks on the bag, whereby you might do something like a front, then round with the opposite foot, both before landing on the ground). Or I could be when I got knocked down at the regional this past summer, and then couldn't walk for a few days. Who knows? Nonetheless, it's not good news for someone who does a lot of jumping and kicking in class. While I thought the positive side of this was that I'd get out of sparring, I am not. :-( I will have to take a prescription anti-inflammatory, go to an orthopedist, and get PT (and I swear the PT won't do squat, as I've done it before). Laying off it, and getting surgery is the answer, if you ask me, but I have to wait for the orthopedist to make that determination.

In the meantime, upon telling SW of the prognosis, she immediately (while on the phone with her) insisted that I find the knee brace with the metal inserts on the side. The way she talked about it, you'd think it was the Holy Grail or something, and the responsibility of her passing it to me was a great honor. Evidentally, this particular knee brace has had a history, whereby it has helped heal many a person, and included wearers such as a few Senior and Chief Masters in the ATA, let alone people within my school whom I respect as talented martial artists. SW said I had to carry on the tradition that when somebody tears a ligament in their knee, they have to wear this do-dad. OK, if you insist! I found it under some boxes in her office, confirmed I got the right thing when I saw her later in the afternoon, and I guess I'll try it tomorrow in class, and see how it works. I'm a little skeptical, but hey, it's worth a try, right? Maybe with some of the prestigious wearers (and if you knew ATA hierarchy, you'd be impressed by some of the people who have worn it before me!), it'll have magical healing powers or something. I just don't want to be in pain after nearly 8 years of enduring this, and it getting progressively worse. We'll see...

The good news is that I got an AWESOME Christmas present from my Jewish boss/instructor. ;-) (Or Christmannukah, as she likes to call it). Now, I'll be honest, my present from her was sitting on a bunch of boxes for a few days now, and I didn't want to open it without her being around. Just felt wrong. But like a goofy little kid, I couldn't imagine what was so large that I just...felt...the present. Just feeling the shape of it, etc. Before I knew it, without too much squeezing I had figured it out, or so I thought, but I figured I'd wait. So tonight, SW was very insistent that I open my present. I put on a fairly good act, which was partially true, based on what I could guess it was. I couldn't imagine what large present she could be giving me, and was afraid that she got me something really great. And I gave the genuine look of surprise (and half acting, since it was what I thought it was), when I opened the paper to see that it was one of those really cool ATA zippered chest protectors. Those things ain't cheap, and even though I know how much she paid for it at cost...still! Her comment was that with SM and I now becoming tournament competitors, she didn't want to see that SM had one and I didn't! Those regular chest protectors make me feel like the Sta-Puf Marshmallow Girl, so I'm REALLY happy about getting this. It's so comfortable, and less restrictive, and heck, easier to put on! Now all I need is my black belt so that I can get my black gear! ;-) But what a fantastic present. Do I have a great boss, or what?

Oh, now here's something that will show what the two chest protectors look like, and something for a good giggle. SM had SW take video of our sparring bout at the school tourney the other night, and she posted it online! She said it was fine if I posted it, as she made it public domain with my permission. Heck, I think it's funny, and while I did beat her 4-3 before time was called, I was exhausted after that! (For those not in the know, we had to do forms and weapons before doing sparring, so it'd already been a while that we were working out). My husband said upon looking at this that we looked relaxed, but quite the contrary-- we were both wound tightly like springs, and that in itself takes a lot of energy. It is REALLY evident that I need to work on my sparring, although I think one fake out-reverse kick was not too shabby in there.

So here, in all my glory, is my latest sparring round. I'm the tall Darth Vader chick on the left; SM is to the right. Victoria is the center judge to the far left between us; Jodi is the corner judge on the right, and Nina is behind me as the left corner judge. Oh, and when they said points towards red or white, I'm "white". Enjoy!



12-20-06 Sparring Match