UNIJJ 5th Anniversary

Today was the fifth anniversary open mat and party for the University of Jiu Jitsu. I haven't been on the mats in 2.5 months so I purposely showed up late and stayed on the side lines as long as possible to avoid the temptation to over do it. The last thing I wanted was to hurt myself on my first "day" back.

To say the mats were crowded is an understatement. I'll update this post on Monday with pictures, but...let's just say I've never seen anything like it. Packed to the max. It was good to see everyone again still training hard. Several White Belts are now Blues. A couple Blues are now Purples. A purple is now a Brown. To quote Mr. Miller, "Time keeps on slipping (slipping...)..."

I jumped in with another Blue about my age and weight for the last six minute round of the session. Survival was my goal. As Professor Matthias from NOLA BJJ advised, i went 50% and played defense. Well...sort of. I went 50% at first and tried to play defense as best as I could. I recall getting into some trouble quickly. He had me cross-faced but hadn't secured side control. Felt smashed and claustrophobia alarms started going off. Eventually he secured the side control and advanced to knee on belly. I recall escaping to turtle and rolling out to open guard. Open guard to x-guard sweep. Then pass to knee on belly. He turtled out and I set up the back attack but he rolled out again to guard recovery. From guard he set up a front gi choke. But it wasn't the typical front gi choke. He looped a forearm around the head and smashed a wrist blade across the face. Same move three times and third time was a charm. He had it tight and I tapped thinking he left me with a fat/blue lip fo sure...

Shortly after resetting from the tap, I laid back into open guard. Got a spider grip left side. That used to be my go to side for sweep off a pass, but given that I'm 50% (at best) on the left Tricep and otherwise weak on that side, I wasn't sure if I could hold the position. Well, it held. I got the sweep without too much trouble and immediately transitioned to the arm bar. He tapped verbally as I arched my hips. But I cold tell something was wrong. He was holding his upper arm and said his shoulder dislocated. Said it's the seventh time in his life and third since he started training BJJ. Master Saulo and Professor Santos looked concerned and told us to sit out the rest of the round. He quickly reset the dislocation and said he's ok now (just can't tell his wife about or no more BJJ for him...).

Hmm... Hurting my training partner upset me. Was I too aggressive? Did my ego and pride take over allowing me to crank too hard on the arm? Would a more skilled fighter have cotrolled the sub setup and provided more time for the tap before injury? These and other thoughts have been running through my mind all afternoon/evening.

Injury to my teammate notwithstanding, my first five+ minutes on the mats in 2.5 months couldn't have felt better. I didn't gas. My neck seemed safe the entire time. I felt...well, fantastic. Can't wait to resume training next week.

After the open mat, Master Saulo and Judo Sensei Lizumi gave rousing talks about the virtues and martial arts and the master-student relationship. I'm proud to be part of the UNIJJ team and, God willing, look forward to many more years of safe training.

Homestretch

Tentatively plan to return to training in two weeks. Strength and conditioning going strong, but I'm still having trouble with the left tricep. 25-30lb skull crushers on the right tri compared to 12lb on the left. Bench pressed 15 reps of 65lbs this morning (yes...that was a challenge). Although still weak, I can now stand up in base from a left side post.

I'm looking forward to being a spectator at San Diego's Grappling X tourney on 2/12. Pans are in the back of mind too, but still a long way from knowing if I'll be comp ready by the end of March.

Slowly Improving

Symptoms receding. Numbness almost gone, but I can induce tingles by changing posture. Tricep getting stronger, but I still can't post on my left arm. Can't imagine a push-up. Only working out ~4hrs per week. Still can't jog or jump in place without inducing symptoms. Strangely enough my weight is still down a few pounds since the injury. Hopeful that I can return to the mats sometime in February.

I'm Not Alone (in SD)

Wow. Stopped by the gym today for the first time in over a month. Pleased to run into someone I deeply respect, yet hardly know. Explained that I hadn't quit, but had a setback. Turns out he struggles with the same issue. Herniated c5-c6. Understands what I'm going through. He's the second Professor in two cities to look me in the eyes and, I could tell, really understands and cares. He asked me to go with him tomorrow to see his neck specialist. God I love this journey.

Discharged!

Saw the surgeon again Friday. He discharged me and said I'm on my way to recovery. Told me to resume PT/strength & conditioning this week. Suggested I stay off the mats until symptoms are gone. Said it could be a month. Maybe longer. Maybe shorter. I asked him a 1000 questions and made sure he understood BJJ. Instructions still the same. Train if it doesn't hurt and I don't have symptoms. Rest if it hurts or my fingers go numb.

Still...I can't imagine getting back on the mats anytime soon. Pain is pretty much gone, but I get nerve aches in my shoulder, tricep, and forearm. Index finger still dead numb. Tricep is extremely weak too. Went to PT this morning (dang it felt good to do some activity again) and could barely lift four to seven pounds with skull crushers (tricep isolation exercise). I was doing 20lbs with my right arm no problem. I can't post on the left side at all. A single push-up is absolutely impossible.


Oh! Oddly enough I lost weight since early December. Weighed in at 219 this morning (clothed). No exercise plus lots of holiday food and drink equals 5-6lb weight loss. Go figure.

I'll be hitting the gym 3x per week for PT/strength & conditioning. When the numbness goes away and I have sufficient strength in my tricep I plan to get back on the mats. Until then...keep training my friends!

No Surgery...Yet

Went over the MRI images with a neurosurgeon Friday. Herniated C5-C6 and C6-C7. Same as the January results, but apparently something decided to give during sleep. Doc doesn't want to operate...yet. Says I'm young enough that there's a good chance the symptoms will recede with traction and rest. I see him again in two weeks and then in a month. If after a month I'm not completely (or near completely) symptom free he'll start talking other treatment options. Says the surgery would defintely be a two-level fusion (ACDF). I'm pretty sure Peyton Manning and Tito Ortiz only had a one-level fusion. I asked about long-term prospects for active living including BJJ (assuming no surgery). He said to follow the common sense rule: If it hurts, don't do it. In other words, so long as I'm symptom free I can continue training. First sign of symptom reemergence I need to rest. Makes sense, but I'm not entirely sure he knows what BJJ is and the pressure it can exert on the neck. I'll discuss more with him in two weeks.

Trip to the ER

Woke up Sunday in the worst pain of my life. I couldn't see straight. Just laid on the ground moaning and kicking the floor. Did this for almost 12hrs before I agreed to go to the ER. Docs gave me three shots in the butt and three scripts for some powerful stuff. Dilaudid, Zanaflex, and Ativan. These on top of Amitriptyline and Methylprednisole I started taking last Thursday. Pain is now barely tolerable. I'm not working. Hardly moving around. Feel sick to my stomach. Generally miserable. Had an MRI on Monday. Get results tomorrow. I'm almost certainly heading for surgery.