Highs and Lows

I think I've been putting this post off for a week or two due to the fact that it's utterly depressing...I injured my arm and won't be able to compete.

I figured that I would leave it a bit closer to the time to decide, and on Monday night I finally decided... that I couldn't compete. Two weeks ago at training I was practicing a throw with my partner but lost my balance and fell into it. Just as my full weight landed on my extended arm, my training partner landed on the back of my elbow, and the pain was excruciating - there was a loud click and I wholly believed that my arm was broken for a second or two after it happened.


The following morning I discovered that I had sprained my wrist, hyper-extended my elbow, and pulled my bicep - but thankfully nothing more serious. The initial recovery was extremely quick, and barring some sensitivity from the tendon on the inside of my elbow I thought that it wasn't too bad...until I was doing some light rolling. I had my elbow well strapped, and got caught in an armbar...well...with zero pressure applied to the elbow (only having my arm in the armbar position) I had to rapidly tap out from the pain. But it got worse...

I was helping my dad do some gardening the following weekend, namely digging up old rose bushes. The roots of the bushes were badly tangled and so I was splitting them with a spade. I came to one with particularly thick roots and drove the spade into them at full force. Unfortunately I hadn't noticed the lump of solid concrete directly underneath. I got a shot of numb pain from the palm of my hand right up my forearm. For a few days after I could barely open my hand, and by the Sunday I couldn't muster enough force to snap a Kit Kat. And so it was with great disappointment that I decided that I couldn't compete - my elbow was still only about 60% and I had virtually no grip strength in my right hand.

It's not all bad though; I've discovered the awesome benefits of sledge hammer training, have discovered that I can healthily lose 7 lbs in two weeks, and my jujitsu has improved massively. Andre Galvao's Drill to Win lives up to the hype, and Caio Terra's instructional is the best I've ever seen (I'll have a review for you shortly). I do look forward to my first competition, and I'll be keeping my eyes open for them whilst I recover.

Until next time folks!