Category: Fitness & Well Being

Everyone wants to seem like they’re tough. Most training regiments encourage the aspect of “push through the pain” and many will follow this credo a little too literally. Almost to the point where some people will cause serious injury or even aggravate existing ones in order to continue training.

The most common injury that we deal with in the martial arts (besides the occasional bloody nose or bruise) is pulled muscles (sometimes referred to as a “strained muscle”). This is what happens when any given muscle is overused, overstretched or torn. For the most part, these injuries are minor and will subside after a few days, provided the practitioner takes appropriate steps to help the injury heal. In some extreme cases however, the injury can become aggravated and require medical attention.

According to a post published by Harvard Health Publishing, doctors often classify pulled muscles under three categories:

• Grade I Strain: In this mild strain, only a few muscle fibres are stretched or torn. Although the injured muscle is tender and painful, it has normal strength;
• Grade II Strain: This is a moderate strain, with a greater number of injured fibres and more severe muscle pain and tenderness. There is also mild swelling, noticeable loss of strength and sometimes a bruise;
• Grade III Strain: This strain tears the muscle all the way through, sometimes causing a “pop” sensation as the muscle rips into two separate pieces or shears away from its tendon. Grade III strains are serious injuries that cause complete loss of muscle function, as well as considerable pain, swelling, tenderness and discolouration. Because Grade III strains usually cause a sharp break in the normal outline of the muscle, there may be an obvious “dent” or “gap” under the skin where the ripped pieces of muscle have come apart.

Pretty gross, right? I’ll admit to having dealt with Grade I and II strains, but I’ve never had a Grade III. The article goes on to explain that if you are suffering from a Grade I or Grade II strain, you should follow the RICE acronym:

• Rest the injured muscle (and take a temporary break from sports activities);
• Ice the injured area to reduce swelling;
• Compress the muscle with an elastic bandage;
• Elevate the injured area.

Some further recommendations may include taking some over-the-counter pain medications such as Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen. Here’s the article if you want to read the whole thing: https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/muscle-strain-a-to-z

Although the RICE acronym is accurate, there are a few points to bear in mind. First, although it is important to rest the injured muscle, you have to be cautious not to rest it for TOO long. Otherwise, it’ll heal up stiff and with reduced flexibility and movement. Light, mild stretches should be done as soon as the pain subsides in order to ensure the continued full use of the muscle. Icing to reduce swelling is important, but the average medical practitioner recommends icing for no longer than fifteen minutes at a time to prevent tissue damage.

Another detail that many people tend to forget about is that swelling is not only a normal part of a pulled muscle, but a necessary one. So while it’s okay to help REDUCE swelling, trying to eliminate it isn’t recommended. The big takeaway, and the hardest one for us old school martial artists, is to rest up and give the muscle time to heal. you aren’t doing yourself any favours by pushing the injury and aggravating it.

There’s plenty you can do to prevent pulled muscles. Start by ensuring you take the time to stretch and warm up properly prior to any workout. Increase the intensity of your workouts gradually and try not to stay static in the same position for prolonged periods of time. This tends to reduce flexibility and proper blood circulation, all of which can contribute to possible muscle strains. Think about times where you’ve worked at a desk for eight hours at a time; you should be getting up and stretching at least once every hour.

If anything unusual is noticed about the pulled muscled, be sure to seek treatment from your medical practitioner. And by “unusual”, I mean things like severe bruising, numbness, a “pop” sound at the time of the incident, complete loss of use of the affected muscle group or even if your symptoms don’t clear up after a few weeks.

Although it depends on how severe your pulled muscle may be, you might be able to return to full use after a few weeks at minimum, provided you take care of it. Severe strains may require months to heal and possibly even surgery.

Being “tough” and pushing through it definitely isn’t worth the potential possibility of aggravating an injury to the point where you’d require surgery. There’s no shame in taking a break and letting an injury heal. Your body will thank you for it. And depending on what sport you’re training at, there’s nothing saying you can’t continue a light training regiment, taking close care of the pulled muscle. ☯

I have to be honest with you: One of the things that drives me absolutely bat-shit crazy during a sparring match is one of these fools who “bob and weave,” constantly. Although this may be a short post, it covers something very important in the martial arts.

The human body has a centre of gravity. That is to say, a specific line that runs down your body into the ground that signifies where gravity has the greatest pull on you. No matter what technique or form you happen to be performing, it’s important that you keep this invisible line sitting right between your feet.

There shouldn’t be a whole lot of rocking back and forth, and your head should always stay positioned above your feet. This ensure that your centre of gravity is, well… centered! I know some mainstream martial arts styles have some very colourful flying kicks and techniques that contort the body and have the practitioner bending and leaning, but the reality is that one needs to maintain a proper fighting stance, with their feet well positioned beneath them.

If you punch or kick, don’t overreach. If you’re blocking, let the attack come to you. If you’re doing calisthenics, keep your head positioned straight up and between your two feet. your centre of gravity should always be well-balanced. If you lean of put off your centre of balance, you risk being pulled off balance or caught off guard. ☯

I’ve occasionally written some posts that have elicited some pretty “strong” responses from people. Especially within certain sports and martial arts circles, some old school practitioners aren’t always game to hear about things they don’t want to change.

That being said, I want to discuss a particular bad habit that some modern martial arts practitioners have adopted in the past two decades: holding one’s hands on front of one’s face.

There is a significant difference between boxing and the martial arts. Boxers train for hours on end to endure repeated hits to the face and body, all while delivering them to their opponent as well. It is a sport. Mixed Martial Arts, or “mixed up” martial arts as some associates of mine have called it, have included these aspects into their fights as well. Although not boxing specifically (I’m guessing this is where the “mixed” part comes in), MMA includes many of the characteristics of boxing.

Boxers and some MMA fighters tend to square off by keeping their hands close to the sides of their faces. This is intended as a means of guarding the face and making it easy to block incoming strikes to the head and the deep bend of the elbows helps to block shots to the body. Unfortunately, to the traditional martial artist, this is a HORRIBLE way to face an opponent.

The big problem with this type of “face guarding” is that it has a tendency of blocking part of your field of vision. You’re effectively preventing yourself from seeing all around you. The other big downside is that you’re leaving your hands very close to your face, which can lead to an unintentional game of “why are you hitting yourself.” Especially when your opponent crushed your own fists and forearms against your face because you didn’t see their attacks coming due to the decreased field of vision. From your hands. Because of your shitty fighting posture.

When squaring off in a proper fighting stance, one needs to stand comfortably with the feet equidistant apart. the hands should be closed into fists and the arms should have a slight bend and at chin level. The hands will be well away from the face in front of the body. This allows a full field of vision around your immediate area and also allows you to respond and block much quicker than if your hands are right in front of your face.

Obviously, this information is based on opinion and the techniques used by my specific style of karate. I’m certain that some of my counterparts would have some “corrections” or style-specific differences. The takeaway here is that when practicing, you must train yourself to keep your hands at a relaxed posture, away from you face. this allows for the best field of view and best ability to properly execute blocks in a real fight situation. Although the normal human reflex is to cover up when someone is throwing punches, overcoming that fear and being able to trust your hands will help ensure you prevent getting smacked in the face. ☯

I wrote a post a few days ago about the reality of fighting in the street versus how they happen to be portrayed on film or even in the context of a class or gym. Following that, I had some people ask for clarification regarding the comment I made about how getting struck in the head is likely to put you down.

Just to be clear, I’m not a medical practitioner. I’ve mentioned that a number of times, but you’d be surprised how often people tend to call me on the information I share, despite making it clear from the get-go that I’m not a freakin’ doctor! So keep this in mind as you read the information I’m about to share…

First of all, if you get punched or kicked in the head by another person, it causes your brain to bounce around. Seriously! Although it isn’t all that cartoony, it will suffer some movement. And because there isn’t a great deal of space in the brain pan, the brain will likely bounce and rebound once or twice.

Unlike the romanticized image that Hollywood has created, no one has the genuine ability to receive multiple blows to the head and keep on fighting with little more than a split lip or bloody nose. Even after only one punch, the receiving person is likely to experience dizziness, nausea and loss of consciousness. This is one of the reasons why real fights barely last a minute.

That’s at the low end of the spectrum. On a more serious level, getting struck in the head, even once, can result in skull fractures, concussions and damage to the brain stem.

According to an article posted by Queensland Health, a person with a concussion may or may not have lost consciousness. They may suffer from headaches, memory loss, nausea, dizziness and ringing in the ears. Since many of those symptoms can also occur WITHOUT a concussion, it’s important to get yourself checked by a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms after being struck.

The article also goes on to describe other conditions such as damage to the brain stem, brain hemorrhage or hematoma and swelling of the brain. The article can be read here: https://www.health.qld.gov.au/news-alerts/news/one-punch-medical-effects-can-kill

And yes, one of the myths that has at least touch of truth to it includes the fact that a person CAN actually die from one strike to the head. Ultimately, the martial artist and Buddhist in me feels compelled to say that one should avoid physical confrontations at all costs. But should it happen and you get struck in the head, the next step (once you’ve explained your actions to law enforcement) should be to consult a doctor. ☯