straight from the hip...

[Miguelito]

Hi Harold,

I know that personally, were i ever to return to the martial arts the one thing I would avoid would be breakfalls; or, if I did them, it would only be from a kneeling position and then in slow motion. I just think the stresses it puts on the joint (the plant leg more than the leg that winds up on the ground) are just too great. I believe that it would shorten the life of the implant more than a little, and possibly risk early loosening. This is just my personal opinion, of course.

My background. I studied (taught a little) kenpo karate for fifteen years, from fifteen to thirty. My hips were bad when I was a little kid (I know now that I have [or had,  ;)] FAI in both hips, unclear if its congenital, or from jumping off roofs, or both), but that mostly subsided during the fifteen years I studied. Around thirty I just became less involved in the dojo I studied at, then it closed and that was (mostly) that. Still got together with the head sensei and another of the senseis to work out over the years (off and on) but that stopped when one hip really went about five years ago (I am 42). Had an HR one year ago.

I used to (occasionally) do a hundred breakfalls after class, one after the other. Some from an upright position, but mostly from a kneeling position. But I'd do them hard, as I'm sure you do. I look back now and wonder what the hell I was thinking. Youth. I am certain that that contributed significantly to my two wrecked hips.

An HR is obviously different from a natural hip, and everyone has their own opinion, but i can't imagine any doctor anywhere would recommend breakfalls for someone who had an HR. I know that the principal is to distribute the force of the throw/fall on unfolding parts of your body, but a really hard throw or fall (unless you roll to your feet, which probably wouldn't be too bad) at least as I learned them, is going to wind up with a lot of force transferred into the ground either thru the hip that hits the ground or the plant foot (which transfers much of the force to the hip joint).

I was only ever a first dan, but I personally wouldn't do a real breakfall again.

Mike

[Dannywayoflife]

I'm back to doing judo and to be honest I'm not aware of the hip when training. I think you just have to train smart. I personally think that the worst thing is running but guys do it and have been doing it for years on the bhr with no probs.

[kajubones]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the response. The breakfalls from that site is very similar to how we do it in kaju but any banging on the hip worries me. I too believe in protecting the device and am still trying to find a way to fall without hitting the hip. I think my doctor is very conservative when it comes to what I can do and running and jumping is a no no. I want to find a way to protect it as much as I can. It is a bummer that I have to modify a lot of what I do but it has caused me to question certain things that I would not have other wise such as: is it possible to generate power in my techniques without stomping my feet? Is it even necessary to stomp when I am doing certain strikes or is that just for the noise factor? Also if I am to prevent from hurting myself then should there not be a better way to fall without banging the hip?

Harold

Hey Hernanu nice to hear from you again :)

[hernanu]

I think pretty much every teacher has different styles.

My instructor emphasized lightness on the feet, he had been a boxer in Korea as well. He didn't like techniques that were launched from too settled a stance, since we were focused on TKD full contact matches. We used more of a boxer's stance or while moving.

Even when we did forms, he valued smooth motion and exact positioning. So for me, I saved the impact for when making contact.

I think you want to do what you are comfortable with and are confident in. I don't do falls now, since I am just doing TKD, so all impact is feet and hands, so for me, it hasn't been an issue.

[kajubones]

Hi Hernanu,

That would be great if I did not have to fall in class. The whole slap the mat before you fall to obsorb the fall does not work to good for me as my slapping does nothing to prevent the hard fall onto the hip. I tried with no luck to figure out a way to fall on my side without hurting myself. But if I want my techniques to work falling is essential for me as judo and Jujitsu is part of our style. If you guys think of anything let me know, it will be greatly appreciated.

Harold

[hernanu]

Will do Harold. Maybe you can talk to another student that is good on falls and get their take on it.

[gary2010]

Just to say, I slipped and fell on ice about 2 months into my resurfacing, landed on the operated side and experienced no ill effects whatsoever.

It's now been 2 1/2 years and I never consider my hip when fighting or doing anything else. Most of the people I train with don't even know about it.

I'm out at the moment with a torn shoulder - but that's another story...

Best wishes
Gary

[hernanu]

Sorry about the injury Gary, but congrats on doing well with the hip.

I'm closing in on three years, pretty much the same story.

[Dannywayoflife]

Sorry to hear about your injury Gary but thanks for checking in! Great to hear that your doing so well!

[gary2010]

Just in case anyone's interested in shoulders, I've got multiple partial tears of the supraspinatus tendon, and most likely a punctured labrum - all this from an ultrasound scan I paid 25 quid for. I've been referred to orthopaedics on the NHS and will eventually get an MRI scan and presumably a repair (if they haven't flogged the machine and the operating theatre off in the meantime).

It's been 3 months now and I still can't raise the arm to front or side more than about 45 degrees, though I can fetch and carry normally. It doesn't like the impact even from running so I do static cycling, free squats and mess about with swords left handed. By the end of the summer I will have great legs and one big arm!

Is there by chance a shoulder forum?

[Dannywayoflife]

Mate I feel for you! I have a dodgy shoulder also but luckily when I come to getting repaired my private med insurance will kick in.

Hope you get sorted soon mate


Danny

[hernanu]

Man Gary! Good to hear from you, but tough. Hopefully you can get straight on this.

Two great legs and one big arm  ;D ;D ;D

[tennisgirl]

Slaptear.com for shoulders.  It's not anywhere as good as this site but you might get some info.  I have a tear in my labrum but am functional and am not going to do anything about it for now.

[hernanu]

Hey mindi - how's the psoas?

[gary2010]

Thanks Mindi will look into into it; I've had shoulder problems on and off for 20 years and mostly just trained through them.

I really ought to know more about it. Shoulderdoc  http://www.shoulderdoc.co.uk/

has the clearest diagrams I've seen

G