Overtraining????



MODERATION! MODERATION! MODERATION! MODERATION!
or as Yachi would put it, "You're not young anymore! Act your age!!" (^^)

                        

      Tony Sensei, with his long career as a competitor, would be more knowledgeable on this topic. (^^)

I won't write physiological stuff here as I am certainly no expert on it. My good friend Hayashi Sensei just finished competing in the WTF World Poomsae Championships in Ubezistkan and placed 5th.

I know she practiced hard in preparation for this tournament and she has the qualities of a champion.

So I wonder what was the difference between her gold medal performance and this year's? I am waiting for World Poomsae Championships videos to start popping up on You Tube. Now, I am not saying that she over trained as I was not privy her training. I have seen and participated in Tamura Sensei's training for the AAU and have a good idea of the shortfalls of his training.  Now there are countless factors which affect our performance. Travel, Diet, Pressures, Injuries,  local food just to mention a few.

      I want to address injuries. Often we carry with us various forms of injuries. Some minor while some requires major medical attention. The questions arise how much do we train while carrying those injuries. Naturally if a part of your body is not capable of moving normally then common sense will tell us not to put pressure on it? But do we? Our egos often get in the way. "Heck, I'm a karateka, I live with pain, I can deal with it". Hmmm. I am guilty of it. I have to accept that pain is a message from my body to "stop and check it out".  Especially at my age, I no longer have tournaments to train for. At least here in Hawaii. How many full contact  tournaments do they have for 60 and above? So I train for the pleasure of training and try not to lose the 30+ years of Budo training. How much should I push myself?

     As some of you know I have begun a new life style starting with my dietary habits. More veges and less meats. I am also going to the gym doing weights and cardio as supplemental conditioning. This , along with my usual karate training,  does not compare anywhere to what I did in my 20's and 30's.  Reality is the adult population in my Hawaii Dojo is very limited. So basically my own training is centered around non-partner training or solo training. Yachi's work schedule does not allow her the time to train with me on any regular basis. Oh well, back to the topic.

    So, I have been feeling a lot better recently and caught myself "pushing" for more despite the little messages from various parts of my body. (**:) What I mean by "pushing" is probably better expressed as "greedy". Putting on more weights on the barbell instead of sticking to a controlled sensible routine.

Picking up the speed on the treadmill prematurely. Fufu. The little messages have now become bigger in intensity and increase in body parts affected (creaky hip sockets, inflamed knee joints, pain in the small of the back!)  It actually got to a point where just walking is becoming a an inconvenience. Now, not to worry, I can walk to the bathroom in time!  But I think you get the idea. Tiger Balm is now a "must item".  Gahahaha. To think of the days I literally "dragged" myself home from practice in my younger days, then went back the next day with little to worry! (^^) It seemed as my body adapted to the pain well back then!??! Why not now???

     Just yesterday at Tamura Sensei's Dojo,  we were practicing Saifa/Saiha( Goju Version). I just wasn't satisfied with my Morote Tsuki in the kata. My version is not the same as Tamura Sensei's competition form of kata. I have always done it with speed without the "pauses" or what I call "theatrical poses" often seen in competition Kata. Now remember that I am feeling good from my "renewal" and also was receiving those little messages from my body. My mental "High" overwhelms my physical reality but I just had to get that feeling of power in the Morote Tsukis. Something that I wanted to feel  would have knocked down a bear!  Now after a night gone by,  I am having difficulty with any type of shoulder movement. Hopefully with a good spread of Tiger Balm I will be ready to teach my class tonight. BUT, I was able to get satisfied with my Morote Tsukis! (^^). Of course at the cost of my well being. Sooooo, I can tell I am not learning from my own lessons well. (**#) 

Make sure y'all listen to your body well. Train with moderation and appropriate intensity suited for your reasons in taking up martial arts.

AHHHHH! RELIEF!!!!
(for the time being)