How Do You Deal With Injuries?

Sure, you can try to prevent them by knowing when to tap, who is safe to roll with, doing prehab off the mats, or simply listening to when your body needs rest.

But sometimes injuries just happen.

I do think being in a sport for this long has made me better at knowing my body. There’s a difference between something hurting and something being injured, and I’ve gotten pretty good at knowing what I can train through and when I actually need to stop. Although, admittedly, I don’t always listen to myself.

Nagging ones that you ignored can become more serious. Maybe you didn't warm up properly before jumping into rounds. Maybe you slept poorly. Or maybe you did everything right and something still went wrong.

So what do we do when we're forced to take time off the mats?

To be honest, I get very emotional and tend to spiral the first day or so. How long am I going to be out? Am I going to lose progress? What about the tournament I was training for? My brain can turn an injury that happened five minutes ago into a six-month catastrophe pretty quickly.

After I can untangle the rational from the emotional, I try to focus on the things I can do.

Boy is that a skill I have had to practice. I don't naturally lean towards optimism; it's a work in progress. But I start looking for what’s still on the table.

Shoulder problem? Ok, what can I do for my lower body in the gym.

Hips flaring up again? Back to upper body I guess.

And what if it's all off the table for a bit. Then what?

I guess my brain is all I can work out.

I can study techniques online. I can still teach. I can watch students train and point things out, even if I can't physically get in there and do it myself. Sometimes being forced to just watch makes me notice things I might not have otherwise.

None of it replaces training. But at least I'm still involved, still learning, and still doing something. I’m just trying to find some light at the end of the tunnel to hold onto.

So yeah, injuries are bound to happen when you do this long enough. I wish I could say I've gotten really good at dealing with them, but I haven't. I still get upset and want to get back on the mats before I probably should.

Maybe the real skill is just learning to accept what I can and can't do for a little while. I guess that's kind of a life skill too. Focus on what's in your control or whatever all the self-help podcasters keep telling us.

And on that note, I'm off to do belt squats with one hand because my shoulder isn't moving today.