Well. This is no fun...

[RiversGirl]

What he said ^

Your spirit is quite admirable, Thomas.

[WhistlingBadger]

Aw, thanks everybody. Might as well see the humor, Slap...we don't get extra points for being miserable!

On a more serious note, here's a cool thing. It was just me, the instructor (who is also a music buddy of mine), and three pre-teen kids. Once I got myself under control enough to notice what was going on around me, I was really impressed with them. It is scary being in the presence of a screaming adult, and my knee looked ugly. But they kept their cool, were on the spot, did what they were asked to do, helped me get my leg stabilized. Pretty impressive kids. I guess all that martial arts training about keeping your cool, being respectful, and taking care of business in a crisis is getting through to them.

[BluewaterBoof]

Dang, Tom. That sounds absolutely awful. How did you get your kneecap to swing around like that? Was it the leg you were kicking out, or was it your support/standing leg?

[Boundava]

OUCH!! Sorry for all the pain, hope you make a quick recovery. You made me turn to jelly with the description of the kick.

[Taurus]

Having had a dislocated shoulder at one point in my life, this thread makes me queasy. I can say it feels really good when that joint gets popped back into place though.

Feel better soon Thomas and I hope you never lose that sense of humor.

[WhistlingBadger]

Dang, Tom. That sounds absolutely awful. How did you get your kneecap to swing around like that? Was it the leg you were kicking out, or was it your support/standing leg?

So, you've done some martial arts, right, Andre? I know a few people around here dabble in it at least, but I can't remember who. Anyway, it was an axe kick, which has never been an easy one for me. The instructor said I needed to pivot my standing foot to get more reach and power behind it. I think what happened (I'm not sure--it was extremely sudden) is that my body pivoted, but my foot did not. That particular kick has so much forward momentum behind it that when my foot didn't pivot, well, something had to give.

Or to put it more succinctly, I fought the law* and the law won.

*the laws of physics, that is

Anyway, I got to the ortho doc today--the same guy that helped me through my concussion a couple years ago, if anybody remembers that--and he thinks I'll be on crutches for a month or so, but should heal fully without any surgery. We'll know for sure after I get an MRI. Thanks for the good wishes, everybody. Misery loves company, and all that.

[mermaidwannabe]

Dang those laws of physics! They can come back and bite you if you violate them. Just like the laws of nature, laws of the universe, human laws -- you name it. Pays to be on our best behavior. LOL! Now, what fun is THAT? (It's actually quite amazing what we DO get away with, at least for awhile.)

Next time, you'll know what to do and what to avoid. Costly lesson, but worth learning. Glad you're healing. And thank modern medicine for those "happy pills", in the meantime. They help make things like this a little more tolerable.

I hope this doesn't discourage your from continuing martial arts. That knowledge can come in really handy. Could save your life, in fact.

[BluewaterBoof]

So, you've done some martial arts, right, Andre? I know a few people around here dabble in it at least, but I can't remember who. Anyway, it was an axe kick, which has never been an easy one for me. The instructor said I needed to pivot my standing foot to get more reach and power behind it. I think what happened (I'm not sure--it was extremely sudden) is that my body pivoted, but my foot did not. That particular kick has so much forward momentum behind it that when my foot didn't pivot, well, something had to give.

Yep, that's kinda what I assumed happened. I never had an injury like that in all the years that I was in martial arts, but it was always like a slight fear/dread in the back of my mind when doing certain types of kicks. Our dojo had a tile floor and bare feet stuck to it pretty good, so performing kicks that involved a lot of pivoting on the balls of the feet were never pleasant. You had to make a conscious decision to either cheat and not rotate the foot or suck it up and give the ball of your foot a nasty "rug" burn against the tile.

Glad to hear the doc thinks surgery won't be needed. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery!

[mermaidwannabe]

LOL! I know what you mean when referring to a "dojo", in this case. I'm surprised it would have that type of flooring, knowing that bare feet were going to have to maneuver on it. Whoever designed it must have either been ignorant, or sadistic(?) One would expect a facility like that to be designed for its purpose. Tile floors aren't fun to fall on, either.

[BluewaterBoof]

@mermaidwannabe My karate school was based out of a local YMCA. We had to use the gymnasium. Each day those of us with higher ranks would have to show up early and clean up the gym and pull out all the gear and bags from a storage room and get everything set up. It wasn't the greatest setup, but it was all I knew for the 6+ years I was a student there. One thing it did do was train us to be light on our feet. When you have to run laps around a tiled gym or do things like jumping jacks with nothing on your feet, you figure out the best way to land and bounce haha