Last Friday, I had back-to-back private lessons with a pair of brothers. As always, I was active with them, pushing them hard and expanding their martial horizons. I had a lot of fun with them. However, the aftermath was brutal. My right hip became quite inflamed and painful, reminding me that I’m entering the geezer phase of my martial arts career!

One of the brothers I trained last Friday. Photo from last summer.

It was easily one of the worst hip pain episodes to date. It took 48 hours of rest and several anti-inflammatory pills before settling down on Sunday. I have to say that the first 24 hours were pretty bad. I now know how pro football players feel the day after a game! The pain was worse than anything that I’ve had, including joint locks being inflicted on me!

Let’s backtrack a bit. I’ve been having right hip pain for a couple of years. Quite likely, it was the result of too much kicking in my younger days. My doctor says that I will need a hip replacement eventually. In the meantime, I’ve been taking prescription anti-inflammatory medication to tamp down the pain. Unfortunately, over-the-counter medicines like Tylenol don’t do squat for my hip. I’ve done physiotherapy at two different places and have helped only marginally. Furthermore, x-rays revealed arthritis in that joint.

Despite the above, I have continued to teach private lessons. Mostly, I have not dialled back my intensity during these sessions. The post-lesson pain level varies. As a general rule, the more advanced the student is, the more intense the session is. The more intense the session, the worse the post-session pain level is. It is what it is!

That said, I can’t ignore the fact that I must adjust to the new reality of my martial arts career. The truth is that I ain’t no spring chicken anymore. Instead, I will have to figure out how to work around the deteriorating hip until after recovering from a hip replacement.

One of my Modern Arnis colleagues suggested I consider teaching from a seated position. It is similar to what my friend Jason does in the video below. If the hip pain is too severe, I may do that.

If you are not able to view this video, click here.

Despite the joking nature of the blog title, I don’t view myself as a “geezer” at this stage. Other than the right hip, I feel pretty good physically. However, I am mindful of the appearance of looking like one when I’m in severe pain, resulting in a horrible limp. Thank god for medication that works.

Setting aside the physical aspect, this situation has impacted me in one important way.

The hip pain is such that it rules out groundwork or kicking. I admit to jealousy when I see folks rolling or kicking, neither of which I can do without considerable pain. On the other hand, sticking to FMAs (pardon the pun) is the best option. However, a private lesson with a fair bit of footwork and movement will have painful consequences. But, as I said, it is what it is!

One of the side effects of staying with FMAs is forcing me to delve deeper into the art. Otherwise, I might have dabbled in other skills that might have distracted me from Modern Arnis.

My workload is light in private lessons, primarily due to my clients’ schedules. However, the pace will pick up dramatically starting the first week of April as several clients are due to resume training. As a result, I will have to start planning my “load management.”

You might ask, “What is load management?” It is a term familiar to pro sports fans, especially NBA fans. It is the practice of monitoring a player’s physical activity to reduce injury risk and keep them in peak shape come playoff time. With that said, I am not in a competitive endeavour. “Load management” is a fancy term for rest and reasonably spacing my private lessons.

In short, I need to be wise in scheduling my private lessons to manage my pain issues. Effective load management will lead to a deeper understanding of the art I am teaching. I will be out of commission if I don’t care for myself. What good is that for myself and my clients?

Since I will turn 58 in September, I feel compelled to pass on as much of my knowledge base to my students.

The hip situation reminds us that we all have limited time on this little rock floating in the universe. While I am interested in promoting students to black belt level, I am far more motivated to pass along my knowledge. That, to me, is far more important than rank. The pandemic has heightened my sense of responsibility to my students and others wanting to learn from me.

All that said, I can’t wait till I get the hip replaced and be pain-free whenever possible. At the same time, this pain is a gift to me. It serves as a reminder of what’s important.

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