The Opposite of Punch Therapy

It sounds so simple. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is one of those sayings that we have all learned somewhere in our life. The saying is actually one of Newton's three laws of motion. That means the idea has been around a long, long, time, and I guess you would think I would have seen it coming.

Last installment I talked about the idea of Punch Therapy. The idea being that when you are stressed, in a bad mood, or having a tough time at work, you should engage in Punch Therapy. Punch Therapy is hitting the heavy bags, hitting mits with a training partner, or live action sparring. You know what I'm talking about. You just punch on stuff until the bad energy is worked out of your mind and body. The workout can do wonders for your mood, and definitely beats going to a therapist. Well, at least it is a lot more fun!

What I wasn't expecting was the opposite reaction. When you punch, you get punched back. The other day while sparring, I got hit back. I got hit back hard. I actually saw stars and my head jerked around and pulled a muscle in my neck. I didn't go down, but man I was knocked for a loop. Luckily it was the end of the round, and the end of the day. I went home sore.

The next day at practice we worked on double leg take downs. We took turns taking each other down. At the end of the day, my neck was really sore again. Hmmm, I think I'm seeing a pattern. It looks like by the end of the day, when I'm tired, I get hurt. Note to self: Don't get tired.

The next morning, I woke up and was in quite a bit of pain. For the first time since loosing 160 pounds, I actually thought I might be getting too old to do Mixed Martial Arts. I was starting to get really depressed.

I decided to break down and go see the doc. I drove down to the Urgent Care at the Santa Cruz Medical Foundation. The Doctor who saw me was pretty cool. I explained my injury and asked him if I was going to be ok? He sent me down for a CT Scan.

When the scan was complete, the doc called me back in. The whole process took about 25 minutes. He said "Good News and Bad News." "First your neck looks pretty good. By that, I mean that nothing is broken. The Bad News is that something is pinching a nerve in your neck. It is probably just a swollen disk, muscle, or tendon, but the worst possible case would be a ruptured disk. If you are not better in a week or two, we'll do an MRI and talk about Physical Therapy."

Wow.

I then asked him the question that I wasn't really sure I wanted to hear an answer to.

"At 50 am I too old to be competing at this level?"

He laughed. He said that he was 45 and also does Martial Arts. He does that funky stick fighting style, and he once got caught with a whack to the head with a stick. He said he had the exact same thing, but he got better and continues to compete. If you ask me, this guy was crazy. I would much rather deal with big gloves and head gear then getting hit with a stick. He gave me a muscle relaxer and told me to take it easy for a couple of weeks.

I started doubling up on my supplements. I increased my intake of Glutomine, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B. I also doubled my intake of XCAP Max EFA's and XCAP Joint Flex. These supplements are amazing, and really help recovery from sports injuries. (Check them out at GetSeriousNutrition.com)

Well the neck has gotten much better. I have pretty good range of motion, and most of the soreness is gone. I took a week off from the gym. Well I guess I just took a week off of suiting out. I still went in almost every day for instruction. I guess I can't help it. I just love this stuff.

This last week, I went back to everything but sparring. I'm back hitting the bags, punching the mits, working on form, and lots of stretching. I'm even starting to really like this Brazillian Ju Jitsu stuff. The more flexible I get, the more I like it.

This morning I went to the regular Doctor. He said I should be ready to go back to full contact in another week or two, and he also told me that I'm not too old to continue on. Then being a wise guy, he told me, "Remember, when you get tired, don't drop your right!"

Punch Therapy

I know it's been awhile since I've updated the blog. I've been busy with the stress of life. I've been stressed with getting my on-line business up and running. I've been stressed with work and all kinds of junk, but I've found a way of working through it. I'm calling my stress reduction method "Punch Therapy."

I've been going to my new MMA gym for a couple of weeks now. It has a great schedule. Monday through Thursday we work on stand-up striking, which includes boxing, Muay-Thai, and Kick-Boxing. On Friday, we work on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I'm learning and increasing my skill set, but the most important thing is the workout. By the end of every workout, I am completely soaked in sweat, and completely exhausted. This is a good thing. Strenuous activities release endorphins in your brain. These endorphins produce a feeling of well being and actually make you in a better mood. They help alleviate stress.

The other day they finally let me do some sparring. I'm not the most technical striker at the gym. I'm not the quickest, or the most talented. What I am is a strong puncher. I'm also the oldest guy. All of the guys at the gym are really nice. They are patient about showing the new guys the way things are done, even if they do all look about 20-25 years old.

I put on my headgear and mouth-guard and get ready for my first round of sparring. Just as we get ready my partner said something smart alecy. I don't know if he said he would go easy on me, or if he asked me to go easy on him. Either way, it rubbed me the wrong way. My partner is really a nice guy, and I know he didn't mean anything by it, but still....

We began by circling. I threw a couple of jabs. My arms are a lot longer and I could tag him easily without him getting close to me. As soon as he realized that, he shot for the take down. I responded by sprawling and I hit him with an uppercut so hard I knocked his headgear off. He got his gear back on and we continued to spar.

The adrenalin was pumping, the endorphins were pumping and I felt good! I would like to say I knocked the guy out, but that was far from the truth. As I get tired, I tend to drop my hands. I got popped a couple of times, but definitely held my own. Not bad for an old guy against a much more experienced young guy.

That night after class, I felt fantastic. I was tired, I was sore, but I was at peace with the world. Everything was good. No stress about anything. That's when I decided that I was going to practice my new form of therapy as much as possible. I think I'm going to keep going to the MMA gym for a long, long time. I can workout, get rid of stress and keep on trying to "Fix Rick."