12 Days.... And I'm Icing My Wrist

I guess it's tradition.

Eight days before my green stripe test, I broke my right pinky toe.
Just before my red belt test, I dislocated my right thumb.
Nine days before my red stripe test, I hyperextended three fingers on my left hand.
A few weeks before my black belt test, I impinged my right ankle.

This spring I've broken my right thumb and my left pinky toe, so I was hoping I was done with injuries for this year, but I've still been cautious.  When my BJJ / Judo coach asked me last night why I blew off Judo class, I explained the concern about my history and the upcoming test. I had thirteen days to wrap myself in bubble wrap, and stay on the ground where I felt safest.

I took open mat BJJ and on my third roll with the guru, who was kind enough to come and work with me there, I hyperextended my right wrist.

It's not the guru's fault, of course, that several of my pre-test injuries were sustained working with him.  Given the fact that I train one-on-one with him more than anyone else, it simply comes down to statistics.  And he has been fantastic, and incredibly generous with his time this spring, both with BJJ, and, this week, sparring and forms as well.  I'm incredibly grateful.  He has often told me, "If it's not hurting, you're not learning," and this is true.  While I knew before (because he taught me) to use the forearm, not the hand to post on someone's hip, now I know it.  In a split second of "OW!" as he came forward and I felt my wrist bend back, it was ingrained in me in a way I am not likely to ever forget.  (Much like the way I now know never to block a kick with open fingers.)  I just hope this lesson doesn't require months of healing.  

So today, it's stiff, and it hurts to move it certain ways, but it's not especially swollen and I'm hoping it's going to be okay.  I need it to do burpees and pushups, which are an important part of tests (and pre-test conditioning, which will have to be scaled back yet again).  I'll keep icing it and wrap it this week for practice and see how that goes.  Doing pushups on closed fists (and straight wrists) is harder, but looks far more badass, so maybe that's what I'll be doing.

I'll be glad when this test is behind me.