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When you guys get hit on the knuckles really hard by a stick, does the injury take longer than normal to heal? Because I got hit at the knuckles a while ago (over two months), and there is still a little pain there.
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741,
Hello there, I hope that all is well with you. What you are describing is unfortunately somewhat normal as hand injuries go. When Punong Guro Edgar G. Sulite was still with us he and I would spar at the end of every private session without equipment while using heavy rattan. His version of hand sparring would include 80 percent of the shots targetting the hands and the remaining 20 percent targetting the rest of the body from the neck down.
Since we wore no protection my hands were constantly abused until I focussed more of my attention on hand evasions taught through the curriculum which diminished the intended effect of alot of the strikes but not all of them. Punong Guro Sulite was very fast and would not announce his intent when striking so ones perception and reaction had to remain at a very heightened state if one stood a chance of protecting the hands from aggressive attacks.
Either way from 1992 - 1997 (when he passed away) my hands were constantly in a fractured state or I would suffer from broken knuckles due to the strikes that would get through with intent. I would use my left hand when my right one was injured or the right when the left hand was injured. If I could keep my hands from getting hit they would only take about 6 weeks to recover. However, by having weekly sessions scheduled with PG Sulite I was always sparring so my hands would refracture or the knuckles would be rebroken before they could heal so some times I would go many months before fully healing.
I learned many valuable lessons from this training so it is possible to depart something positive through injury. One of the most valuable lessons learned through this type of training is developing the capacity to work through any and all pain never revealing to your opponent that you are or were hurt. I would never complain to PG Sulite about the state of my hands nor would I tell him that I was in a weakened state at any time before, during, or after a session.
Good luck with your training, go well.
Guro Dave Gould
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I don't wish to insult you or your teacher. But that kind of training seems ridiculous. ts a bit like teaching soldiers by shooting them with live bullets........Comment
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Thai bri,
Hello sir, I thank you for your reply. I say to you that every one is entitled to their own opinion, and I accept yours on the issue at hand as being your own. Furthermore I do respect the fact that you have voiced your opinion here on the forum. Now in my defence I will state my stance on the matter.
Hmmm... No, our Military doesn`t teach our soldiers about combat by shooting them with live bullets... Nor do they train them for months on end with water pistols and then send them to Iraq with real guns and live rounds to spend aimlessly down range of suspected terrorists doing nothing more than wishing their rounds to target... Our combative troops are effective because they train to be so with intention as governed by reality. They don`t become effective by relying on soft training based on absolute theories or dilluted principles and weakened combative strategy. They hit their targets effectively with live rounds because they spend thousands of live rounds down range in training and replicate as close as possible the actual environment and conditions that they would expect to find themselves in combat one day defending life and limb.
In like manner I train to resemble as much as possible the very thing for which I am training to contend with. Should the day come where the definition of a fight changes whereby allowing for restricted contact to be made whilst defending against rubber knives, rubber machetes, rubber bullets and paper sticks than perhaps at that time I will change the way that I train to better fit these newfound parameters by-which will limit my capability to match the threat at hand. Until than I will continue to train with reality governing my execution and expect anything, from anyone, at anytime concerning all things combative.
I strongly suscribe to the notion of the way that one trains will best reflect the way that one will respond in undertaking crisis situations. If one chooses to train with restrictions, limitations and boundaries than these weak qualities will also follow one into combat. In order for what we do to be effective in the street at some point in time our training has to brush up against reality in preparation. And until it does we can only speculate at best how we would fare in a real cambative venue. Aggression simply changes the equation and until you train with aggression as taking on both roles of ally and enemy you will never be able to recognize and contend with it once it rears its ugly head against you in combat.
I`ve found that what one thinks he will do in combat and what one actually ends up being forced to do in combat under duress are usually two totally different things altogether. The way that I train possibly isn`t for everybody, nor was it intended to be. For the few that take on the extra responsibility to train at this capacity the reward for that action will be reflected in their combative abilities. It always comes down to individual preference and I feel that when I train I am training as if my life will depend on my actions one day, because it does... The thing that we train to contend with is nothing pleasurable to any degree, so why should the training by which to contend with such an unpleasurable thing be. Combat can be very shocking and ugly but for those whom choose to live and not yield to death have to make a conscious decision to best prepare ourselves to better contend with the unexpected horrors that accompany a very uncivil action.
There will always be a difference of opinion with each side of the argument thinking that they are exclusively in the right and that the other side is in the wrong. As well there will always be critics extending their thoughts on things. A wise man once said that critics are like the guys that come down from the hills after the battle has been waged and shoot the wounded... I concur... Again thanks for your reply Thai-bri and go well my friend, ciao.
Guro Dave Gould
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I just wonder how you'll defend yourself when you happen to be attacked when you're hands are broken.
As a general rule I too believe in realistic training. But not so realistic that my training ends up causing me more harm than good in the long run.Comment
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Thai-Bri,
Actually, my hands have not been fractured nor have I suffered from broken knuckles since Punong Guro Sulite passed away in 1997. Over the years I have not changed my method of training to any degree so I can only contribute this to my former training and lessons learned under the astute tutelage of Punong Guro Edgar G. Sulite. The fact that early on I was forced to move or pay the consequences for the lack there of forced me to use perception and reaction and hand evasions effectively during sparring or fighting, and it is obvious to me that it has paid off. You would be amazed at what you can achieve when you are forced to do something out of necessity as opposed to choosing to do it out of convenience.
I feel strongly in that you are not in a fight until you don`t want to fight anymore regardless of circumstance and against your wishes you are forced to continue on out of dire necessity to survive the situation with your life. Anytime that choice is a factor it is only an altercation at best and remains so until choice is replaced by force and necessity in the equation, only then will you find yourself in a fight.
In terms of having to fight with injuries I have in the past fought under dire circumstances and did not stop until the situation was put down and contained before addressing to my injuries. In my life I have been shot, stabbed and cut numerous times and so far nothing has kept me from staying operational for as long as it takes to see the conflict through to the end. When fighting tooth and nail in defence of life and limb I will allow nothing short of death itself to come down and rob me from the field of battle. As far as I am concerned as long as I have life left in my lungs to any degree I will continue to fight on until I have either achieved my objective or I die trying.
My choice... And the fact that there are people out there who think the way that I do means that one needs to prepare himself to deal with someone with this type of mindset. And none of us are walking around with horns sticking out of our head so don`t buy into the fact that one can recognize ones combative effect based only on appearances. I was trained to deal with the worse case scenario and any thing less would be a walk in the park so to speak. I train to deal with the guy that is crazed out of his head whom will allow nothing but death itself to stop him from lifting your head from your shoulders in combat. So when confronted with someone whom only wants to beat me down and leave me with a black eye and broken ribs will be a non-issue to me.
In the spirit of agreeing to disagree I move on. Go well, ciao.
Guro Dave Gould
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I havent read the previous posts on this but u should you consider wearing some kind of protective gear on your hands. I would suggest in investing in some well padded ice hockey gloves. The padding will give you adequate protection from the impact of the stick.
Get it seen to buy a doctor asap, I recall a few months back I was sparring with a good friend of mine who was preparing for a tournament. I accidently gave him a hair line fracture on the arm and he didnt even realize this till later..after seeing a GP about the pain.
Try applying a dit dat jow to the injured area, this will enhance the healing of the damaged tissuesComment
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Dit da jow does help reduce the swelling of brusied and banged up knuckles. Sometimes you can get hurt fingers even when wearing hockey gloves(depending on how heavy the rattan is and how hard someone is swinging it at you.
).
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You do have a good point....
Another idea would be to spar with 'foam sticks' . The only problem with this after a few heavy sessions they begin to fall to bits
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