Help the newbie please

[Freeville69]

Hi all,
I am new to the forums and have a question for the practical fighters out there. Has anyone had to deal with a long term illness that left them without the basic muscle memory to perform solid moves? I will give you a quick background to work with. First let me say I am not a traditional MA, my only real instruction/training is what my Grandfather(Army D.I. and combat veteran WWII and Korea) taught me, some basic boxing skills, some basic judo/ju jitsu skills and what he called DIRTY FIGHTING. His philosophy for hand to hand combat was do whatever works to cause the most damage with least amount of effort. I have recently been through a 15 month long illness and recovery that has left me unable to perform the basic mechanics of a punch, something that has been instinct for all of my life. I feel awkward and jerky when hitting the bags. I know what I need to do but can't seem to get my body to cooperate.

Any advice or info would be greatly appereciated.

[Tom Yum]

I have recently been through a 15 month long illness and recovery that has left me unable to perform the basic mechanics of a punch, something that has been instinct for all of my life. I feel awkward and jerky when hitting the bags. I know what I need to do but can't seem to get my body to cooperate. Any advice or info would be greatly appereciated.

Sounds like you should work with a physical therapist to get back some coordination??

Then work with a boxing coach.

I don't know what to say, except good luck.

[Ronson]

A successful rehab depends on what kind of illness you had. But it seems you just need plenty of general rehab and conditioning. Then focus on the MA training. Good luck.

[cakegirl]

I had a back problem that kept me out of karate for a total of 6 years, and it was frustrating as hell going back there and knowing in my mind everything that should be happening, but having a body that had NO idea how to do any of it!

For me, what worked was perserverance. I kept going, accepted that I wasn't going to be fantastic all of a sudden, and just trained diligently in basic techniques. Eventually, I got to where I had been before the back problem, and then beyond!

[Tant01]

Hi all,

..... I have recently been through a 15 month long illness and recovery that has left me unable to perform the basic mechanics of a punch, ...
I feel awkward and jerky when hitting the bags. I know what I need to do but can't seem to get my body to cooperate.

Any advice or info would be greatly appereciated.

PT. Rehabilitation? If your motor function has deteriorated because of brain injury/trauma it may be permenent. Slow down, find other tools for yourself that feel less akward. Judo is always good or the "new" grappling rage in the Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu is fun too...

I think many of us can relate to injuries and healing the thing is there's always another way to do a thing we just need to explore the options.


If you like the WW2 combatives check out Gutterfighting dot org site.

All the best!

[Freeville69]

Thanks

Thanks to all who replied,
Sounds like what I figured I am basicly starting at groung zero (well almost) and I just need to work it. It is a matter of muscle deterioration due to severe weight loss from crohn's disease. I have had to rehab and build myself back up after a flare up before but I have never lost my basic motor skills before, Very scary to realize how vulnerable I have become.
Cakegirl thanks for the success story, it helps.

[Freeville69]

Hey Tanto1 thanks for the tip

I checked out gutter fighting, great site. A lot of this stuff sounds very familiar, and now I know where he got the term DIRTY FIGHTING. After I get back in shape I plan to find a BJJ school to check out.

[Spider Web]

Hi all,
I am new to the forums and have a question for the practical fighters out there. Has anyone had to deal with a long term illness that left them without the basic muscle memory to perform solid moves? I will give you a quick background to work with. First let me say I am not a traditional MA, my only real instruction/training is what my Grandfather(Army D.I. and combat veteran WWII and Korea) taught me, some basic boxing skills, some basic judo/ju jitsu skills and what he called DIRTY FIGHTING. His philosophy for hand to hand combat was do whatever works to cause the most damage with least amount of effort. I have recently been through a 15 month long illness and recovery that has left me unable to perform the basic mechanics of a punch, something that has been instinct for all of my life. I feel awkward and jerky when hitting the bags. I know what I need to do but can't seem to get my body to cooperate.

Any advice or info would be greatly appereciated.

Find you a great water aerobics instructor. A lot of YMCA's have them or good gym's will have them. Or if your in a remote location find you a good video or book and find you a swimming pool and hit it man. Water aerobics will help you a lot in getting your manual dexterity back...Goodluck!