Training off the mat

I've often said that I would walk around with a tinfoil hat if it would make me better at Ju Jitsu.  It seems so extreme that it can only be a joke.  But I remember that I started saying that when I was training for my Sankyu test. In the entire month or two before the test, most days included ibuprofen and ice packs, which was new for me.

Since then, I've been overloaded with work & have not trained as intensely as I would have liked.  I've lost a substantial part of my stamina & strength.  For at least the last year, training has included making due with what I have.  It sounds easy enough, except it has been an exceptional lesson in humility.  Now, I need to ramp up for my Ikyu test. My lessons in humility alone won't get me through it.

A struggle with an injured knee has put a fork in the road.  I can either spend a substantial amount of time training off the mat to rehabilitate the knee, while pushing for stamina.  All the while taking as many classes as my schedule & my knee can handle.  Or I can stop doing Ju Jitsu for a while until this injury subsides.  Which might be as little as a month.

So, I've spent the last seven weeks spinning (on a stationary bike).  I couldn't really stand the idea of it at first.  It seemed like a monotonous exercise with little variation or excitement.  And in the beginning, it was exactly that.  But my lessons in humility did teach me to start from zero.  To focus on my breathing & posture.  To work through the frustration & to keep an eye on the bigger picture.  The past few days have brought some of the most intense workouts I've had in months.  My muscle tone is finally at the point where I can work out enough to push my stamina.  And my knee feels better than it did in months.  Classes still make it sensitive & sore, but spinning brings it back quite nicely.