Monday, February 2, 2009

Just do it.

Nike's motto. I <3 that motto.

I had a six-month appointment with my surgeon today. Graft feels great, leg is strong, need to continue with weight training and cutting and pivoting exercises. I'll be getting fitted for a brace some time this week. I'm basically allowed to start doing sports again, but I have to listen to my body and not try to go above and beyond (which is hard, because I put 110% into everything I do).

Apparently, I'm eligible to obtain my second degree black belt sooner than I expected. I got my first degree in October 2007, and it's been about a year and a half since then (minus the 9 months that I've been out of commission). My Grandmaster wants the first degree black belts that he feels are prepared for the black belt seminars to train with him. By the end of the seminar sessions, if we've met/exceeded his expectations, we are granted our second degree.

The problem with this is that I've been out of practice for 9 months. I have little control in my left leg in terms of kicking techniques, and I'm out of shape in general.

So now what?

Once I get fitted for my brace, I'm going to jump back into the game. I need to get back on the horse and go for it. There's no way I'm passing up this opportunity, especially because I can finally move ahead in my training. I can get past that mental block.

In other news, I had been registered for 6 classes this semester (yes, 6 . . . at the graduate business school level . . .). I finally made the decision to drop one and just pick up an extra class in the summer because I couldn't deal with the workload. Now I'm taking 5 and working 4 jobs (yes, 4 jobs . . . UPS, the Registrar's Office, undergraduate accounting grader, and undergraduate organizational behavior writing tutor). I've been losing sleep because of the amount of coursework I'm expected to get done for each class, trying to balance working, and maintain my health. This decision might have repercussions later, but for now, my mental health ranks pretty high on my priorities.

2 comments:

Michele said...

You have a busy schedule...school plus four jobs. Yikes!

Great news on the knee and karate.

Hack Shaft said...

Congrats on getting back on the horse!

I recommend attending some beginner / core classes before going to your belt-level classes, to get a good feel for what your limits are.

I can almost guarantee that the new activity will elicit complaints from your knee, but ice it afterward and things should settle down after a week or so of regular activity.

Good luck!!!