| What Happens if Injury Robs you of your Best Techniques? by Java Bomani The challenger was worthy; I had to ratchet my game up a couple of notches. Recently I worked so hard that my ability came up to levels where I never thought I'd go. So… here I was in a game against the kind of player who would've wiped up the floor with me just a year ago and I was winning. He bit when I hit him with the right handed crossover and hurried left. Suddenly, I came back to my right with a left handed crossover and lost him. Now it was time to show the automatic jumper I had been working on for 2 years. I made a quick hard stop into my jumper, both feet under me, perfect timing, fingers spread wide, controlling the ball with relaxed but ready fingertips. Everything was set, I rose into the air and POP! Something let go in my leg. Immediately I though my Achilles had let go, it turned to be only partially torn, but my foot was instantly dead. The park I play basketball in, is a place where a few troublemakers hang out. They know me; but what happens if one of these guys try to start something right now. What if they've been looking at me all this time and saying, "I'd like to try him out"? What more perfect time? What if this is the time when some punk decides to snatch my gym bag? I like to think I would've been able to defend myself, block out all the pain and still be relatively effective, but this wasn't a pain issue, this was a disability. I’ve been injured before, and one of the first thoughts that come to my mind is, “what do I have left if something happens now?” It's like when you see a soldier in the movies, that lets off a volley of shots, then he ducks behind a wall or something and checks how many bullets he has left. I always feel like I have to pull out the clip and see what techniques could possible work in the condition I'm in. The WAY, I use involves a lot of movement, with a serious emphasis on footwork. If I had to describe myself, I would say I'm a kicker first, but only by a SLIGHT 55/45% margin over punching, elbowing and other hand and arm techniques. I've always been very conscious of being a balanced martial artist, so I really focus on all areas. Then there are times I go through an entire workout and only throw a handful of strikes. I stress movement, I know if I can move -- I'll always be in position to strike and from there things happen all by themselves. However, all of that went out the window when my foot was hanging like a wet noodle. I had no stability, it was a struggle just to stand up. All those fancy, hard and effective kicks I've been working on for about 30 years were out. I couldn't stand on that leg and kick with the good leg without falling. I figured if I had to kick, I'd have to strike with the back leg. I knew it would do more damage to the foot if I did, so it would have to be one hard finishing blow. One bone crushing kick with all I have, pain be damned. After that I'd probable have to roll away in agony, but I'd rather not use it that way. I could barely move; a push step with the bad foot wasn't happening and if I pushed off with the good one, the bad one couldn’t deal with the dynamism of a quick step. All the hours I worked on crisp precise movement, getting in, getting out, step and counters, push steps and blast to the sides, were all rendered useless. Here’s what I figured I could do and why cross training is so important. I learned American Karate for years and use it as my martial base, after that I went to a Jeet Kune Do school for a while and then I spent a year and a half learning Wing Chun. I figured Wing Chun would work in my condition as long as the attacker came to me. I thought I could shift my weight, to take away some of the destructive energy from blows, slide a couple of inches here and there, then take them to the ground and grapple with them, even though this is the weakest part of my game. I resigned myself to the fact that I might have to take a beating until I got into position for a choke or an arm bar of something. I know I need to improve my grappling; it’s the next thing on my agenda. That’s why I got to thinkin about this article. What if that was all I had, what would I do? My feet are good, my hands are good, my movement is very good, but what if all of these were taken away? I not only lost my primary WAY, I lost my top 2. Is my number 2 or 3 good enough if it was all I could use? I’m glad I didn’t have to find out, but I think that’s a question every martial artist needs ask themselves. |
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| From the July 2004 Issue of |
