Man, I'm 29 years old, and I shouldn't be feeling like this. My back has been a little sore for a couple of weeks, but tonight it's killing me. I'm not even old enough to participate in the Masters division of a judo tournament, and I feel like a little old man hunched over a walker.
A few people from my club went to visit Dan Smith's club in Dickson, TN to participate in his judo workout. I actually trained at Dan's club for a little under a year back in '01-'02. I like Dan's style because he tends to focus on how judo is useful in a combat/self-defense situation. He doesn't focus on sport judo or formal judo (such as katas). I do enjoy learning formal techniques and such, but seeing Dan teach how judo can be used in the real world is a treat. The only problem is that Dan is a green beret, he's in better shape than men half his age, and he therefor runs an exhausting workout. I found out tonight that I've been standing around critiquing juniors' techniques too much and not getting enough of a workout myself. Also, did I mention my back freakin' hurts?
My teacher, who went with us tonight and is himself a student of Dans, has suggested in the past a way to help muscle pain heal fast. You alternate hot and cold packs on the injured area at a 1:5 ratio. I've tried that before and it seems to work, so we'll see if it will do the trick on my back. I'm on the third rep of the cold phase right now. Most of my reason for even posting this (besides the fact that it gives me an outlet) is so I can remember that ratio. Now I won't have to keep bugging sensei with the same question every time I pull a muscle.
