Friends - it's time to set some new goals.

My goal this year was simply train hard - compete as much as I can - go to Brazil in the summer and hopefully get my purple belt by the end of the year.

Park that car.

This shoulder injury has thrown a spanner in the works of all of this so I need to make some adjustments.

As Xande said in our pow wow -'flexibility does not just mean putting the leg behind our head...it means to be flexible in our lives too'. So here is what's going to happen instead...

Because I wasted about 6 weeks to get the correct treatment for my shoulder I have rendered myself unable to train for the upcoming weeks rolling into the time I was meant to go to Brazil. My Physiotherapist, Elizabeth Frey, looked at me with some alarm when I gave her the details of the 'home care' solutions I had been doing since noticing I had problems. After she explaining the nature of the injury and necessity to rest the shoulder and joint it's clear I should have sought help right after Copa Ontario. 

"Why did you not come and see me sooner?" - her question going round my head as I lay on my side staring at the word 'Athlete' in the 'Atheletes Care' sign while accupuncture needles dangled from my shoulder trying to ease the swelling. - "Ignorance?" was the answer I gave her.

It's usually a 4-8 week recovery period from when the injury occurs to being fully healed.

Swimming - weights - light training - all wrong. There should have been none of that.Yoga is hopefully OK but really this only leaves me with 1 other option while sidelined. 

Running.

I have never been a runner and to be honest the idea of running bores me. However after watching the Mundials you realize that technique is only going to get you so far. Athleticism will hopefully get you the rest of the way. With that being said I am going to go and buy some good running shoes and begin to run this week so when I do get back on the mats I will be a cardio machine.

I don't even have running shoes. How 'athletic' of me ;)

Brazil Trip - I can't guarantee I will be back fully training by the time the trip happens so I am postponing for now. The Jorge Britto Camp will go ahead but I am not sure how many people from Toronto BJJ will be there as the overwhelming feedback was it was beyond many people's budget. It also lacked the solitary 'nomadic' experience I was chasing.

There are other options with other camps in the future - like Felipe Costa's camp which is is likely where I would have steered towards. 10 days in a beach house with the people you are training with - collected and dropped off at the airport. Just like that. 

Having never been on vacation I am not that upset about not getting away this year. Perhaps I will use the time at the end of the year to go home and see my family in Ireland. The plan will be to save a bit more cash and explore future camp options..

So now all that is out - what are the new goals? (I have learned through being a Youth Leader in Scouts that Goals are not resolutions but are action plans that are Measurable, Attainable and have a Timeline - MAT)

• Continue Physio and follow my the path and timeline my therapist lays out for me.
• Start to run to the academy and sit at the dojo door in the evening and watch the class so I can take notes...then run home and improve my time each night so I can return fitter than I am now
• Set a reasonable time for a return tournament - August's Toronto Jiu Jitsu classic seems right
• Buy a membership at Moksha Yoga now my free week is up and continue exploring 'hot yoga' and developing my understanding.
• Stretching. We can never stretch enough.
• ...Other things like strength training will happen when I am allowed 

I do keep thinking about the fact I may miss becoming a purple belt this year. I keep reminding myself that the belt just keeps your Gi closed. It's about the Jiu Jitsu and your technique. So if I am sidelined and do not get to train enough to get my purple belt this year...then that's alright. I just get to keep competing at blue belt level. So long as I learn something and am trying to get better that is most important. I tell myself that anyways ;)

But I do miss the team. I miss the feel of the mats and putting on my GI. I miss watching my professor teach. I miss seeing everyone training hard.

I will admit that.

But before I know it I will be back.

I just want to end by saying - this is not a 'poor me' drama with my shoulder. It's simply what is going on right now and this blog is therapy for me as well as detailing my life in training jiu jitsu so I cannot ignore it or not write about it. Hopefully there is something to be learned if at the very least that is 'GO GET HELP RIGHT AWAY WHEN INJURED'. But mark my word - there is no intended control drama going on. Hopefully you get that.

Many people have it alot worse than I for many reasons. I just have a stupid shoulder injury. To be 100% healthy is a blessing and we must remember that. Without proper care and looking after your body - that can go down the plug hole pretty quickly so stay healthy and make sure you are listening to your body. If it wants to rest or get healed - honour that.

So join me for the next few weeks on my detour from training Jiu Jitsu as I endeavour to get back healthy before the tournament at the start of August.

Scott

• Jiu Jitsu 'Snakes and Ladders' (2010-06-11)
• Rest is training (2010-05-21)
• Rolling under a full moon (2010-04-29)
• The Road to Copa - 3 weeks left (2010-04-06)
• Team Training (2010-03-29)
• Taking it to the next level (2010-03-26)
• Learning your Professor's 'Signature Move' (2010-03-16)
• A Journal of Judo? (2010-03-12)
• My ADCC Competition Experience (2010-03-10)
• Jiu Jitsu DNA (2010-02-28)