Guest guest Posted July 25, 2004 Report Share Posted July 25, 2004 Cheers Des, Sounds like you are doing very well, as it seems most of us are! Congrats and keep it up. Dan C+, 1.21.02 Dr. Schmalzried > I'm now sitting in the departure lounge of Narita Airport waiting to board my > return flight to Los Angeles and then on to San , California. I've just > spent ten days in Japan, which included seven full days of karate training, two > very long train rides ( 10 hours and 8 hours respectively), and enormous > amounts of walking. > > Through it all, my two BHR's performed better than most peoples' normal hip > joints would have under the circumstances. > > The karate training was a kind of " shadow " training experience for me. Four > of my friends were preparing for their test for 6th degree black belt, another > for 5th degree, another for 4th and another for 1st. They were prepared for > their test by two of the foremost 8th degree black belt instructors in Japan. > Because of the rules, I must wait until 2007 for my test. There's a six year > waiting period after getting a 5th degree, which I managed to do five months > before my first BHR. > > I tagged onto the group testing for 6th degree because it's the next grade > I'm attempting. It was the most strenuous and challenging group, because the > qualitative change required to go from 5th to 6th degree is huge. Basically there > are no excuses for screwing up, none are tolerated, and the examiners are > unforgiving. > > Because the examiners realize that by the time one is able to test for 6th > degree, one is probably going to be at least 45 years old, so no fighting is > required. There's thought to be no reason to continue testing fighting ability > because that happens from 1st through 5th degree over at least a 15 year period. > So basically you don't make it to that point at all if you can't fight. > However the forms are extraordinarily difficult and the finesse needed would > probably make most people quit long before they ever got very far. > > I've learned, among other things, that I need to work really hard on > improving my flexibility in the hips. One of the forms involves moving from what is > called a horse stance (picture pointing your feet at 90 degrees to one another, > with legs bent at the knee at about a 100 degree angle and thighs almost > parallel to the floor, with your feet about 4 feet apart from one another), pulling > your front knee up towards your chest, kicking down at someone's imaginary > knee in line with where your own knee just was, turning and twisting in mid air > 45 degrees to your right while standing on the back leg, and stamping the > front foot down hard on the ground while executing an uppercut with the front > hand, and then adding four intricate hand movements at lightning speed. > > Maybe you get the picture; maybe I didn't explain it well enough. Take it > from me, it's amazingly difficult. This is just one move in 36 for the entire > form, each one being challenging in its own way. > > The point is that these metal hip surfaces made it totally painless and > possible to do repetitively with no strain. I wasn't flexible at all for many years > before my surgery, so there's still a long way to go in terms of achieving > what I can. However based on my experience over the last ten days, I'm confident > that I'll manage to pass the test when my time comes. > > The frosting on the cake with this trip was that I celebrated my 50th > birthday in the middle of it, and didn't feel a day over about 30. > > To those of you who are on the verge of changing your lives, go for it! To > those who've already done that, enjoy it for many years to come. > > Best to all, > > Des Tuck > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Des, Happy birthday and congratulations! You are a real inspiration to many of us out here. It is the success stories like you that inspired me to take action and get on with my life and leave the pain and retrictions of OA behind. I lived in Japan toward the end of my professional athletic career and I have fond memories of my time in Japan. I can't tell you how happy I am that I had my hip resurfaced in May. It has changed my life. I find myself getting out of bed in the morning after a long weekend of tough workouts and chasing my kids around waiting for that familiar pain and it is thankfully absent. The terrible pain and restrictions seem like a distant memory less than three months post op. I wish you continued success in your athletic pursuits. Thanks for the posts and inspiration. Best... C+ Dr. Amstutz 5/04/04 > I'm now sitting in the departure lounge of Narita Airport waiting to board my > return flight to Los Angeles and then on to San , California. I've just > spent ten days in Japan, which included seven full days of karate training, two > very long train rides ( 10 hours and 8 hours respectively), and enormous > amounts of walking. > > Through it all, my two BHR's performed better than most peoples' normal hip > joints would have under the circumstances. > > The karate training was a kind of " shadow " training experience for me. Four > of my friends were preparing for their test for 6th degree black belt, another > for 5th degree, another for 4th and another for 1st. They were prepared for > their test by two of the foremost 8th degree black belt instructors in Japan. > Because of the rules, I must wait until 2007 for my test. There's a six year > waiting period after getting a 5th degree, which I managed to do five months > before my first BHR. > > I tagged onto the group testing for 6th degree because it's the next grade > I'm attempting. It was the most strenuous and challenging group, because the > qualitative change required to go from 5th to 6th degree is huge. Basically there > are no excuses for screwing up, none are tolerated, and the examiners are > unforgiving. > > Because the examiners realize that by the time one is able to test for 6th > degree, one is probably going to be at least 45 years old, so no fighting is > required. There's thought to be no reason to continue testing fighting ability > because that happens from 1st through 5th degree over at least a 15 year period. > So basically you don't make it to that point at all if you can't fight. > However the forms are extraordinarily difficult and the finesse needed would > probably make most people quit long before they ever got very far. > > I've learned, among other things, that I need to work really hard on > improving my flexibility in the hips. One of the forms involves moving from what is > called a horse stance (picture pointing your feet at 90 degrees to one another, > with legs bent at the knee at about a 100 degree angle and thighs almost > parallel to the floor, with your feet about 4 feet apart from one another), pulling > your front knee up towards your chest, kicking down at someone's imaginary > knee in line with where your own knee just was, turning and twisting in mid air > 45 degrees to your right while standing on the back leg, and stamping the > front foot down hard on the ground while executing an uppercut with the front > hand, and then adding four intricate hand movements at lightning speed. > > Maybe you get the picture; maybe I didn't explain it well enough. Take it > from me, it's amazingly difficult. This is just one move in 36 for the entire > form, each one being challenging in its own way. > > The point is that these metal hip surfaces made it totally painless and > possible to do repetitively with no strain. I wasn't flexible at all for many years > before my surgery, so there's still a long way to go in terms of achieving > what I can. However based on my experience over the last ten days, I'm confident > that I'll manage to pass the test when my time comes. > > The frosting on the cake with this trip was that I celebrated my 50th > birthday in the middle of it, and didn't feel a day over about 30. > > To those of you who are on the verge of changing your lives, go for it! To > those who've already done that, enjoy it for many years to come. > > Best to all, > > Des Tuck > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Des, Happy birthday and congratulations! You are a real inspiration to many of us out here. It is the success stories like you that inspired me to take action and get on with my life and leave the pain and retrictions of OA behind. I lived in Japan toward the end of my professional athletic career and I have fond memories of my time in Japan. I can't tell you how happy I am that I had my hip resurfaced in May. It has changed my life. I find myself getting out of bed in the morning after a long weekend of tough workouts and chasing my kids around waiting for that familiar pain and it is thankfully absent. The terrible pain and restrictions seem like a distant memory less than three months post op. I wish you continued success in your athletic pursuits. Thanks for the posts and inspiration. Best... C+ Dr. Amstutz 5/04/04 > I'm now sitting in the departure lounge of Narita Airport waiting to board my > return flight to Los Angeles and then on to San , California. I've just > spent ten days in Japan, which included seven full days of karate training, two > very long train rides ( 10 hours and 8 hours respectively), and enormous > amounts of walking. > > Through it all, my two BHR's performed better than most peoples' normal hip > joints would have under the circumstances. > > The karate training was a kind of " shadow " training experience for me. Four > of my friends were preparing for their test for 6th degree black belt, another > for 5th degree, another for 4th and another for 1st. They were prepared for > their test by two of the foremost 8th degree black belt instructors in Japan. > Because of the rules, I must wait until 2007 for my test. There's a six year > waiting period after getting a 5th degree, which I managed to do five months > before my first BHR. > > I tagged onto the group testing for 6th degree because it's the next grade > I'm attempting. It was the most strenuous and challenging group, because the > qualitative change required to go from 5th to 6th degree is huge. Basically there > are no excuses for screwing up, none are tolerated, and the examiners are > unforgiving. > > Because the examiners realize that by the time one is able to test for 6th > degree, one is probably going to be at least 45 years old, so no fighting is > required. There's thought to be no reason to continue testing fighting ability > because that happens from 1st through 5th degree over at least a 15 year period. > So basically you don't make it to that point at all if you can't fight. > However the forms are extraordinarily difficult and the finesse needed would > probably make most people quit long before they ever got very far. > > I've learned, among other things, that I need to work really hard on > improving my flexibility in the hips. One of the forms involves moving from what is > called a horse stance (picture pointing your feet at 90 degrees to one another, > with legs bent at the knee at about a 100 degree angle and thighs almost > parallel to the floor, with your feet about 4 feet apart from one another), pulling > your front knee up towards your chest, kicking down at someone's imaginary > knee in line with where your own knee just was, turning and twisting in mid air > 45 degrees to your right while standing on the back leg, and stamping the > front foot down hard on the ground while executing an uppercut with the front > hand, and then adding four intricate hand movements at lightning speed. > > Maybe you get the picture; maybe I didn't explain it well enough. Take it > from me, it's amazingly difficult. This is just one move in 36 for the entire > form, each one being challenging in its own way. > > The point is that these metal hip surfaces made it totally painless and > possible to do repetitively with no strain. I wasn't flexible at all for many years > before my surgery, so there's still a long way to go in terms of achieving > what I can. However based on my experience over the last ten days, I'm confident > that I'll manage to pass the test when my time comes. > > The frosting on the cake with this trip was that I celebrated my 50th > birthday in the middle of it, and didn't feel a day over about 30. > > To those of you who are on the verge of changing your lives, go for it! To > those who've already done that, enjoy it for many years to come. > > Best to all, > > Des Tuck > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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