Jean in Newcastle Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Ds15 said that his instructor suggested that he might want to take a break from taekwando for awhile because ds is having trouble with achy joints. Apparently the instructor said that he had to do that around that age as well. Has anyone heard of this? Is it a growth spurt thing? Ds wants to continue with taekwando if possible. It is a good exercise for him and is really the only one he really likes. He likes having it a part of his routine. But I don't want him to damage joints either. I will talk to the instructor this week to find out more of what he was thinking first hand. But first I wanted to see if anyone has heard of this sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantmeawish Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 I can't directly answer your question but I can tell you my dh's experience. He did tkd from 8-16. He even competed in the junior Olympics. He had knee surgery at 16 and the other knee is not great so he will probably have surgery on that later in life. Even with all that, he would love it if our kids chose tkd. If it was my kid, I would seek dr advice before continuing. I would not want him to have joint problems the rest of his life. The answer may be as simple as cutting back on training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tita Gidge Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 I've heard TKD can be brutal on knees. My friend's sons are very serious about their sport, and they cross-train. Your son might not love a small break from TKD, nor may he love his options for cross-training, but it sure beats forced time off due to injury or surgery - especially if he loves his sport. I know many adults who have a hard time heeding their body's cues, so I imagine it's even harder for a young man to not feel invincible or not fully realize the risk of over-training. I think it's easy to overtrain the martial arts because there aren't any true seasons; it's easy to keep going year-round without allowing for small breaks to rest the body. For a martial art such as TKD that leaves a lot more wear-and-tear, it's important to take those sabbaticals. Even professionals take downtime. So might be be open to cross-training? He can speak with his coach and/or a doctor to discuss ideas specific to his interests and health. My friend's sons do pilates and swimming. They were NOT excited about pilates LOL but she didn't really make it optional. She had them sign up for a month's worth of classes at the gym and they rolled eyes, etc. every class. But the next month when they jumped back into TKD they realized the pilates had helped their stance and control. They decided to sign up for the next pilates class, too, and now they do TKD four days a week and pilates the fifth. They take two months off each year (one at a time) from TKD and do swimming. It's not regular swimming, it's some kind of deep-water running or something. Looks hard, but might be good for achy joints. Her sons' coach had a good, long talk with them about taking care of their body. He shared his own lessons learned, surgeries done, and current limitations due to years of overtraining. She was really impressed with how he handled it, and they still didn't buy totally into it but her sons did place higher value to coach's lecture than to hers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjffkj Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 My husband has been doing kung fu since he was 12 (he's 31 now), he's a 4th degree black sash (highest rank for instructors, they only go up in title from there,) and is the head instructor at a martial arts school. His knees crack every time he stands up and sometimes has some pain that can been remedied with icing and taking it easy for a bit. Martial arts is painful on the joints but with proper long term care shouldn't be a huge issue. Stopping all together shouldn't be necessary but maybe missing a lesson or 2 a week, depending on how often he attends class, would help. Making sure his core is strong and his leg muscles are too will help take pressure of his knees. Stretch multiple times a day. Most importantly, go back to basics and make sure he is doing stances currently, throwing kicks properly, and landing safely. As martial artists progress they can easily slack on the basics and over time even the slightest mistake can really do a number on your joints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 I would look at the surface of the training area. When our dojang was hardwood, it was really hard on people's ankles and knees. I eventually had to wear light shoes with some arch support, and that helped. Now our dojang has a soft mat over the entire floor and it's awesome! It's easy on the joints, and break-falls, self-defense and even sparring is so much nicer. I know that it was a big financial purchase for our TKD school owner to buy this mat, but it was a wonderful investment. Adults and teens are training from many more years past their first degree black belt than they used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 12, 2013 Author Share Posted June 12, 2013 We have a mat, thank goodness! We went to the doctor today. Ds is having trouble with allergies that is affecting his stamina and my gut feeling is that this is what the instructor is seeing. So for now we're going to see how the new allergy meds work before blaming his joints. If it seems to be his joints the doctor wants to see him specifically for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Yay for a mat floor! I hope that the dr finds out what's bothering your ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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