Guest guest Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 As I write this, I'm sitting on the Narita Express from the airport outside Tokyo, after having just landed. It's 6:15 pm here but 2:15 am Pacific Time, so if the prose is labored, please take that into account. I'm thinking back to the last time I took this ride - May 2001- 5 months before my first BHR. I had had a cortisone injection three weeks prior, to address my severe pain, and the effect wore off about 10 days later; so by the time I reached Tokyo, I was back in agony, even on Celebrex. Following 8 days of intensive training, about 10 days after that, I took my test for my 5th degree black belt in karate, and miraculously, passed. I subjected myself to the ordeal because I knew I would be having surgery in October, 2001 and didn't know, or want to believe, that I'd ever really be able to do karate again with any competence post-surgery. This time, after having flown an hour from San to Los Angeles, standing around in LA airport for several hours, and then flying to Tokyo for 10 hours, I don't feel a pain anywhere. I had my other BHR done just over a year ago. That one has left me with some residual psoas muscle pain which preceded that surgery (and which I felt for the first time on the other side while getting out of bed the day after my first BHR), but nothing worth complaining about. I'm here to celebrate my 50th birthday (July 23) by doing 8 days of intensive training again and then will watch the World JKF Goju Kai championships. I'll be meeting up here with old friends from the UK, Slovakia, South Africa and other parts of the US. DAMN, THIS IS COOL!!!!!! I didn't know about this group before my Oct. 2001 surgery, but I'm sure that if I had done, I would have drawn on the wellspring of support that many of you have, in propelling you through the ordeal of fixing yourselves. I can't wait to spar with the locals, and my international friends here for this short visit. Four of them will be testing for their 6th degree black belts at the end of this trip. Because of the rules, I need to wait several more years to attempt that same test. However I know, and they're about to find out, that my training ability now, compared with May 2001, is like night and day. It's almost surreal traveling through the grey dusk of the Japanese countryside, with my last memory from here being one of relative misery from the aching in my hip, and my present feeling of ..... nothing. Is this Zen? I am so grateful to my surgeon, Ronan Treacy, and my friend Bob Poynton (UK) who connected me with him, for the ability to re-live this experience feeling re-born. YEEEEEEHAAAAHH!!!!!!!!! Des Tuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Hey Tom- glad you are doing well. I visited in your hospital room right before your surgery. I, too have resumed activities which I love. Ain't it grand! Rock climbin' Jude LBHR De Smet 09/11/02 Re: de smet response Des Tuck I am happy that you made such a remarcable recovery. I practiced karate in Prague in mid 80's with some people from Slovakia - mostly students from technical university there. If some of your slovak friends would fit the description say hello to them from me. After my surgery I restarted karate again from the scratch this time " american karate - seems like variant of Shotokan " . At some point I would also like to go and practice in Japan - maybe you can send me some more information - with whom do you practice, where do you live there, do you have to know japanese..? At your convenience please let me know. Enjoy your stay Tom Tomas Golan, M.D. New Iberia, LA R BHR 09/2002 Dr. DeSmet In a message dated 7/18/2004 6:21:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time, destuck@... writes: >As I write this, I'm sitting on the Narita Express from the airport outside >Tokyo, after having just landed. It's 6:15 pm here but 2:15 am Pacific Time, so >if the prose is labored, please take that into account. > >I'm thinking back to the last time I took this ride - May 2001- 5 months >before my first BHR. I had had a cortisone injection three weeks prior, to >address my severe pain, and the effect wore off about 10 days later; so by the time >I reached Tokyo, I was back in agony, even on Celebrex. > >Following 8 days of intensive training, about 10 days after that, I took my >test for my 5th degree black belt in karate, and miraculously, passed. I >subjected myself to the ordeal because I knew I would be having surgery in October, >2001 and didn't know, or want to believe, that I'd ever really be able to do >karate again with any competence post-surgery. > >This time, after having flown an hour from San to Los Angeles, standing >around in LA airport for several hours, and then flying to Tokyo for 10 hours, >I don't feel a pain anywhere. I had my other BHR done just over a year ago. >That one has left me with some residual psoas muscle pain which preceded that >surgery (and which I felt for the first time on the other side while getting >out of bed the day after my first BHR), but nothing worth complaining about. > >I'm here to celebrate my 50th birthday (July 23) by doing 8 days of intensive >training again and then will watch the World JKF Goju Kai championships. I'll >be meeting up here with old friends from the UK, Slovakia, South Africa and >other parts of the US. > >DAMN, THIS IS COOL!!!!!! > >I didn't know about this group before my Oct. 2001 surgery, but I'm sure that >if I had done, I would have drawn on the wellspring of support that many of >you have, in propelling you through the ordeal of fixing yourselves. > >I can't wait to spar with the locals, and my international friends here for >this short visit. Four of them will be testing for their 6th degree black >belts at the end of this trip. Because of the rules, I need to wait several more >years to attempt that same test. However I know, and they're about to find out, >that my training ability now, compared with May 2001, is like night and day. > >It's almost surreal traveling through the grey dusk of the Japanese >countryside, with my last memory from here being one of relative misery from the aching >in my hip, and my present feeling of ..... nothing. Is this Zen? > >I am so grateful to my surgeon, Ronan Treacy, and my friend Bob Poynton (UK) >who connected me with him, for the ability to re-live this experience feeling >re-born. > >YEEEEEEHAAAAHH!!!!!!!!! > >Des Tuck > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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