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Leo
25th August 2000, 10:19
Greetings, all. This is my first post to this forum, hopefully this question belongs here.

Somebody once told me that "your knee will never be the same again after you've been in Iai-Do for a while".

I guess most of us here are aware that knees are among a martial artist's most precious and yet fragile assets. I injured mine from a previous kempo training, and it's still in a process of recovery right now.

My question: after revovery, can somebody like myself - who has knee injury history - study Iai-Do safely without permanent change in the knee?

Also, can anybody help to sort the list below, rank them in the order of knee stress and risk of injury?
1. Iai-do positions: seiza, tatehiza, etc.
2. Foot stompings, as in Kempo, Chen style Tai Chi, and certain Iaido ryus.
3. Horse stances (as in Karate and Kempo)
**is it true that horse stances place stress on the knee? It seems that there's a controversy here; some say horse stances build knee strength while another group says horse stances cause problems.
4. Jumps and aerial kicks.


Thank you so much for your time for my questions.


Leo

Joseph Svinth
25th August 2000, 22:49
Leo --

Please don't forget to sign posts with a full name. The easiest way to do this is to use the signature block at the bottom.

For a listing of scientific articles available on martial art topics, to include injuries, see (for example) http://www.interlog.com/~wwc/science1.html and http://nutrition.ucdavis.edu/olympics/Sports/mart.htm . You should be able to find these articles at any major research university where there is a medical school.

For a popular article related specifically to the knee, see http://www.4martialartswomen.com/June/health.htm . For more generic descriptions, see also http://www.bragmanhealth.com/books/sports/ch19.html

For anecdotal data specifically related to iaido, you would probably get better responses by posting the question to the iaido forum, simply because it has more practitioners on it. Also consider posting the same question on Iaido-L. If you are not familiar with Iaido-L, the URL is http://listserv.uoguelph.ca/archives/iaido-l.html

Leo
26th August 2000, 00:57
Mr. Svinth,

I am sorry for not posting my complete name. This is my first time participating in this forum and I am yet to learn the rules here. Thank you for your research guide.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but my guess is that since this is an Internet forum, no person would be held responsible for anything that his or her suggestion may result in, right? Aside from that, the poster can also post a disclaimer about the information.

If that's the case, I welcome more personal opinions based on experience on my previous posting. If not, I appologize for my lack of research before making a posting in this forum.

Sincerely,


Leo Song

Joseph Svinth
26th August 2000, 07:24
Leo --

No problem about not including your name, it's one of the standard moderator-style complaints new folks usually get!

That said, the only reason that I suggested the iaido forum and Iaido-L rather than here was that you specifically asked how iaido affected knees, and the folks who practice with pointy things congregate around the sword forums. For example, the article on aikido and iaido knee injuries at http://www.aikidofaq.com/health/iaido_injuries.html is written by Kim Taylor, who manages Iaido-L but only lurks E-budo. Therefore he is not especially likely to find a question about iaido knees here, but is almost guaranteed to see it at Iaido-L.

Furthermore, you have not stated what kind of knee problems you are having. Arthritis? Bursitis? Meniscal tears? Periosteum inflammation? Tendonitis? Without knowing the specific condition it is hard to make an informed recommendation, which could vary from something so simple as changing your foot placement to wearing knee pads to seeing an orthopedic surgeon to doing what you can, sorry about that.

http://www.scri.fsu.edu/~murray/aikido/archives/Mar1996/date.html also has material about knee problems.

:)

FastEd
26th August 2000, 15:49
Originally posted by Leo
Greetings, all. This is my first post to this forum, hopefully this question belongs here.

Somebody once told me that "your knee will never be the same again after you've been in Iai-Do for a while".

I guess most of us here are aware that knees are among a martial artist's most precious and yet fragile assets. I injured mine from a previous kempo training, and it's still in a process of recovery right now.

My question: after revovery, can somebody like myself - who has knee injury history - study Iai-Do safely without permanent change in the knee?

Also, can anybody help to sort the list below, rank them in the order of knee stress and risk of injury?
1. Iai-do positions: seiza, tatehiza, etc.
2. Foot stompings, as in Kempo, Chen style Tai Chi, and certain Iaido ryus.
3. Horse stances (as in Karate and Kempo)
**is it true that horse stances place stress on the knee? It seems that there's a controversy here; some say horse stances build knee strength while another group says horse stances cause problems.
4. Jumps and aerial kicks.


Thank you so much for your time for my questions.


Leo

FastEd
26th August 2000, 15:57
Originally posted by Leo
Greetings, all. This is my first post to this forum, hopefully this question belongs here.

My question: after revovery, can somebody like myself - who has knee injury history - study Iai-Do safely without permanent change in the knee?


Well first Iaido-l is the place to go for more responses. From my understanding, the majority of people use knee pads to soften the impact and make sitting and riseing in seiza more comfortable. With a healthy understanding of what your knee can take, you can sit until its too much, then do IAi standing, its prefectly acceptable and will give your knees a break, just let your instructor know you have knee problems.

Leo
27th August 2000, 06:41
Mr. Svinth and Mr. Chart,

Thank you so much for your explanations. Especially for mentioning the medical terms for specific injuriy situations, it makes me realize there are numerous possibilities out there.

As for my more specific knee condition, I'm about to have an X-ray pretty soon.

Thanks again,

Leo Song