by Stacey Thu Jun 15, 2017 1:04 pm
okay, I see davidn posted on May 22 when I was having my stump revised in what I hope will be the last surgery on my leg post injury. For those who don't know, Sept. 23, 2015, I had a motorcycle accident where I landed really well - there wasn't a scratch on my helmet. My left leg didn't survive being squished between a guardrail and the bike all that well. They tried to save it, but on Nov. 22, 2016, it was amputated in what's called an "elective" amputation (basically, where it's not an emergency surgery, but you're abandoning trying to save it). I've also had an infection issue, like many trauma amputees, resulting in somewhere between 20 and 30 total surgeries (I think more towards the 20 side, but can't be sure - that first week in the ICU is a total blur).
So, if I ever submitted my paperwork, I'd be a nidan. Whoopee! It took me something like 6-8 years to actually submit the paperwork for my shodan, so rank isn't a big deal to me, as you can plainly see. Judo, however, is a big deal to me. I'm looking forward to stepping back on the tatami in the near future (ne waza classes, at least initially. I'm not cleared for throwing yet). I need to get physically back in shape, get more acquainted with my new body, and attempt to apply what I know about judo to my new body.
Wait, what the? What does it mean to be a one legged judoka among all you two legged freaks?
Honestly, I don't know. I've been in the Dojo of the Mind for so long that I do have an idea. I've also been connecting with a few other amputee judoka. There's one here in the US named Joe Walters sensei who lost his leg above the knee in the Vietnam War. His son wrote a book about it available through Amazon called Strength in Numbers, but it isn't a "how to" manual of what to do in judo. I've been talking with him some. He gave up on shiai about a dozen or so years ago and strictly teaches these days, like a lot of men in their 70's. Joe has a candy cane belt, don't know the particular rank.
I've contacted two gents in their 70's in the UK who are amputee judoka, at the same club, playing each other for decades, along with everybody else at the club. Don't know much about them as I've only had a bit of contact with one.
There's a young guy also in the UK, named Jamie Gane who's a BKA on the opposite side of me. He's trying for his shodan but looking for more amputee judoka to play as he has yet to play one. I've promised to cross the pond when I'm an acceptable target for his waza. You can read about this guy through his blog here: http://www.jamiegane.com/blog/2017/6/14/amputee-judo.
He and I have very different ideas about amputee judo, and it's probably because 1. I'm old as dirt, and 2. I haven't been on the tatami as an amputee judoka yet. I personally think that no rule modifications need to apply to shiai and reasonable modifications need apply to kata. I think that your standard gateme no kata and nage no kata are do-able with one leg. The rest? I don't know. It would take a bit of creative adaptation to make those kata fit the capabilities of somebody with one leg. I'd have to find a good kata partner to play with those (and I'd have to learn more than juno kata and a bit and piece of a few others). But, when it comes to shiai, I don't think there should be a separate "amputee" division. When it comes to testing, I don't think there should be a separate amputee division. I just want to play, and play all comers to the best of my ability. Jamie wants a separate division. Cool. Somebody had to come up with the rules and modifications for blind judo, perhaps he'll come up with the rules, mods, and juice to come up with a disabled judo division, especially in the paralympics. I personally am too old to worry about the paralympics or to want to do more than play at the highest level I can play at with other "masters" or whatever they're calling old farts these days.
But my first steps are to get into shape (I've lost all muscle mass on my left leg what with not walking for almost 2 years) and then get onto the tatami with people I trust so that we can experiment with what I really can and cannot do.
I do think that a ne waza division in most shiai would be a good thing. We lost Matt Marcinek, a guy with MS who couldn't do much with his lower body, once the "no leg grab" rule went into effect. He's a great guy, trains bjj these days, and is a total loss to judo.
Fwiw, I'm going to start with bjj on the ground classes once I can get back on the tatami. It's going to take stamina and muscle mass and more work on my balance before I can get into a judo class. Besides, I'll have to figure out just the opening warm-ups. Shrimping, no problem. But side falls from standing - gonna take a bit of work. Front falls? Sheesh, dunno. And if you run around the room to get the blood flowing? I get to jump around in a corner instead? I don't know.
Oh, and you can follow my progress here:
http://staceyknapp.altervista.org/blog/
Oh, and there is another woman who's a BKA (below the knee amputee) who's around my age, over in the UK, and a Barcelona olympian who's teaching judo to kids who are not amputees or disabled. I will eventually pick her brain as well.