by Stacey Fri May 17, 2013 1:26 pm
So last year I'm playing my bari sax, doing a nice walking bass line and I notice I'm having problems with my right ring finger kinking up and getting stuck. I look at my hands and notice that some of my fingers aren't exactly straight anymore. I look at my toes, and, well, they were much prettier before I started judo.
We do have a problem with injuries. How many of us just buddy tape fingers and toes? How many of us can look at our fingers and toes and see that they are straight? Now, I'm not saying that it's wrong, but we are pretty dismissive of some injuries, especially fingers and toes, and maybe even a nose or a rib. I have no idea what or when I did something to my right ring finger, but now I have to tape a slight bend in the danged thing so that it doesn't catch and keep a key closed when I don't want it to be. Yes, that's right, I'm taping to play my sax.
Yes, there is a fair amount of stupidity, and there is a fair amount of benefit. When I was getting my ankle fixed for the first time, the nurse asked me how I broke it, and then she gave me that look like, "grow up" before asking me how old I was (late 30's). I basically replied, I could be here for a broken ankle, or I could be here for clogged arteries; which would you prefer? Me, I'll take a judo accident - at least I can laugh about it and get to work the next day. That said, my left leg sucks. My knee is trashed by swimming, my left ankle in a pickup game of soccer when I was 21, and my left hip in kick boxing when I was 25-6. 20 years of judo hasn't let me ignore those injuries, and in fact I've become a danger to myself and others because mechanically the leg just doesn't bend enough or allow me to straighten once bent.
Personally, I think stupidity is inherent with young adults. I also think young adults in charge of kids can pass their stupidity onto the bodies of kids under the guise of authority (and with parental approval because, hey, they don't know any better unless they themselves do athletics). It is a miracle that any of us survive to procreate, let alone see our kids procreate.
And, yes, in my 20's my goal in life was to not make the Darwin Awards list......