competitions?

ok... i have 80% decided that if i don't get injured in the next 6 weeks, i am going to compete in the tournament our judo club puts on in October (October 5th to be precise)

I would love some support... i think.  i have about 6 weeks to train.  the next 3, i won't be able to go to adult practices because my hubbie is working late.  but i can go to kids practice on tuesday and thursday, and i can go to technical practices on saturday.  I will also be at the Gym monday and wednesday.  i am considering shelling out for a trainer, since i can't go to the adult practices and i want to make my workouts count the best i can.  I probably have additional time to train some fridays, saturdays and sundays.  of course i have to balance that all with being a mom, wife, and working...

so there is my plan.  oh, and i am thinking about trying to drop some more weight for weigh ins.  current weight (last night at the gym) 36.75  goal for weigh in ( there is a difference between dropping weight and loosing weight) not sure if this will happen but i will put it out there: 124.8  that will put me in the lower weight bracket... we'll see.

First, I'm absolutely jealous of the weight category you make!  Yikes, I need to drop 10 pounds to make it out of the women's heaviest category and I'm really not that big.

I absolutely agree that competitions are a good thing if they're convenient and not too expensive or sometimes just because you want to do them.  You can probably use your kid to work on technique setups outside of classes if you need the extra practice, or drag her to a few of the adult classes.

Good luck!

I have a feeling you are taller than me sara!(everyone is)oh, and  i missed a digit.  136.75  makes a huge difference.  but you probably figured that out.  otherwise i would need a booster seat in the car (Haha)

more like i could youse my hubbie... if he can stand up (12 hour shift in the woods seems pretty excessive to me.  i am not asking much of him for a while).  he even has a gi... did judo with me for about 3 months in colledge before he decided it wasn't for him.  she is still a little to little and light for a good practice partner.  on the otherhand, my dad used to coach me to practice with a tree or other stationary object... could do that. 

Actually, one of our guys who is really good and solid did practice on a porch post or a doorway for a number of years when he couldn't find partners...he really is quite good and solid, sometimes leaves a few more bruises than I would desire, but there's no questioning the contact!

I'm only 5'4 + 3/4", but in BJJ at least, the weight categories are by pounds so no matter what your height is you fall in the same catagory.

same in judo.  it is reflexive to say things like that.  yeah, i could use a door... don't have a porch post handy...

They aren't using standardized weight groups for the tournamnt in oct :( they will just group based on who shows, so i no longer have that as a motivation to loose weight... i will have to simply motivate myself.  BLEAH.

i am considering backing out.  my knee has been swolen since i decided i was healthy enough to consider the tournament... and i may be becasue i have tried to kick up my workouts a notch to prepare.  or it may be psycosymatic (but i hope i am not that person)

then of course there is sensei and his belt/testing problems with me. 

and now i have to study for an exam that snuck up on me. 

the problem is, if i don't compete, and i do get pregnant, it could be years if ever befor i am in shape enough to consider it again.  :( i haven't figured out how to enjoy myself at judo with out seeing a potental goal on the horizon.  i am not happy with my decision making process at the moment.

When do you have to sign up/pay for the tournament?  I'd let your sensei know about your injury and see what you can do to work on it.  Personally, I take advil before I work out a lot of the time as it helps to keep my joints from swelling.  1-2 about 30 minutes before my workout with a small snack usually keeps me from agravating my knee issues.  If I wait until I'm hurting then it usually takes a couple of days to get back to normal.

If you're injured going into the tournament, you most likely won't do as well or are more susceptible to further injury...a serious injury would really make your pregnancy not fun!

There might also be some regional tournaments that you could sign up for that you'd have to drive a bit farther to get to but would be reasonably soon so you could potentially still do a tournament just not the one you planned to do.

When do you have to sign up/pay for the tournament?  I'd let your sensei know about your injury and see what you can do to work on it.  Personally, I take advil before I work out a lot of the time as it helps to keep my joints from swelling.  1-2 about 30 minutes before my workout with a small snack usually keeps me from agravating my knee issues.  If I wait until I'm hurting then it usually takes a couple of days to get back to normal.

If you're injured going into the tournament, you most likely won't do as well or are more susceptible to further injury...a serious injury would really make your pregnancy not fun!

There might also be some regional tournaments that you could sign up for that you'd have to drive a bit farther to get to but would be reasonably soon so you could potentially still do a tournament just not the one you planned to do.

hmmm. i have considerd doing a differrent tournament.  if i like this first one, i very well may look for others untill i know i am pregnant (may not happen...)

the draw for this tournament is that it is the one our club sponsors, so i am expected to help in a variety of ways anyway... my dad will be there, i can have a fuller support system there if i want it...

and the knee dosent hurt.  it is just swollen.  i think the advil idea is good, and i should be icing it much more than i am.  the injuries aren't going to go away.  i have had surgeries on both knees, and they are only going to get worse.  but right now, other than swelling, they seem fine.  I just need to decide if the swelling is enough of an indicator of injury to keep me from competing.

If it's just swollen and you don't think you'll injure yourself, then I'd go for it.  This tournament sounds ideal given that you've got the home court advantage (don't discount this as being at home gives you distinct advantages in being rested and well fed over travelling and knowing the audience is supportive of you helps), and right now you're in really good shape.

so i admitted yesterday in the dojo that i was likely to compete next week. Senseis gus and victor were very supportive. i am looking forward to this ;)

i will aslo be prividing baked bread for the officials luncheon, and selling tshirts or raffle tickets... and i may go help set up on saturday.  but i have made it clear i won't be available for teardown at the end. 

 :-/ well... i am still planning to compete.  so there.

while many people are being very supportive of my competing (which is normal i think.  we generally support each other and are happy to see our clubmates compete) i have goten strong negitive feedback from one sensei that i very much respect.  sensei ralph is probably my dad's best friend... and since my dad is now out of town, he takes it uppon himself to watch out for me.  i am just a bit older than his oldest son and about 10 years older than his daughter.  he has no problem grouping me with his kids in his head.  and i am fine with that.  yesterday i brought up my plan to compete this weekend, becasue i know he keeps a pretty close tab on the local competitions, competitors and the vibe at the different tournaments.  i want an idea of who i might be up against.  other moms?  teens on their way up? college girls? international competitors? i know all of the above are possibilities.... but who is this tournament likely to draw.

to put it mildly he thought it was a bad idea.  dosen't feel i am fit enough.  says that our tournament is the biggest of the fall.  only big tournament for about 3 months.  says we will be drawing those that wanted to play internationaly this summer and didnt' quite make the cut, the girls from san jose state, the tougher teens... our own teen girl isn't competing.  didn't say why.  she was supportive... thougt there would be between 5-10 women in my pool... described some.  i may be on the small end of the weight group.  we'll see.  my weight loss may not be any advantage. 

anyway.  the advise was to wait for the smaller fresno tournament next weekend.  but i don't want to.  i figure the worst that will probably happen is i loose.  granted, worse would be getting hurt badly... but i really think i will be ok.  but i am WAY more nervous than i was. 

Do you guys typically get a lot of injuries at your tournaments?  As a general rule, I thought the higher the level the less likely an injury was.  Go and do it and have fun, the worst that happens is you get thrown.  If you wait a few months you might have to not do it if you're pregnant.

no.  i have never been really injured at a a tournament, and remember the injuries i have witnessed because they are fairly rare.  ok... bruises, twisted ankles, stubbed toe, pulled muscle, that happens.  broken bones, snapped ligaments, disjointed limbs.  NO not happening.  It could (and does sometimes) i guess, and i guess it depends on how badly the competitors want to win.  i think part of ralph's concern is his judo career ended at 34 with a separated muscle (lower quad i think) and he is convinced the same will happen to me.  his mantra is " you are mortal you know.  you aren't a teenager.  you won't heal like you once did"  I really think that if i am smart i will be ok.  if she has a good throw, i may not resist the way i once might have... i'll just take the fall.  i don't need to win this tournament.  i just need to see how well i can do.  i hope i am not being too optimistic.

I agree with you, if they have the throw or the technique I'll take the fall or tap out.  It's just not worth the risk of injury to resist.  I really have had very few injuries barring bruises or the occasional strain.

the tournament was anti climatic. :-/ oh well.

went with daddy in the morning.  had a good time socializing, helping with the snack bar.  had a bit of nervous energy, so i started warming up slowly early.  muscles, joints all felt good.  hubbie got there with the girls, a co worker came with his wife and kids... around 2 i got called to the mat.  there were 2 other girls in my pool.  one from a local college, one from a college a bit further out.  (i weighed in at 134)

I think what happened… the other girl was pretty defensive and hunched over.  I tried a couple throws.   The 3rd ? throw I tried got her of balance, but wasn’t as clean as it should have been, so she was able to twist her weight in the air, and instead of landing on her side or back, we both landed on my shoulder.  I was underneath her, but there was no score because I had instigated the throw.  I landed on the point of my shoulder with both arms tucked in, so when she pinned me, all I had to work with were my feet.  I tried bucking her off, but wasn’t successful ( when someone has a really good pin, it is almost impossible to break.)  I was trying to choke her from the bottom, but didn’t have enough movement from my arms because she was pinning them between our chests.  The fight was over after that.   I still think I could have gotten a cleaner throw on her if I had another chance.  

I need to compete more with people who will go full force against me if I am going to do this again.  Maybe I will stop in her club for practice sometime.  She trains at a local college.

hubbie took me to the emergency room, because there was a good chance my color bone was cracked.  The doc there had 3 sets of x-rays taken, because the type of fall and my symptoms pointed at a crack, but no crack was visible, so he thinks probably just a mussel possibly tendon thing.  I have my arm in a sling, which helps a lot, and Naperson, which doesn’t help much. If it doesn’t start getting better or gets worse, I am to make an appt with regular doc this week.  I can go back to judo as soon as it feels better and I have full range of motion again.