Update

Hey!

I had my ACL reconstruction surgery last Friday afternoon. The surgical team was phenomenal, and except for the part where they cut into my flesh, poked around a major joint, and drilled holes in my bones to attach a bit of some cadaver's tendon, I really couldn't have asked for a better experience.

I've been recovering very nicely. I'm able to bend my knee on my own to about 90 degrees, I can put weight on my leg, and I have no serious pain. In fact, the worst part seems to be the itching I have from keeping my stitches covered.

I was even able to hobble a couple of blocks up to a Shorin Ryu karate dojo in my neighborhood and watch classes yesterday. They were working on kihon, and watching the punches, kicking, stances, and walking was very interesting. I've been working on my martial arts notes, and correalating several interesting sources on some of the most basic principles of fighting. The karate school demonstrated many of the essential principles very clearly in their movements, and I was also able to watch several different levels of practitioners to see the different qualities in their movements.

I'm hobbling around on crutches, although I think I'll be able to graduate to a cane after my post-op follow-up next week. I spent some time making a Jo last week: a 4-foot long stick. I expect to use it in the dojo when I get back onto the mat. As soon as I feel up to avoiding rolling students, I'm going to get back into my own dojo to teach. I wanted a stick for extra support, and also to make me highly visible to the students so they it's easier for them to avoid bumping into me. A hanbo would work, but an extra foot of length will be somewhat easier for me to handle. Plus, I haven't really worked with a Jo...

Here are some YouTube videos of different styles of stick and staff work. As always, I make no guarantees about the quality...