Redding Shotokan Karate

Special Training West starts today, in San Jose, sans me. The day after Christmas, I was running on the treadmill, a strong Special Training performance in mind, when I felt a slight ... tweak ... in my left hip joint, perhaps somewhere near the psoas muscle. Thinking I'd merely overworked something, I slowed down, decreased the incline, and finished the run.

The next day I had sciatica down my left leg, and by the weekend could hardly lift my left foot off the ground.

My chiropractor said I was symptomatic of an SI joint problem, and has been working wonders. I'm almost back - but even standing at the bathroom counter, shaving, I can feel the left hip complaining. There's no way I'd be ready for Special Training. Grrrr. I guess I need to learn to run like a 47-year-old, not like a 30-year-old. But I protest. Oh well.

So, I will live the next three days vicariously through my imagination. Tomorrow morning we'll make sure to "help" Hiroko and the Chico dojo guys with our ki. Best wishes for a strong Special Training!