Injured Again

OK, I know I've been trying to watch the language on the blog of late, but...

FUCK.

Went to class last night because I wanted to get a few minutes to brush up on my forms and practice a few kicks that I'm a bit uncertain of before my test tonight. 15 minutes into class, after stretching and whatnot, we were doing some plyometric drills -- something I'm really good at, mind you -- that involved doing front and back lunges. Basically, you get in a sort of sideways stance, then lift your front leg a bit and use your back leg to launch yourself forward, landing on both feet at the end of the motion. Then you reverse your stance and repeat in the opposite direction, repeating as quickly as possible for 15 seconds or so.

Well, after a couple of sets of these, my knee started to bother me so I kind of adjusted the way my leg was facing in mid jump, resulting in my landing -- unexpectedly -- with my foot facing sideways instead of forward. Since I didn't really anticipate this, I didn't brace my leg properly, so when I landed my ankle rolled sideways and under nicely, with a good amount of my weight pushing behind it.

Ow. Next thing I know, I'm feeling a nice red blossom of pain and I'm rolling over onto my ass and off of my feet, ankle throbbing like mad.

So, that was it for me last night. Spent the rest of the class with my ankle packed in ice, glowering and feeling really, really angry with myself. It doesn't seem to be broken, or even too badly sprained/strained. But it is definitely not in great shape, especially considering that I'm testing later today. It's achey and feels pretty weak, and my range of motion is pretty well shot right now -- lots of pain when I flex too much.

But there's no pain when I'm standing on it, or when I get into my stances, so I'll be going forward with my test later. Master Nunan has assured me that if it's weak we'll work around it for the test, which is good of him. This being the makeup exam, there won't be another "official" test for at least a few months, so if I don't advance tonight it would be months before I got another shot. I've been icing and elevating my ankle since the injury, and have also picked up a brace for use the rest of the day and while testing, so hopefully I'll have recovered enough to be able to perform all of my techniques.

It's nervewracking though, if only because of the sheer volume of techniques I need to demonstrate for this test. The hand techniques shouldn't present much of a problem anyhow, and there's lots of them -- 14 different blocks and attacks. Only 11 foot techniques, and only 3 or 4 that have spins or hops incorporated into the technique which will really put a lot of pressure on my ankle, so hopefully, if I'm careful and stay focused, I will be able to get through them all. After that, the forms (3 of them), wrist grabs (2), and one steps (4) should all be fairly doable without much risk. And I think I should be able to do the board break (one board, hop side kick) as long as I prepare properly and am careful.

Sparring, however, may be an issue. I'm supposed to do a 2-minute round as part of the test. The problem with sparring while injured, though, is that I can't really control the situation effectively to ensure that I don't accidentally wind up putting too much stress on my ankle. Things happen too fast, lots of action/reaction going on. I guess I could just try to stand my ground, not move around too much and go defensive just to meet the requirement, but... I dunno. Of everything I'm being tested on, sparring feels the most risky, and it's the one thing I'm sincerely hoping Master Nunan will just give me a pass on. I spar frequently as it is, and will be happy to make it up at a future date, so...

Sigh. We'll see, I suppose. I really don't want special treatment on this test. I don't want to get my next gup level based on previous performance. I just want to do my best and do what's expected, according tot he terms of the exam. To earn this next level in the regular manner.

Arrgh.

Mood: Grouchy
Now Playing: Tan Dun, "Hero"