ACL reconstruction- Day of Surgery

Surgery day- yaaay! Time for a new ACL.

After deciding I didn't like my birth one, I detached it in August last year after failing to sprawl properly on a double leg takedown (sidenote; wrestling hates me).

So I'm up and at the hospital for stupid o'clock. I was first on the list for surgery (wahoo!) which meant they chucked a gown at me, took a pee sample, and also gave me some of their own underwear to wear. Imagine, if you will, a shower cap with 2 holes in. And I'd worn my cookie monster pants especially. Dammit.

Some chick comes in and asks what leg I'm having done and draws "ACL and an arrow" on my left shin.

Pretty sure my ACL is a little higher up than that..

They ask all the usual questions, confirmed I was who they thought I was (about 8 times) and then I was off down to be cut open.

This was my first time receiving anaesaestehthia. I don't remember going to sleep. The nurses were all super friendly and were chatting away when I was told they were going to put me under.


I vaguely remember coming round and having the foggiest conversation with the surgeon. I asking him if I had any microfractures (something he said was unlikely, but the rehab to it involved being hooked up to some knee bending machine for 2 hours, 3 times a day for 6 WEEKS). I don't remember him answering me, but when I finally came round properly, the nurse who was there during this foggy conversation that no I didn't have any micro-fractures which was apparently followed by me fist punching the air and saying "yeaaaaahhhh" (awkward).

Kinda, not really come round yet

I then got wheeled to a recovery room where I was fed bourbons and custard cremes, how very British. Within half an hour or so I was wheeled off for an X- ray and then brought back again.

The Physio came round a while later and gave me some crutches and a knee brace that I have to wear for 6 weeks when moving around. She gave me an extensive list of exercises to do as well as information on how often I should be doing them.

*Note* the sexy compression sock and my loafers. Total trend setter.

I got a couple of packs of pills thrown at me and Mummy Shebeast was called to come and collect me. Putting my clothes back on was, interesting.

Once home I elevated and iced my knee. The dressing and wraps are pretty thick (they can come off after 48hours) so I'm not entirely sure much of the coldness is getting through. Regardless, I've set alarms on my phone to remind myself to ice it for 20mins every 2/3 hours, religiously.

Think that pretty much sums up my surgery day. Played a bit of Mortal Kombat when I got home. Dozed a bit. Ate some dinner as my appetite increased later in the day.

Day 1 to follow..

End.

2013 Training and competition footage

Anybody else do this?

I made a video of some of my training footage at white belt (much cringe). I look at it now and think, "Good god, I was AWFUL". For some reason, I decided I'd make one at blue belt too.

Now I'm at purple, I intend on making another when I reach brown, and black, so I'll end up with 5 videos showing how my jiu jitsu has developed over the years.

I guess this is a personal thing. For my own judgement. But I freakin' love making movies at the moment, so I'll share them along with normal training videos I make.

So yeah. Here's my bluebelt highlight footage. Enjoooiii.

New goodies

2014 is going to be an exciting year. Here's what to keep your eyes peeled for over the next few months from SCRAMBLE and PONY CLUB GRAPPLING GEAR.

First up, Scramble:

Galactica Shorts- £44.99

It's been a while since scramble have made any knee length MMA shorts. Their new Galactica shorts boasting a new fit, cut and design. As much as I love the "crossed swords" shorts, I'm not a fan of their tight elasticated waistband (maybe I will be when I'm super ripped..) so this fitted waistband is very much welcomed by me. And they are like, space shorts. Science nerd.

Made in Japan Kimono - £TBC

Mr Scramble

With Scramble having a massive influence from Japan, this gi will be ideal for those who don't like a flashy in-your-face gi. Plain, and simple, the preview pictures look stunning. No news on price yet, but with them being made to Scrambles high expectations in Japan, you'll be sure to get what you pay for.

The Rebel- £TBC

This is my kinda gi. Not in the least bit IBJJF comp legal with its separate coloured grey jacket and navy trousers, navy lapel with luminous yellow embroidery, there isn't another gi out there like this at the moment. This will be the 4th style of gi from scramble, making a 2:2 ratio on IBJJF legal:illegal. Scramble. Real rebels.

Ok, pony lovers.. PONY CLUB GRAPPLING GEAR is back.

The Nicky- £TBC

These dino spats have been building up a lot of love online since sneak peak photos were posted in the middle of last year. Finally, they're going to be available to purchase very very VERRRRY soon. Keep your eyes peeled on the Pony Club Grappling Gear facebook page for specifics.

They will also be getting a restock of the following spats: The Bader, The Yang, and The Jessicas..

The Yang

So much excitement. Keep up to date with all the new gear coming from the two most innovative BJJ brands out there (maybe slightly definitely a bit biased).

Scramble: www.scramblestuff.com

                www.facebook.com/scramblers

Pony Club Grappling Gear:

                www.ponyclubgrapplinggear.com

                www.facebook.com/ponyclubgrapplinggear

New beltch

... That is all.

Knee update

To recap: 

July: my knee locked out and popped when I sprawled on a takedown. 

August: I was a sulking moaning crippled Shebeast.

September: 80% better. I could roll fairly well. Just couldn't kneel at all or squat very well. 

October: My knee locked out and caused paaaaaain, again. Aside from being a little sore the next day, there wasn't any noticeable regression in recovery. 

November: 90% better. I could squat (body weight with an additional 20kg or so) without any pain or feeling of giving way. Could kneel fully, but it was uncomfortable, but most of my weight shifted to my right (good) side. The knee felt unstable every couple of days. I would wobble when running around my classroom, and hear regular pops when changing gear whilst driving. No real pain though. And I never felt like my leg was literally hanging off or anything..

4th Dec: MRI Scan. Went like this; "WHAOO WHAOO.. NNEEEAAWWW NNEEEAAAEWWWW NEEEAAAAAWWW... BBBBZZZZZ BBBBBZZZZZZ BBZZZZZZ". It was awfully annoying. 

24th December: MRI results. A fully ruptured ACL. There's nothing remaining. AT ALL. So I've trained and competed without a ligament for 6 months. Swell. 

The specialist has strongly recommended surgery. He's also said it will be 9 months before any contact sports. I read that as "9 months before any hard rolling". I understand they'll be taking tissue from my hamstring and using that to create a new ACL. I've already received some fantastic advice from friends who train reiterating the importance of prehab, rest and rehab. It seems like that will be the deciding factor in the length of time off training.

The waiting list for the surgery is roughly 4 months. In the meantime, I'll he training my ass off. I've nothing to lose (quite literally!). I will try to compete as much as possible and improve my jiu jitsu. 

Its going to be a real test of my dedication and discipline (BJJ has helped me lose weight and focus on pursuing a healthy lifestyle). I think I might be a bit lost without jiu jitsu! 

I'll have to turn my attention to rehab. And pull ups. Lots of pull ups. 

Gah. Merry bloody Christmas! 

Plymouth Open NOGI Highlight Photos

Another well run competition ran by Tom Barlow and the GB Plymouth boys. Here are a couple of my favourite shots of the day

The rest of the pictures can be found on

 The Plymouth Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Open

 Facebook page.

Faixa Roxa

On the 17th November 2013 I was promoted to purple belt by my instructor, Darren Yeoman.

It was a massive shock, as I've had a re-occurring knee injury that has plagued me for the past 6 months. I've kept training and I'm honoured to have received it this year. 

When I started Jiu Jitsu just over 4 years ago, I remember thinking that purple belt was the belt of ninjas. Got to work harder than ever now to maintain the high standard of a purple belt in BJJ.

Massive congrats to the following guys from Fightworx who also got promoted recently:

(LEFT TO RIGHT; Leon- Blue belt, me- Purple belt, Darren (instructor), Pablo- black belt, Wilbur- Purple belt)

A special thanks to Scramble for their ongoing support for the past 3 years. I appreciate everything you guys do for me, and I hope to represent as a scrambler for many years to come! Another thanks to Pony Club Grappling Gear for their support also :)

Final thanks goes to all the training partners I've had the pleasure of training with (at Fightworx, GB Plymouth, Fightsports Miami and Mill Hill BJJ).

BJJ has done so much for me, and I feel like I have a massive Jiu Jitsu family to thank for that. 

I'll keep training till I die!

Osss.