Why we need kotekitae

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Bill Glasheen
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Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
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Why we need kotekitae

Post by Bill Glasheen »

I may have difficulty keeping videos up on something like this. They're often taken down as quickly as they're posted. I chose one... actually two imbedded in an article which hopefully will last.
  • The first video shows Franklin Morales of the Red Sox throwing a fastball (~93 mph) inside to Will Rhymes of the Tampa Bay Rays. It hits him square on the thickest part of the ulna - the bigger bone in the forearm. For a Uechika, this is a hit that some of us get on a semi regular basis. For someone who isn't taking a pounding on a regular basis with cross blocks on shin bones, it can be a big deal. You can actually hear the pitch hit the forearm.
    ...
  • After being examined by the trainer, Rhymes heads to first. No biggie... at first. Then he gets "vasovagal" and tells his first base coach he needs to step out. A delayed KO ensues (a.k.a. vasovagal syncope).
    ...
  • In a subsequent video on the site you see Rhymes being interviewed later. He describes what he felt. He also shows you the hematoma on his forearm.
Will Rhymes faints after getting hit in arm with pitch, but he’s OK

- Bill
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Bill Glasheen
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Re: Why we need kotekitae

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Glenn
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Re: Why we need kotekitae

Post by Glenn »

I am a firm believer in the benefits of proper kotekitae, but is anything we do in training comparable to getting hit by a 93 mph baseball?

I have experienced vasovagal syncope a couple times myself, every time I donate blood for example, and once when I was a teen and stood up too quickly...always fun to come to and not really remember passing out.

Some good quotes from the first article:
It's funny, now, that when trainers asked Rhymes to tell them his name, he said, "I'm Batman."
I got to first and started getting real dizzy, nauseous. That's when I started walking off. And then, apparently, I didn't get real far.
In our society, perhaps in any society, it's supposed to be embarrassing when men faint. No crying, no fainting. Not allowed. Perhaps the example Rhymes is setting will allow oppressed male fainters across the world to rise up (with some assistance from their first base coach) and say, "Yes, I fainted. What about it?"
Glenn
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Bill Glasheen
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Re: Why we need kotekitae

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Glenn wrote: I am a firm believer in the benefits of proper kotekitae, but is anything we do in training comparable to getting hit by a 93 mph baseball?
I've seen literally about a hundred such bruises on my students through the years. Back at UVa we bought our own freezer in Memorial Gym where we would fill stacks of paper cups with water and freeze them for instant ice application after a hard class. The women in particular were grateful for this bruise-reducing measure.

Having been in the batter's box and having done body conditioning for years, my answer is that the training helps. It is one thing to be in great shape for physical activity. It is another story altogether to be in great shape for contact. Apples and oranges; they're both fruit but they're different. Football players spend all spring and summer on the weights. But they aren't ready to play until they get their contact work in. Until kata queens faced boxers, they never understood how important it was to take a hit.

Yes, it might leave a bruise. No, the average Uechika wouldn't experience vasovagal syncope from this. If anything, I find myself a little concerned that things don't hurt as much today as they should. I find myself banging elbows into the corner of cabinets or shins on the edge of a bed frame and taking chunks of skin out. My reaction is more like "That's going to leave a mark!" I'm not numb to it, but the perception is definitely altered.

The closest thing I ever came to vasovagal syncope from pain came in my Goju/aikido class. My instructor taught in his house in a room which was a shag carpet on a concrete floor. Many students had that familiar lump on their acromioclavicular joint which happens when you take a bad shoulder fall on a hard surface. He wanted to demonstrate this "Matrix" move in a Goju bunkai which is where you grab a side kick and spin the person around by the leg. If you've seen The Matrix, you know what I mean.

See I Know Kung Fu - 1:09-1:13

I had only done it once (along with the rest of class) when our teacher's dad came in the next weekend. He so wanted to demonstrate this move to his dad. He was looking for a volunteer and everyone else stepped back. I did the side kick, got ready to throw myself into the spin (to avoid the knee wrench) and accidentally went the wrong way. A mid-air course correction resulted in me falling square on my shoulder. I pretended it didn't hurt, and it really wasn't that bad. At first... Two minutes later I went into the next room and puked.

Syncope? No. But that was a shoulder separation. They do tend to wake up your autonomic nervous system. Sympathetic blocks parasympathetic. Gastrointestinal tract doesn't want to digest any more. Bye bye breakfast!

- Bill
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