Black Belt, Black Eye

We have a saying the martial arts: You have more to fear in class from a junior belt than you ever will from a black belt. I first heard this as a white belt in HKD & I have never forgotten how true it is.

Well, apparently, I needed a huge dose of reality in the form of a clumsy, 250 lb, police officer yellow belt. Moreover, someone decided my smile (33 years, ZERO cavities!) was a bit too pretty.

This yellow belt was being way too intense the whole night (all 15 minutes of it, anyway) & I know I should have called him on it. He nearly injured a couple others & torqued on my wrist quite a bit. I figured no harm since it's flexible after four years of this treatment. Needless to say, I paid the price for my complacency: Black belts are expected to lead, not just observe & think to themselves.

Anyway, this lumbering junior belt did a breakaway from a single wrist grab that involves "pushing" your elbow into the solar plexus & driving it straight upwards into the person's chin...BUT, that's not where he got me. He didn't even drive into my solar plexus. No hit, no problem.

The problem started when he was coming down. I actually stepped back for this part knowing there's a risk you can get popped in the face when the elbow drops. Well, Skippy apparently decided to over-compensate for my compensation & drove his elbow into the bottom edge of my eye socket. This particular motion drove my head downwards (no, really!) & slammed my mostly closed jaw shut. The resulting crack made me think I lost 1/2 my teeth in that shot!

I dropped to the ground in the interest of: 1) getting away from this guy; and 2) to appraise the extent of my injuries. No blood, eye still seeing 20/20, so far so good. That's when I felt a chunk of tooth in my mouth.

Now, for anyone who's never chipped a tooth by way of having a 250lb guy driving an elbow into your skull, let me tell you that chunk gives you a baaad feeling. Add to that I have basically perfect teeth & you'll understand why I was nervous.

I went to the restroom & got the piece of tooth out. Fortunately, not that big. It was a small, angled chip off my lower incisor (#25, I think). I went home & used some fluoride mouthwash on it & went to the dentist this morning. Apparently, it's fixable with "no problems" according to the dentist (BTW, Gentle Dental rules! They are so great!)

As for the rest, the elbow impact (just below my left eye) was iced immediately & that kept the swelling to a minimum. I've still got a bit of a shiner & it's tender but I was very lucky.

The lesson learned? First, I will ALWAYS use my mouthguard - even during warm-ups. The other guys call me paranoid but that's too close a call to look like a hockey player permanently. Second, if there's a student acting a bit too rough for his/her level I will tell the person about it & slow them down. Addendum: Unless it's a very attractive "she" & then we'll see where it goes. heh heh

Seriously, take a cue from Roses & learn from another person's mistake: If it's not looking quite right or seems out of place - it probably is. Do something about it when you see it, not when it's too late.