i had to quit muay thai
it is insane how much worse my arthiritis got. now days, if i sit for a bit and then get up the first step i take is really painful and my hips are constantly cracking. after throwing out my back it took so much longer to heal because it just aggrivated my hip.... i finally had to accept that i cannot do it
when i went to hand in everything to make it offical i grabbed a magazine (calgary has a free fitness magazine that they give out at a lot of locations) they had an article that was the final clincher that told me what i was doing was right..... the article was about whether people should give up running (the main thing MT uses for conditioning) if they have osteoarthritis and the message was clear: if you want to do it go for it, but it is garenteed that your OA will get worse. even with proper technique and building muscles you will still cause damage (just a little slower).
following along with the idea that the magazine was an omen..... their was also a article on Simon Whitfield (a triathlete i really look up to, got an amazing silver in Beijing).... he was the one that inspired me and made me believe that i could be a fighter...... and i don't think i can give up on that goal yet.
i figure, if i can do my conditioning on my own and go to a school to learn technique i can make it work. i can swin and do other low-impact exercises to develop my cardio..... i just got to find a school where i could eliminate all high-impact training from my training.
i am thinking i will have to go the MMA route. i have 9 year training in the striking arts, if i get some years of BJJ under my belt i might be able to give it a shot. BJJ (correct me if i am wrong) is almost exclusively non-impact conditioning needed to be an effective grappler. it will still be hard to find some where i can completely eliminate running from training, but i think finding a BJJ instructor will be easier than finding a MT instructor that is cool with that.
all i want to is to not need a cane/walker/hip replacement before i am 50 (which might be asking too much)..... i would never had reached that goal sticking at my old school