There’s an old throw in aikido, which in daito-ryu-aikijutsu was called gyaku-hijinage, and in modern aikido is known variously as udekimenage, jujinage, or simply a kokyunage variation (what isn’t?), which is often used during randori in response to yokomen or tsuki strikes. Nage moves in close to the side and slightly behind, a cross-hand grab on uke’s wrist, and using the inside arm palm-up, lifts uke’s elbow into an arm-bar, and then moves forward while turning palm down. If the attack was fast and committed, this can be both extremely effective and extremely dangerous, since the entire combination of uke’s weight and momentum are focused on the locked elbow, and requires good ukemi to avoid injury. Especially if the initial direction of nage’s throw is upward rather than forward.

We were demonstrating this technique one afternoon in class and I was attacking seriously and getting thrown marvelously. I was getting the kind of “air” that feels like I could almost land on my feet again after long seconds of being ariborn upside down. As usual, after a couple of good throws, the teacher slowed the movement down to better demonstrate the details, then finished with a couple of hard and fast versions. On the last throw there was a very loud pop like the sound of bungie-cords snapping, and a quick pain in my elbow. At first the whole dojo expressed alarm, but then went back to practicing while I sat on the side of the mat for a few minutes flexing and moving my arm. Apart from some tenderness I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so I rejoined the class. I found that my strength was dimished in my right arm, and techniques on that side were painful, so I completed the class left-handed. In the dressing room moving my arm back and forth, in and out, I still couldn’t determine what had happened. Apart from weakness and some slight joint soreness, there was very little pain, and most of my movement intact.

Later at home while looking in the mirror I noticed that the bicep of my right arm was round and high, and felt flabby to the touch. After looking online, it became obvious that it was a rupture of the distal bicep tendon where it attaches to the forearm bone. Get it fixed within 10 days or it becomes a permanent disability. Kind of thing, like a toothache, that always happens on a weekend.

After a few false starts on Monday while my regular doctor was away, she finally returned on Tuesday and got me an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon that very aftertnoon (that’s why she’s my doctor). The following afternoon I was waking up in post-op, groggy from anesthesia and vicodin, my arm in a cast. For the next few days I was pretty helpless as the one-armed man whiner, and then slowly found that I could, in fact, lift my toothbrush and razor but couldn’t get them within spitting distance of my face. Performing ablutions left handed reminded me that new brain cells are stimulated by changes in routine, and gave me an appreciation for styptic pencils and baby-wipes. Even those silly dental-floss toothpick things are kind of cool afterall.

The surgery procedure is interesting: a 2″ incision is made on the inside of the arm starting at the elbow crease and running toward the thumb. Reaching up inside upper arm the distal bicep tendon is hooked and stretched down so it can be attached with a small pin through a hole that’s been drilled in the ulna. The arm is fixed in a splint at 90 degrees to allow the attachment to graft, after which the arm needs considerable exercise and stretching to regain any normal degree of movement. Interesting point is that without surgery the bicep would reattach somewhere higher on the arm by itself and result in a 15% decrease in arm bending strength and a 30% decrease in twisting strength. Also, it would look silly (popeye in reverse).

Now it’s been two and a half months and I’m exercising with dumbbells once or twice a day, climbing the walls for lack of an aikido fix. It feels like I could get back on the mat pretty soon although the surgeon said that it would only be 85% healed in six months(!). I’m afraid that a recurrence of the injury would be curtains although I’m hoping I can develop enough strength and flexibility in my arms to prevent it. One of the first things I want to work on is fine-tuning my ukemi from arm-bar techniques. Staying aware, staying relaxed, staying flexible. Oh yeah, and stretching exercises. Gotta remember those…