Last January, I hurt my knee. It never felt like a big injury. My initial reaction was to take it easy for a week or two before going back to my normal active life. But it never got better.
Month by month, my knee pain persisted. I did physical therapy with a trusted therapist, and it still never healed. I did a ton of rehab exercises found online. None of it worked.
Today, an unbelievable ten months after my injury, I'm proud and relieved to have attended my first bboy practice since April and did my first normal footwork since January. My knee felt great before the practice, feels good now after the practice, but was a little sore during the practice. I need to rest a little more before practicing again. But, I'm fully certain I will recover very soon from my terribly persistent knee pain.
I learned a lot from this experience, but here are my main two takeaways:
First, your problems are not unique. Chances are, many people have suffered your problems, and some of them found ways to fix them. Always seek out those who are more experienced. In my case, some writing by Paul Ingraham was the final solution from a truly experienced professional that I needed. If you're having persistent joint pain, especially in your knees, I strongly recommend his material. I wouldn't be almost recovered without his writing. I wouldn't even have begun recovering without his writing. And I thought I tried everything before I found Paul. If you're struggling for answers for your joint pain, I beg you explore Paul's material. Always, always find the people who already fixed the problems that you have.
Second, true strength is patience. It's cool to get pumped up and dominate a workout, but that's hardly a real display of strength. That's showing up and performing one moment at a time. Patience is a constant effort, with no breaks or off-days or rest times. You can't exert patience for an hour a day, 4 days a week, and still see results, like you might for a workout. My bboy friend Jean Laguerre taught me that patience is another difficult form of strength in itself. He was beyond correct. If you cannot master patience, then your impatience becomes the #1 reason you aren't improving.
I'm still not 100% ready to start breaking again, but I'm so, so, so close. I have windmill burns on my shoulders and a headspin bruise at the tip of my head. But there's still a sliver of pain. I can't wait until I can dance freely, as I did up to January. But, until I can hit the floor again, until my knee is truly 100% ready, I'll just have to be patient.
Thanks to Paul, Jean, and everybody else who supported me this year through my knee injury.
