Planning Your Post-Injury Return to Martial Arts

This article serves as a follow-up to my re-awakening post, “The Weirdness and Joy of Returning to Training After an Injury.”

When I was a child, my dad used to make “first day of school” signs for my younger brother and me. We’d hold up our signs while grinning for the camera and head into the new school year full of both trepidation and hope.

In that spirit, I made a sign in January 2022 reading “Melanie’s First Day Back at Taekwondo” and grinned for the camera. Then, full of trepidation and hope, I went to my first taekwondo lesson after a year-and-a-half hiatus. I was still in active recovery from my 2020 ACL tear and two resulting surgeries, but my surgeon felt my body was ready for a kick start (no pun intended) and enthusiastically urged me to get back into taekwondo.

Six months later, my surgeon and I shook hands and essentially ended our long-term relationship. I’d been taking taekwondo lessons twice a week, added in strength training and yoga, and continued deep tissue massage treatment from a chiropractor. My surgeon was so pleased with my progress he felt I didn’t need another scar tissue debridement surgery and could continue my journey to full recovery unabated.

If you’ve recovering from a long illness, injury, or other health condition, you’re probably eager to return to your martial art. Here are some tips for making your return safe, fun, and productive.

Make a Plan

First and foremost – consult with your healthcare provider(s) before even thinking about returning to your sport.

Now that I’ve gotten the disclaimer out of the way…Discuss your desire to return with both your health care provider(s) and your martial arts teacher or coach. Your plan should include any continued healthcare treatment, what you will do at your martial arts training facility, and what you can do at home on your own. This plan may include planned medical check-ups, fitness milestones (i.e., balancing on one leg, moving backwards, jumping, etc.), and martial arts goals that you and your instructor set.

Go Slower Than You Think You Should (At First)

Martial artists tend to have high expectations for themselves, but rushing too quickly back into a sport puts you at risk for re-injury.

I highly recommend taking private lessons if they are within your timeframe, instructor availability, and budget. If you’ve been out of your sport for several months or years, you need time to discover what feels comfortable, what feels safe, and where you may need to be extra careful. Six months in, my coach and I are now discussing how to slowly re-integrate me into classes with other students. Before that, we spent many of our first lessons figuring out where I was physically and tailoring the training to my needs. If you’re not able to do private lessons, tell your instructor you need the freedom to stop, modify movement, or otherwise work at your own pace in a training class.

Approach Your Progress with Curiosity

It’s easy to become frustrated when you are re-entering your martial arts training. Your brain may still remember all the moves and techniques, but your post-injury body might have a harder time keeping up. Treat your body the way a mechanic would treat a car—be curious, patient, and innovative with how you can strengthen and re-train the injured body part.

Learn Where You Can Safely Challenge Yourself

Everyone, including yourself, will urge you to “take it easy.” For the most part, that’s helpful advice, but you’ve probably also developed some coping habits or workarounds that will harm your technique in the long run. Knee injuries like mine are scary, and I have developed both mental and physical blocks to protect myself. I’ve also just gotten a little lazy from lack of training. Using my aforementioned “curiosity,” it’s been interesting for my coach and I to discover what those blocks are. We didn’t rush into knee-heavy things like pivoting, balancing, and jumping, so over time I’ve been able to ease my way into those more challenging activities.

Find Complementary Exercises

Depending on your injury, you can find movement that will enhance strength, flexibility, and agility. Strength training, yoga, and swimming have helped me keep up my knee recovery and fitness progress outside the dojang. You can consult with your healthcare providers on helpful exercises for your specific injury.

The bonus of returning to your martial art is the boost to your mental health. Returning to taekwondo feels like fitting a missing puzzle piece into my heart. With diligence, care, and planning, you can make your way back to doing what you love. Happy training!

• About
• Latest Posts

Melanie Gibson

Melanie Gibson was raised in Snyder, Texas, where she began taekwondo training at age ten. She is the author of the book "Kicking and Screaming: a Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts." Melanie is a second degree taekwondo black belt and is the creator of the martial arts blog Little Black Belt (http://littleblackbelt.com).

Melanie has worked in the healthcare industry since 2004 and lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Latest posts by Melanie Gibson (see all)

• Spotlight on Men’s Mental Health - July 2, 2023
• Building Resilience When You’re Feeling Stressed - March 29, 2023
• Seeking Authenticity? Look to Martial Arts - February 9, 2023