Training Snippets: What if I'm Sick?

Many martial artists seem to have an odd relationship with injury and illness.  Often it is viewed as a virtue to just "ganbatte" ("do your best"/"keep going") in the face of any obstacle, including severe injury or communicable sicknesses.

This leads to many attending training when they should ideally be resting at home or seeking medical care for their injury/illness.

Monty Python "It's only a flesh wound!"

The policy for how to handle illness at Sanchin Aikido is very straight-forward: if you're sick and/or suspect you could be contagious then you should not attend class until you are no longer sick or contagious.  It would be unfair to the other people attending class to put them at risk of catching the same illness and it will not help you with your recovery.

If you are injured you should seek medical advice before continuing to train.  You should make the instructor(s) aware and you should be proactive in working with them and your training partners to make adjustments to accommodate and avoid aggravating the injury.

Injuries that prevent training should be respected and you should take the time to rest and rehabilitate before attempting to return to active practice.  You are always welcome to attend and watch classes while resting from an injury.

Martial arts are for helping to build yourself and others up, not to roll the dice against unnecessary risks or prove how tough you are.  Aikido can be a life-long study if you take the time to look after yourself and your training partners.

Hope to see you at training soon (assuming you're well!) and thanks for taking the time to read this post.

- Graeme

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