Weird weird. o_o;

[Kirsty]

Towards the end of kendo on Monday, I felt really dizzy for some reason. I felt like I was going to pass out. My back also started hurting. This has never happened to me before at kendo. I don't remember drinking any water that day. Maybe one glass. o_o; I might have just been dehydrated. I've gone a long time without drinking anything though. Yeah, thats a stupid thing to do, but I forget sometimes. Has this happened to anyone else at kendo? Was I just dehydrated? Maybe my men was on too tight. I'm not sure. :ermm:

[StormTyrant]

what/how much did you eat and how soon before kendo? and yea, water can cause the dizzy feeling. From my experience not eating enough can have the same effect, or eating spicy food.

[Pan-Chan]

This has happened to me a few times before. The reasons were that indeed I hadn't had enough water before practice, and I had been worked physically all day prior to practice.

The other time it happened it was because my men was on too tight. When I felt the back of my head it was numb, and I was seeing 'dots'; that made it easy to tell why I was feeling light headed. But if you weren't getting a headache, or men strikes weren't bothering you, it was probably just dehydration. I'm no expert though, so I can only give my opinion really.

Just remember to drink plenty of water and to bring a water bottle to practice; make sure you get lots of rest, too.

Have fun at your next practice! :D

[Kirsty]

I had Cereal for breakfast, Sandwich for lunch, ramen for dinner. I ate about 2 hours before kendo. ^^; Last year I know I didn't eat very much and passed out because of that, so now I make sure I eat enough. So, I'm not sure if it was because of what I ate. Maybe it was because of the ramen which is very salty. I dunno. ^^;

[Kirsty]

This has happened to me a few times before. The reasons were that indeed I hadn't had enough water before practice, and I had been worked physically all day prior to practice.

The other time it happened it was because my men was on too tight. When I felt the back of my head it was numb, and I was seeing 'dots'; that made it easy to tell why I was feeling light headed. But if you weren't getting a headache, or men strikes weren't bothering you, it was probably just dehydration. I'm no expert though, so I can only give my opinion really.

Just remember to drink plenty of water and to bring a water bottle to practice; make sure you get lots of rest, too.

Have fun at your next practice! :D

Thank you! ^^; My head did hurt a little bit. I guess it was both the men being too tight and dehydration. I untied my men a little, but I still felt light headed. After kendo I drank lots of water. I'll be more careful next time so I won't become dehydrated. ^^;

[rckenshi]

Kirsty,

What you described could have been caused by any number of things. Dehydration is certainly a possibility. It has been pretty warm lately, and we can easily become slightly dehydrated without realizing it (especially if we eat salty foods) - but remember, thirst is a poor indicator of dehydration. You need to drink before you get thirsty. Try bringing a cup with a straw built in; that way you can drink without taking off your men.

However, in the future if you do feel dizzy, please do not hesitate to excuse yourself (regardless of whether we're doing warm-ups, kihon practice, jikeiko, or shiai-keiko), and take off your men. Put your head between your knees, or lie down with your feet elevated (get the blood flowing to your brain again). Sensei is very sensitive about people getting injured, or pushing themselves too far before they're ready. Of course, you must push yourself to progress, but Sensei will be the first one to tell you to put your health first, and not risk long-term, or permanent damage.

Hang in there. Keep up the good work.

rckenshi

P.S. Good luck at the Shinsa next week.

[stuartwilson]

One sign of dehydration is dry lips. If you feel like you could use some chap-stick, you need some water right away.

[Kirsty]

Kirsty,

What you described could have been caused by any number of things. Dehydration is certainly a possibility. It has been pretty warm lately, and we can easily become slightly dehydrated without realizing it (especially if we eat salty foods) - but remember, thirst is a poor indicator of dehydration. You need to drink before you get thirsty. Try bringing a cup with a straw built in; that way you can drink without taking off your men.

However, in the future if you do feel dizzy, please do not hesitate to excuse yourself (regardless of whether we're doing warm-ups, kihon practice, jikeiko, or shiai-keiko), and take off your men. Put your head between your knees, or lie down with your feet elevated (get the blood flowing to your brain again). Sensei is very sensitive about people getting injured, or pushing themselves too far before they're ready. Of course, you must push yourself to progress, but Sensei will be the first one to tell you to put your health first, and not risk long-term, or permanent damage.

Hang in there. Keep up the good work.

rckenshi

P.S. Good luck at the Shinsa next week.

Thank you ^_^
I was really about to go sit down and take my men off. I didn't want to tell anybody I was feeling that way for some reason though. Next time that happens (I hope it doesn't happen again o_o; ) I'll make sure to sit down or something. I won't push myself to hard. ^^; I definately don't want to get too sick and have to quit kendo again, so I won't let that happen. =)
I will push myself to get better at kendo though. :)


P.S. Good luck at the Shinsa next week.
I'll do my best! ^_^

[Kirsty]

One sign of dehydration is dry lips. If you feel like you could use some chap-stick, you need some water right away.

Yeah. I get dry lips a lot. ^^;

[taganahan]

this is happened to me also. i didn't drink enough water before practice and it resulted to dizziness. i asked my sensei for a time out cause i can't handle it any longer. after a few minutes of rest, i practiced again and a little while later, my leg cramped. i learned my lesson after this. actually, this is the second time that this happened to me.

~taganahan

[Wes Nazo]

I'm going on a long shot, but is it possible you're not getting enough sodium? If so, that explains the back pain and the dizzyness. High perspiration can cause this.

Like the others have suggested, drink plenty of water. Even if you are not thirsty. Thirst is not a totally reliable sign of dehydration.

Hate to say this, but sometimes water alone doesn't cut it. You lose all sorts of nutrients with perspiration. My nutrition professor says Gatorade is actually pretty effective.

Hope that helps. It could be any number of things.

[galactik moose]

The back pain thats because of your men......the passing out thing well that's because Cereal for breakfast, Sandwich for lunch and ramen for dinner is toddler food. You need to eat more than that to substain your energie level.....

[HighLandrons]

I find that if I drink water during the day and take Gatorade to practice I'm usually in good shape. Though (hate to admit it) I once almost passed out during practice because I was training with sensei and was concentrating so hard on defense that I forgot to breathe! Now I make it a point to Kiai loudly from time to time. It "resets" things and clears out the "bad stuff". Hope you feel better! :cool:

[Kirsty]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I feel better now that I know this has happened to other people. ^^; I wish it didn't have to happen to anyone though.

[Kirsty]

The back pain thats because of your men......the passing out thing well that's because Cereal for breakfast, Sandwich for lunch and ramen for dinner is toddler food. You need to eat more than that to substain your energie level.....

That could be it too. I've passed out from not eating enough before (not at kendo)... o_o;
I ate a lot more on Monday then I was eating before though. I'm pretty sure I felt that way at kendo because I was dehydrated.