Help Urgently Needed - Heat Exhaustion!!!

[neanderthal]

Help Urgently Needed - Heat Exhaustion!!!

ok the short story - i play kendo and im in japan and its 35c and very humid. usually summer is hard but no so bad that it makes me sick.

anyway yesterday i clearly suffered from heat exhaustion. very blurred mind, feeling sick, over heated, actually being sick etc etc all the key points.

but as i was reading up on it i saw that diabetes could play a part.

ive played for 7 years and never suffered.

i have the most important test of my life in 11 days ( 2 dan - lol ) and it will be extememly hot and i have to do a 3 day training boot camp.

my drs. is closed today - does anyone know anything about heat exhaustion and diabetes being related.

i drink a lot to be hydrated and its all icey and cool. i pull out of practice when i reach my limit. but then im having special tuition for the test and my mind in just mush.

its happend about 3 times now - yesterday being the worst.

please help as ive only 11 days - 7 if you included the boot camp.

your advice will be really appreciated!!!

[dillon]

I have my kendo sandan in 2 days, also in 35C Japan.

I'm not a medical expert so I can't comment on the heat exhaustion and diabetes issue but if I were you I'd chill out until I could see the doctor tomorrow. Getting injured or debilitated before a shinsa is the worst thing you can do.

I made sure that in the past two weeks I didn't do anything physically risky (mentally risky is another matter). I focused on kihon as what I've been advised is to show confident big kendo (doesn't mean big cut in my case but big everything else). No do cuts, no renzoku-waza and I kept my men to kote ratio at about 80/20 (it's amazing what you can see in the opponent if you're only determined to cut men instead of guessing which target you want to try next). I don't know what your shinsa panel is expecting but perhaps doing less (fewer attacks) but doing them bigger and more confidently (more confidence, bigger seme, bigger kiai, bigger step, straighter cut, bigger follow through, never diminishing the feeling) is perhaps worth considering and may help with exhaustion if you've been training like a maniac until now. Also you're unlikely to develop anything new between now and the shinsa so better to work on consolidating/making bigger what you can do and practice with the intent of getting used to the feeling of making everything big and confident.

Shinsa won't be like normal keiko in terms of duration so you only have to bear from the time you put on men through your two keiko. You will probably want to have a warm up first, e.g. a round of kirikaeshi, a little bit of uchikomi and a very short keiko. Only do enough that you feel that your body has gained its flexibility and responsiveness. After the warm up take off your men and try to stay cool until called up. Kata isn't usually so taxing that heat exhaustion is an issue. If you wind up feeling ill during shinsa do raise your arm and tell the shinpan/panel.

Did I mention chill out until you can see the doctor?

What is this boot camp btw?

[jjcruiser]

Boot camp? For Kendo? If it is even close to optional take a pass. A shinsa shouldn't be too bad. Just a few minutes. But from what you describe I'd be real concerned to do boot camp whether it's kendo or not.

[neanderthal]

thanks for both of your quick responses!!!

good luck for your san dan!!! - we will be answering the same paper test at least - lol

ive been told for the shiai part to just go for ai men and zanshin. i feel i need to throw in a few kote. but if the teachers say ai men and zanshin is enough i believe them.

boot camp = 3-4 day seminar beforehand. kata in the morning and keiko in the afternoon.

im solid on everything but want to do everything. but have been advised just to do kata. nice solid basics. also not as exhausting.

it may be rude but i may have to be a lerker. if i show on the first day i know my kata then they may feel its ok to lerk.

i really want an ice bucket to shove my head into.

but youre right by saying i should conserve now - i have been working hard - but i dont want to slow the momentum.

chill time i guess.

[rfoxmich]

Boot camp == Gasshuku?

[neanderthal]

no more of a seminar for 3-4 days. just in a sports hall with everyone going for ikyu and above. so more like 500 sweaty students creating more heat for 4 days.

[neanderthal]

Boot camp == Gasshuku?

gasshuku is where weve stayed overnight and had 2 days of practice. mid rainy season. hot but not cruel.

[Lloromannic]

Gasshuku just means "training camp", what you are describing sure sounds like it!

[annoraderenart@]

Diabetes can complicate anything. Please listen to your doctor.
I experienced heat exhaustion at a seminar. After one of the breaks, I could not figure out how to tie my men. Be sure to have plenty of drinks available. Pay attention to the temperature of the drinks. If the drink is too cold, mix it with a warmer one to get a cool drink. If you have heat exhaustion, you do not want to shock your system with too much cold - such as the bucket of ice.
Good luck at your test.

[neanderthal]

that sounds exactly like what i had. complete mind blur!!!

which coincidently is a symtom of low blood sugar too.

i just read in the news paper over 8000 people have been taken to hospital for heat stroke/exhaustion.

i will be sure to take you advice of cool rather than icey drinks.

im also deciding now to be more of a lerker. once ive shown the teachers/judges that i know what im doing they can concentrate on others and i will just find a fan or an airconditioned nurses room and hide.

i honestly wish i could take part 100% but looking at the weather forecast it will be very hot. at least i know what could happen. if i didnt and got sick that would be the end of the test. failed because of heat.

[Tort-Speed]

Dunno if you can get out to shop but there's these wrap-around-the-neck cooling packs. Saw in a branch of Loft but must be available in big drugstores. Seems there are several types: some get filled with water but feel cold right away; others may have a jell-like substance inside - don't know the thing needs to be put in a fridge or freezer for a while, before using. Seeing them more and more this summer, worn by kids to grannies. They are thin so would fit under keiko-gi neck and long enough to cross over and come down your front inside (would follow the same line as gi).

[dillon]

Dunno if you can get out to shop but there's these wrap-around-the-neck cooling packs. Saw in a branch of Loft but must be available in big drugstores. Seems there are several types: some get filled with water but feel cold right away; others may have a jell-like substance inside - don't know the thing needs to be put in a fridge or freezer for a while, before using. Seeing them more and more this summer, worn by kids to grannies. They are thin so would fit under keiko-gi neck and long enough to cross over and come down your front inside (would follow the same line as gi).

Isn't Japan full of benri-na nicknacks? Here's a page selling one of these products (several companies make them under various names). There are also disposable self-adhesive cool gel patches like this. Both of these kinds of products should be available in kusuri-ya as well as some supermarkets.

[DigitalDowntown]

I've found that adding electrolytes to my water helps me a lot during a hot natsu-geiko. Of course, you have to have access to your water for it to work. ;-)
I'm also very mindful to stay well hydrated long before practice begins, but I'm sure you're drinking a lot in 35º temps anyway.

[Tort-Speed]

Dillon, thanks for the link - not only does that site have English, it's well-written!

[neanderthal]

i went to Aoki today and bought all their icing and cooling products. thats ￥6000 gone. i also went to the sports hall to check out its layout and the best places to be to cool down. its at a different location to usual so everyone will be without a usual spot. im going to park myself in the coolest spot. Everything is now prepared. now time for the fun!!!