Shoulder Dislocation

Does anybody know any exercises to strengthen a shoulder that was previously dislocated? I took Judo for a year in 2001, and switched arts due to my injury.

(I was going in for a throw and my opponent, a former wrestler, simply yanked hard on my arm in an awkward angle. My arm came out of the socket, I fell and hit the ground, thankfully popping it back into place). Being young and foolish, I let time heal it rather than exercises.

I'm moving back to Edmonton soon, and as I'm unaware of any good BJJ clubs there (which I am more interested in) I may go back to that Judo club. However, the shoulder does bother me sometimes, and I am uncertain if I going back would be a wise decision.

Hey Goliath ... Edmonton is right outside of my stomping grounds (12 minutes away from Northside). Not aware of any BJJ schools in Edmonton but there are Jujitsu schools. If you are interested I can talk to my instructor as he goes to one there. With his TKD training mixed with Hapkido and Jujitsu he found this effective even when going to the US to train in Las Vegas at BJJ schools and tested up to a blue belt.

I've never separated my shoulder like you have mentioned but have broken my collar bone as well as tore my rotator cuff ... at least once. What ever you do start out light and would even suggest using one of those elastic bands that you can wrap around a door knob or something. They you can go through a wide range of shoulder rotations such as straight up, straight down, to the side, circular rotations one way and the other. These are some of the things that a physiotherapist gave me to do.

As a weight lifter I did not wait to long before starting back but was smart ... for a short time that is ... to start light and work my way up. You want some resistance but not enough to re-injure yourself. Where as I used free weights I would highly suggest using machine weights and do them light. Machines tend to be more stable and you don't need to use as many stabilizer muscles and you can target the area better.

If all else fails then definitely look into seeing a physiotherapist. Good luck.

I don't know when you will be up in Edmonton but if it is around Friday, September 9, 2005 you should see if you can go see this.

http://www.maximumfighting.com/index2.htm

My Instructor trains with these guys and this might also be something you are interested in. The two guys he pointed out to me were Victor and Mike.

Victor is 235 lbs and around 6'2" and all muscle and can back it up. Supposedly he was only 178 lbs a few years ago and now is going to try drop weight to 195 to fight at a different level. He said one time when sparring him Victor was talking advantage and my Instructor actually felt in danger. He then reacted and hit Victor in the solar plex followed up by a double kick and a back kick which sent him flying backwards and stumpling over the benches. The whole gym stopped to watch because my Instructor had loudly ki-happed which he didn't even know he did. He started to get in trouble when Victor got up and told their Instructor it was his fault. My Instructor was also not to humble to say that Victor has knocked him out more then once.

Mike is 168 lbs and about 5'8" but has extremely fast hands. This last Wednesday they did 10 rounds together. After my Instructor said how sore he was and Mike said that was nothing ... he can barely get his body moving in the morning because he is so sore. This will be Mike's first fight and will decide if he will do it again. He sounded like a really good guy.

Both guys are about 23 years old whereas my Instructor (Sean Wright) is 35. That he can mix it up with these guys is awesome.

Sean Sir also mentioned that when Dan Severn showed up that he was all hunched over in a long coat and wearing glasses. But when he took it off and went to the mat and was go time. Sean Sir says he may not be able to fight with the top UFC guys but on this level he is awesome.

Hey Dereck,

Thanks for all that info. I'll try and see if I can make it out to that event.

If you could recommend some clubs in Edmonton to check out, I'd appreciate that. Preferably in the West end or by the University Campus.

I used to weight train and used free weights as well. I'll look up some shoulder exercises with weights. I remember doing shrugs, shoulder presses, side raises, and a couple of others. I'd like to do some range of motion exercises, and will find one of those elastic bands you mentioned.

Physio is so expensive now-a-days. I'll probably only go back if I re-injure myself. I've had to go for my back before, being physically prone to those kinds of injuries.

Hi Goliath, I sent an e-mail to my Instructor Sean Sir and he sent me back a reply.

For BJJ in the Edmonton area there really is only one place and it is at the Millenium Centre in Sherwood Park. It is a small club run by a purple belt named Kyle Cardinal. My Instructor has not been there but hears he is a good teacher. I don't have a number for this club but the Millenium Centre's number is 780-416-3300 should you want to call and find out more.

If you are interested in Mixed Martial Arts, my Instructor suggested Arashi-do. He presently is involved with this club and says they do conditioning from noon to 1:00 and then either do ground and pound or stand up kickboxing unitl 2:00. He says there is not a lot of teaching at this time as it is all hands on. The evenings are more for beginners style teaching. The instructor is Mike Yaculik and his phone number is 780-220-KICK (5425). I should also mention they have an actual cage you fight in as well.

The school that he was taking Jujitsu at has unfortunately changed instructors so he no longer goes there. The former instructor is a dectective and is now stationed out of Jamaca. I seen the guy fight at a tournament and he was awesome. He fought in a round robin fight at his weight class and won. Then at the end everybody put their hat in and fought all comers ... he won as well. The guy looks like he's 130 to 140 lbs only ... boy weren't they schooled. The person taking over is named Alex MacDonald and he moved the gym by the Milbourne Mall at the Jewish Community Centre. The centre's number is 780-487-0585.

Lastly he suggests going to his partner's gym in Edmonton. This is Elite Taekwondo and it is run by Steve Bartley and their number is 780-413-4009. Steve was one of my Instructor's Instructor and is a close friend and business partner. They both are trained in Taekwondo blended with Hapkido plus are black belts in Jujitsu. They also train in other martial arts as noted above and also train in Las Vegas at a BJJ school. You can join up in the whole thing or Steve offers 2 classes a week soley on Jujitsu/BJJ. My Instructor Sean and Steve have both tested up to BJJ blue belts.

Just as a side note, their Las Vegas BJJ black belt Instructor will be here at Steve's gym in October and will be boarding with Steve. Unfortunately I believe only 24 people can attend at $50 each for 3 hours of class and then you get to roll with him. I'm on the list and am just deciding if I will be going due to injuries.

I hope one of these helps. ALSO ... my Instructor suggests that try a class of each before signing up to see if you like it first. This coming from somebody who runs a martial art school bodes well for their quality.