Hope you find the answers to this dilemma, Stu. I have always been intrigued by the martial arts. I have a young nephew ( age 7) who is currently taking karate. He loves it and is advancing well.
God Bless
Brunetta
7 years old… Outstanding!!!
Getting in is “easy” STAYING with is often hard… Sticking to the discipline(s), the commitments when its new its easy enough, but a year two down that path, not as easy. Diabetes & martial arts are same-same that way in my book.
LOL but wishing diabetes were as straight forward, as direct in many ways. Would make it easier… less puzzles, more certainty.
Stuart
Hello Brunetta:
Looks like I missed this one… how’s your nephew doing? Always glad to hear from you when your time permits
Stuart (and earnestly to Brunetta as a sign of his respect)
Hello Boshra:
You can give your practice/art its name, I won’t bite!
And your disconnection issue is the severe flaw I always find with pumping and M/A’s. The purpose of having a pump is NOT to disconnect the blessed thing, the purpose is to wear it period. Whatever the specific activity, if you cannot wear it because doing so causes problems… then maybe they should redesign the things for us ???
Taped down, taped down well do your practice partners still manage to “find it” ?
Stuart
another late reply… i started pumping 3 months ago and am looking into starting martial arts up again (i had to quit for the last year because ive been really sick) ive been looking into ways to keep my pump and infusion set from getting torn out also- i just ran into something that runners use called a “spibelt” spibelt makes belt specifically for pumps. someone on another dicussion said he uses it for yoga and said it feels like “part of him”. i realize yoga and martial arts are 2 different animals but i thought i’d at least mention spibelts.
my spibelt is in the mail and once i get it i’ll let you know how i like it… (at least for running and lifting wieghts) my fiance does judo so i’ll test it out on the mats with him next week
Hello Heather:
My apologies for my disgustingly late response. Thank you for participating!!!
As a senior studen of my art, a teacher, even though I am not often going full-tilt too often… it can and does happen.
As a beginner to any art, I am not a fan of throwing someone into the blender routine which some arts some instructors foolishly do! Hey so you got injured on the first night because knowing zero they just threw you overboard and said sink or swim, survive or leave. Its an ignorant approach to teaching something. There are smarter approaches… but it is an approach that still exists sadly.
Gogen Yamaguchi (“the Cat”) the father of Japanese Gojuryu Karate-do would have argued that Hatha-Yoga and Martial Arts are not that different. The intent is identical. Learn to define boundries, find our powers, our limits and strive, explore to increase them.
The techniques used to achieve that goal are different but a Yoga student who is a martial artist has a meaningful advantage if their training is more than simply gumby imitation. The reverse is also true for karate, tae kwan do, Pa Kwa Cheng… any practice or art you can image. We have to look inward at ourselves our beliefs, self perceptions, personal illusions at some point.
My intent raising this question was trying to find other martial artists who were current pump users, or considering pumps and how the two interacted, if it was possible? Judo was exactly the kind of art/practitioner I was hoping to find. Aikido is wonderful, karate is great, Tai Chi Chuan, Tae Kwan Do we all have a different technical base, a certain emphasis… as such will a pump withstand particular arts, their particular practices or are they just incompatable?
So how did the judo go ; 9 ?
Stuart
hey there,good to find people like me 
I am on tae kwon do,
what are you?
I don’t know about others,but my trainer asks me to take of my socks,and other people to take of there accessories and all,no way,well,not exactly,but I think she would ask me to take it off.(still not a pumper)
but I don’t think she would mind a great deal.
anyway,it’s an hour or so,no problem…
hope it helps
Hello JT:
Thanks for taking part.
As an Escrima practitioner, an Aikidoka you are exactly the type of martial artist (diabetic) I was hoping to connect with! Well ok a Judoka (Judo practitioner) or Greco-Roman wrestler might have even better answers to these questions, issues but glad you choose to play regardless…
Pump exterior casing is designed to withstand a nuclear blast. No human blow could generate the force required to damage the thick plastic polymer casing they are made with. The clips, the pump placement, the excess tubing and the infusion sets each one provides their own severely fatal design flaws (much less a ~perfect barrier~ if combined) that will not suffer martial arts practice save our slow moving Tai Chi Chuan brethren and ONLY them in their infamous slow solo practice!!!
Anything even remotely normal speed, dynamic, or with another person intending physical interaction-contact… on any level pumps will not work IME. I’m asking other experienced martial arts folks if they do use a pump and practice some art meaningfully,
HOW they solved those impassible barriers?
Stuart
Hello Saya:
Thank you for taking part! I apologize for not responding much sooner…
I am a “karate practitioner”, a particular flavor of Okinawan karate specifically. Some places classes last a single hour. At some I’ve heard of them going much, much longer. 90 minutes, 2 hours, rarely though sometimes though rarely even longer than 2 hours!
Removing all jewelry, socks, shoes are safety issues. Over the years I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been gouged, and cut by ladies wedding rings (with large diamonds/stones on them). The sole jewelry we ever permitted to be worn.
In part it is a rule to prevent people from getting wounded by that jewelry… in part it is a rule to prevent the jewelry from getting totally destroyed as well. The settings (tignes?) on rings do not ~like~ being smashed by physical contact, jarring, etc. pretty common to an intense martial arts class.
Heavy contact is not always common, but some contact during ones training is very likely. I’m trying to figure out if other diabetic martial artists have gotten around the fairly unique problems of martial arts practice if one is a pump user ?
Have they fixed the nightmare of the clips on the pumps being made far, far stronger for example?
Stuart
Another late reply.
Been doing Brazilian Jiujitsu on and off for 15 years (wow, it’s been that long). I’ve always been on MDI. I don’t see how I’ll be able to do BJJ with a pump unless I can DC for the couple of hours a day, few times a month I train. Anything a grappler can latch onto, especially going no gi, you can be sure it will get grabbed.
My other option is to try squirrelling away an Omnipod somewhere where it will come in minimal contact with my training partner. I don’t compete anymore, and most training partners are good about avoiding certain areas of the body if you alert them, as long as you don’t try taking advantage of the situation.
Still, envision lot’s of padding and athletic tape, maybe I’ll try duct taping bubble wrap.
Hello FHS:
Thank you for taking part (again). Appreciate it…
The purpose of a pump is NOT to disconnet from them, the purpose is to wear the things. The clips on them appear to be a fatal design flaw using the classical (c. 1950-70’s) martial arts clothing. It does not work as all from the older martial arts wear, ie armor and so forth, nor should it.
But using the Japanese dogi (aka gi) mine always ended up like a spastic throwing star, regardless of what I did to prevent that event. Basic, careful even solo warm ups, often made the pump take flight. There was nothing I could place it in that did not eventually get that case torn, ripped or targeted even though accidentily. Martial arts even carefully executed are dynamic and interactive at some point of the training process.
I looked like a blessed U. Penn Mummy, with a bionic part .
As a jujitsu practitioner, your technical basis is grappling. How could you prevent having it get inserted by your partners even friendly techniques. We do grapple but not to the degree you folks do. Regardless, put on my back, or ending up on top of them doing a technique, it took a huge tearing at the tubing, and always ended up detached, even when using the ultra long tubing. I love your image of bubble wrap though, I’ll have to suggest that to some friends see how much they think is needed
What’s a diabetic BJJ, diabetic karate person to do, if you were a pumper? There are many diabetic martial artists with all kinds of arts and practices. Hopefully we’ll hear from them too!
-Bowing formally (in thanks and with respect)
Stuart
Hi Stuart, Just an update:
I don’t have an insulin pump yet but I did get a Dexcom. Had my first mat session with it tonight. I taped it up good and tight with athletic tape and even made myself a bubble wrap donut to take the weight off the transmitter. It survived technique work but didn’t last 5 minutes of live rolling. Too much sweat and rubbing. The tape eventually gavce out and allowed the donut to slide around. The sensor didn’t last long after that.
I think it will work if I do two things:
- put a more rigid shell than bubble wrap over the sensor.
- find a more robust adhesive than athletic tape.
Best of luck !
Hello Michael:
Thank you for participating. Do you study a particular art/practice yourself?
Stuart
Stuart trying not to weep… knowing this answer intimately having tried again and again, and again… never suceeding, not a single time, not once. [8:::[
There are new carrying cases designed to be worn against the skin. Any of them work maybe?
I ended up buying stock in GiIlette (Procter and Gamble) because I ended up shaving so much… (think Wookie and you’re the right hair quantity ). Used special IV prep, so pretty weird locations and looked like a U Penn mummy, just could not make it stick…
Looking forward to your experience, exploring what has hopefully improved in a decade plus…
Stuart
The new year brings new activities for some. Anyone studying martial arts in the new year?
Stuart
Unfortunately I stopped. I had studied Tae Kwon Do for about 5 or 6 years, including 2 or 2.5 years of very intense ‘boot’ camp intensity workouts, 5-6 times/ week. They had a very nice deal at our academy where I was able to take instructor classes while studying towards a black belt. Unfortunately 2 weeks before the black belt test in May 2009, our office closed and I had to make plans to move.
I started pumping April 2008 and it almost immediately made diabetes plus martial arts much easier. I tucked it into my belt w/ the tubes going inside the dobok, it worked very nicely. We usually wore pads to spar so it survived. I also fell on it a couple of times and was tossed on it a few times as we studied some Hapkido type of throws for self-defense (we didn’t use pads for that) as well.
I studied Kung Fu for a while but had kind of gotten more into running and, moving from Champaign, IL to Chicago I find it more practical to come home and run for an hour than to spend 20-30 minutes driving to class, work out and then drive home? It didn’t bug me as much before but my wife has a longer commute now and, while I liked the class a lot I decided to stick with running and occasional weight lifting. The TKD classes were great for me. I had been headed towards being a big blob of a couch potato but am pretty disciplined and have exercised 4-6 times/ week since 2007 and feel pretty good most of the time. Last Wednesday I sprained my ankle (dip in yard hidden by grass…) and took a week off for the first time since then but felt ok getting going the last couple of days.
Hello Acidrock23:
First, thank you for taking part!
I continue to believer there are far, far more than one or two of us who study something re: martial arts in some form.
As you know, it is not always intense physical contact in practice. Sometimes physical practice is with a heavy bag, a pad or even hitting air, practicing the structure and the principles of movements. Regardless solo practice can be quite intense…
Push ups and military PT exercises are certainly fine, but they are not the arts themselves. Self protection is a very different creature than physical fitness. Both valuable certainly but different intentions, I think anyway.
The UFC, the MMA we were not. Winning was never the goal and loosing was never demeaned. Regardless, the pump would fly off like a spastic throwing star even during the most basic warm ups. The simple act of kicking (mere solar plexus height) would often dislodge the set or the pump clip. EIther case, baaaad things happened, with nobody else even involved.
Keep hoping to find a Judo (diabetic Judoka) player or someone who’s particular art or practice does lots of throws, grappling… but those I’ve encountered so far, all reached the same conclusion I did (unfortunately). Fatal design flaw for our different martial activities…
Stuart
I used MM Silhouettes and never lost one. I lost one once, doing 100 jumping jacks w/ some kids who needed to get going, at the end of a hot summer class but that was the other kind, whatever the “standard”, straight in set was. I never had any trouble w/ the silhouettes. The doboks we had were really cool too, they just wrapped around do the tube went right in and was not hanging loose or anything like that. I got some cheap tank tops and cut holes in them to keep the tube from getting tangled and never had any problems.
We were very much into non-competition at the school I went to. No trophies or anything like that. Just a lot of sweat. I’d lose 4-5 lbs at some of the classes…
Hello Acidrock23:
Thats a variation on what I attempted but eventually failed. Too intense even basic practice, but my complaint was the MM clip always detached waaaaaaay too easily.
Kids classes, teen partners, fellow grown ups. Could not make ay of them work. Not with solo kata, not ding/exploring application, not sparring of any type… grrrrrrrrrr.
Stuart