We can recover. I can say that over the 25+ years of competing in combat sports, my knees have visually taken the biggest beating. Every cage fight, the canvas rips off at least a couple layers of skin. If I take a few weeks off from the BJJ or wrestling mat and my skin loses calluses, it’s the same story(as pictured). Although mostly superficial injuries, I’ve definitely wrecked myself and today I want to show our bodies some love for healing. Back when I was 17 years old, I had a thumb that frequently dislocated in wrestling matches. It was decided that it needed surgery and got a temporary 5’ pin put through my hand to stabilize while the ligaments healed. The athletic trainer was able to make me a brace to protect it that allowed me to still compete in matches. When the pin was removed, I kept it. Later that year, I had bursitis on my left knee, which is fluid that looks squishy like a water bed and hurts like hell when full. Being that it was common to drain our own cauli...