BJJ/Martial Arts with colostomy

I wear a stealth belt or an Ostomy secret product when doing kickboxing. I wear a two piece, but found that I need to remind myself to stay hydrated with either g2 or power aid zero. Go for it!!!

HUNTERRR and Rchodos,

I'm wondering how it's going. Have you returned to BJJ?

ColoRectal cancer left me with two very large scars and a permanent colostomy. I'd really like to return to Jiu Jitsu, but I'm unsure if it's going to be possible. I too miss it.

Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Before I got a sigmoid colostomy I spent 5 years going to the bathroom 15x / day. During that time I was very fit and practiced intermediate Tae Kwon Do & Kenjutsu. I had excellent training in both styles so I had no trouble practicing alone, and maintained very good form. Since getting the ostomy I've found it completely impossible to exercise and am now crippled. Here's why you can't do martial arts with an ostomy:

1. Your core strength comes from your abdomen and bicycle seat area. Having a big hole in your stomach and the bicycle seat cut-out/sewn-up leaves you very weak & frail. Your risk of abdominal hernia increases by a factor of 40. Imagine living with a soft-ball sized hernia, having multiple failed surgeries to fix it, and it hurts you every day for the rest of your life.. This is only one of many likely injuries.

2. Having an ostomy destroys your ability to eat food. Even liquid meals are incapacitating. So you have a small liquid dinner that has to sustain you all the next day. Deprived of glucose, your body routinely cannibalizes your muscles and you have stick-thin arms & legs. Your peripheral strength is now gone.

3. Your brain is equally deprived of fuel, and your insides are intensely uncomfortable, so you can't think anywhere near your best. Your reflexes, reactions, and coordination are very poor compared to your pre-surgery levels. Your brain is now as ill-equipped to fight as your body.

4. You're starving, crashing and totally out of energy. Its hard enough to clean/air the ostomy smell out of the house every day and stumble around outside for "exercise". Good luck doing 200 kick drills.

5. You always smell like crap with an ostomy. So you live in complete isolation and can't train with others. This means you can only practice moves that you already know very well, as you CANNOT learn martial arts over the internet. If you don't already know it, you never will.

Summary - Go into surgery at 25 in top physical/mental shape, and you will come out of it with the strength of a 65-year-old, the durability of an 80-year-old, and the smell of a rotting corpse.

Post Edited (JS44) : 9/15/2016 5:10:10 PM (GMT-6)

Sorry JS44, but none of that is true. If you're going through that, I have been there as well--the initial adjustments post op are terrible, but by no means permenant. If you want proof of what I'm saying, I'll happily post videos to prove otherwise. An ostomy is not a curse, nor is it a prison sentence. It preserves your life, and you make the rest.

To the original poster: I've practiced Kendo since 2004. Had to take some loooong breaks after I got sick and the mayhem that ensued. I just posted in the Crohn's forum if you want to read what happened, but I want to tell you that as martial artist with an unusually severe relationship to both colitis and crohn's, start small and keep going. Don't give up and relish every single victory. Every step forward is improvement, and the satisfaction you will get from beating the disease, your opponent, and yourself will be sweeter than honey.

Buy a stealth belt first off. Absolutely indispensable. Tell your teacher, and approach the situation from the standpoint of figuring out a new challenge or problem *together.* Watch when you eat and let your instructor know you might have to cut out to use the bathroom if the ostomy drains. Keep a spare appliance in your car.

Since having 4 (yes, 4) separate ostomies, I got my 4th dan and have also competed in our regional tournament. This summer, I won back my spot on our regional team. Don't give up and be patient.

PM me for anything, and best of luck on the mats. Maybe one day we'll get to practice together 😁⚔️💯

Post Edited (Michael Lindsay) : 9/11/2017 7:51:59 PM (GMT-6)

Michael,

I see your post is from three years ago. Did you stay with BJJ?

I am a frustrated 2nd dan in Uechi Ryu karate. If you know anything about the style, we do a lot of conditioning exercises, arm rubbing and pounding, leg pounding and stomach punching.

Obviously I can’t do any of that. I’m three weeks out of a rectal resection and loop ileostomy. I want to go back to class at least for warm ups and Kata until this is reversed.

Did you (or anyone) use the stealth belt pro or the stingray horizontal?

I am concerned about quick release, water stool and an accident at the dojo. I’m nervous about going back like this but I will lose my mind if I don’t start working out soon

All suggestions welcome.

Hey guys & gals,
My name is Greg & I've had a colostomy bag since December 2018. While it has taken a long time for me to adjust to the changes (It's permanent these days unfortunately) I am able to live a mostly normal life these days, and work out regularly. I go to the gym 6-7 days a week for cardio & resistance training and have been able to return to martial arts training (Hapkido) as well. Unfortunately I haven't been able get back to BJJ training as yet, but I will in the not too distant future. So in response to this thread, it is possible to train in martial arts even with a bag. I have had to modify the way in which I train, but I'm back on the mats, which is what matters to me. I am currently a 2nd Dan black belt and am working towards my 3rd Dan. My fellow students at the Dojang are very supportive & understanding, as is my new Hapkido master, and I am grateful for them and the ability to train. I hope that my reply is an encouragement to anyone that reads it,
Blessings to all,
G