How Training with 2020 Armor Helped Me Recover From My Injuries and Overcome My Fear of Training
One of our biggest supporters from the inception of 20/20 Armor was school owner named Master Jon Powell.
Over the last couple of weeks Master Powell had been particularly active on social media using our new Live Mode. With live mode he was able to see his power, reaction time and stamina on every single strike and get insights on his performance.
His passion caught our attention, not only because of how high he was scoring but his amazing effort while training at home. So we reached out to discover why it had caught his attention and maybe do a story on his training sessions. His reply shocked us with its authenticity and power.
Like many athletes he experienced an injury that dramatically changed his life. He was worried about getting back to training and not sure if he’d ever get back to where he once was. He discovered 20/20 Armor Live Mode gave him the final push to get back to get back to doing what he loved most. We decided to let Jon’s words speak for themselves.
Hey 2020 Masters and team,
I have to say you’ve done an amazing job on the app, especially the Live Mode.
Reason I’m kind of going out of my way here to point it out is because it’s actually helping me get past this final stage of recovery from this crazy concussion I had a year and a half ago.
What Happened to Master Jon Powell
The back story is that I hit my head in an airplane on a business trip in Dec 2018 and it messed me up more than any kick or strike to the head ever did; my balance, my functional vision, cognitive processing and then my central nervous system…all messed up. I ended up traveling to see one of the best doctors for concussions in the world after months of no progress and some discouraging advice from local doctors. This expert ended up prescribing me to do taekwondo every single day plus other very specific daily things to treat all my systems.
So far his plan has worked wonders and I’m almost 100% symptom free… the only part left in that plan is making hard contact and taking contact anywhere on the body.
My nervous system wants to freak out when it gets hit or feels that vibration from hitting, and the added symptoms from just that instance would last a full day or two (head and face pressure, nausea, headaches). The only way to end it permanently so I can play and teach the sport I love 100% again is to… hit those Bobs and bags hard…gradually take more and more contact in sparring… and then recover. The more I cycle, the more de-sensitized my system gets.
This is Where 2020 Armor Comes In
2020 live was that extra boost of excitement I needed recently about hitting the bob hard... something to overcome the hesitation I’ve had from knowing I’m going to be feeling messed up for a day or more.
The experts don’t want me thinking about or focusing on symptoms; they want me to focus on living and training the way I used to, if not better than I used to.
And I’m already seeing very noticeable results from that. I’m not afraid anymore to go hard. It’s a very liberating thing after what I’ve been through.
This is also why I’m posting the videos. It’s kind of a form of accountability, and to follow through on that plan I was given 100%.
When we are all back in our dojangs, it will be the energy scoring and tag modes that motivate me to take harder hits and keep sparring despite the symptom and adaptation cycle.
Staying Focused on Scoring Not Systems
I remember my wife said that I appeared the happiest she could remember (in an entire year) when that Doctor cleared me to start light contact sparring again. And we were using the 2020 Armor lower power settings in that first matches back to keep my opponents from going crazy on me and to keep me focused on scoring, not symptoms. It was the adjusted power detection that gave me the confidence I needed to help keep my opponents grounded in reality, as some students get over-zealous in the moment and want to show off to their teacher (and thus set me back).
Now I can gradually increase the settings as not to get ahead of myself too quick.
So keep it up guys. Still my favorite product. I may not be the biggest customer, but definitely a big advocate. We’re all excited to add the headgear to the mix.
Keep innovating! I’m sure the stories will continue to roll in. Just want you to know your hard work has impacted someone on the personal level.
The right tools and therapies can make such an amazing difference and really speed things up. I never imagined that the vests I bought for fun and engagement would be the tool I needed to help me aggressively attack this final, hard step.
We'd like to thank Master Powell for sharing this story. It's customers like you that make our job the best one on earth.
Recovering from an injury? Want to know when you've gotten back to normal? Use 2020 Armor to get you back to where you were by measuring your baseline in power, stamina and reaction time.
