Booster Shots and Stinky Gear

This is actually two things in one:

1. This is more personal. I wasn't going to get a booster for this crap. I had pretty well concluded that boosters could go in the flu shot category - get one only when I think I might need it that year for whatever reason (flu shot when I was preggers or when I was facing shoulder surgery, for example). But ... well, life throws curveballs. I found out this week that my mom was just handed cancer diagnosis number three - colon this time. It appears to be localized, and they know there is no liver involvement at this time, so the current prognosis is good. However, she will be immunocompromised, and I am the medical responsible daughter who is always there for things.

It therefore looks like a booster is in my future even though it's not what I want, on several levels.

2. This is for anyone who has had to wear and dealt with the types of sparring gear used in martial arts training. HOW DO YOU MAKE IT STINK LESS? Mine gets used at least once a week, often twice, and while I do not tend to have a strong natural funk, it does build up. At this point, putting the head gear on is like putting a smelly old gym sock over my head. I keep it wiped down/cleaned with wipes, but it's not like something you can just throw in the washer ... or is it? I did finally experiment with my hand and foot pads in there this weekend thinking part of the problem is sweat getting soaked in to the straps. But I don't want to put the chest piece and helmet into the washer.

So does anyone have any tricks? I'm not the only one who would like an answer for this. There are three of us at least who've been looking for any answers.

I mean, I thought it would be funny to hang a pine deodorizer off my helmet so it dangles in front of my face ... but I think the joke would be over pretty quickly.

a reply to: ketsuko

Sorry to hear about your Mom. Hopefully she pulls through it with treatment.

Assuming it's like a hockey gear? Put a moisture wicking layer on between you and the gi, dobak, kendogu, or whatever you've got. Let it air out after wearing it, don't just leave it in your gear bag. I'd assume most of it can go in the wash, but check the tags on it. Hard plastic can't go in the wash. I'd air dry it instead of using the dryer.

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

The pads are hang drying. That was a given.

I'm not sure the chest protector can go through the wash. It's a stiff/hard kevlar piece. The head gear has a plastic face shield. I'm not sure how hard that would be to pop on and off, but otherwise it might be possible to put it through.

a reply to: ketsuko

First i'd just like to say i hope your mum has a speedy recovery, best wishes to you both.

However, my mum had lung cancer last year and a resulting lobectomy, this was her second bout which had spread from a previous cervical cancer tumour in which the treatment was a hysterectomy. Both she and I haven't given into the fear induced hysteria regarding covid. No matter how much they try to terrify you, covid just isn't as prevalent or dangerous as the hype would lead you to believe. Also, if my mum is at deaths door there isn't a government in the world going to control my movements or tell me i can't see her.

Don't confuse legitimate, tried and tested healthcare with the peddling of an experimental gene therapy pushed by big pharma, they rake in massive profits which filter down into the pockets of compromised politicians and the media is in the business of exaggerating.

Get a spray bottle and mix up about a 1/4 cup of Dawn dish soap and the rest water. Spray the equipment down well with this solution and get it into the nooks and crannies, scrub it as best you can. Then rinse it off with a pressure washer to get ALL the soap off and out. Then just air dry it. That's what I used to do with football gear.

ETA - Kevlar chest protector? Helmet? Face shield? Arm and leg guards? Who the heck are you sparring with...Bruce Lee / Chuck Norris???? All you're missing is an M249 SAW and we could send you to Afghanistan!

a reply to: ketsuko

On point two.

Buy construction hard hat sweatbands and roll of velcro. I was a keen amateur boxer and used to buy these inserts, they wrap round your head and can be thrown away once a month or so.

www.amazon.co.uk...=sr_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=hard+hat+inse rt&qid=1630244418&sr=8-18

You can cut them up and use velcro + some stitching for custom areas. Use double sided tape combined with the velcro to affix to headgear. That way you can just pop them off and wash once a week.

a reply to: Grenade

It's a mix of things.

If I'm going to be at hospitals waiting on surgeries and the like, the rules may demand it for one thing. I'd feel horribly telling dad I can't sit with him because I won't get a booster so the hospital won't let me in.

I think I'm going to get an antibody test first though because the way that delta is supposed to present I may have had it already (sore throat, head cold, fatigue), and if I have antibodies, then getting the booster may be less relevant and advisable for me.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

When you spar in tae kwon do, the chest and head are the main scoring areas, so you are kicking for the head and the chest. As you can imagine, especially with younger guys, this gets a bit ... forceful in actual competition. And even at my son's age, there isn't a tourney goes by where some kid doesn't end up laid out in the ring with the wind knocked out of him. I've been hit hard enough in practice to have the helmet knocked sideways on my head.

Our instructor had to have major facial reconstructive surgery because they didn't use to have the face guard and a friend hit him with a kick and broke his orbital bone. It was after that the association decided there had been one too many major injuries and added the face guard.

a reply to: ketsuko

I understand, it's just such a shame people are being held to ransom in such a way.

The main thing is you're able to support your mum. Again, my prayers for her speedy recovery.

a reply to: Grenade

So far, it seems to be localized, and if that's the case, then the prognosis is good for most people.

I just feel bad because she's not young, and this is her third primary cancer diagnosis. She's already done endometrial and breast cancer. It's tough that she's facing more chemo and radiation and another surgery.

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

I also have been already wearing my lighter, moisture wicking shirts on sparring nights by preference. Right now, we're on summer uniform, so we don't have to wear our dobak jacket so long as we've got either a solid color or tae kwon do-related shirt on. That'll be changing here sometime next month. It just depends on the weather and when it starts heading into more of a fall regime.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk



This gives you an idea. Our style is similar.

a reply to: ketsuko

Yeah,

My plan is antibody test around 6-7 months and see where I am at. It seems the Johnson & Johnson is still going strong at 8 from what I have heard.

As for equipment.... soap and water.

If kevlar, you should seal the kevlar in a vinyl or similar liner before use. The germans did a good job on doing this in their kevlar flak vests.

a reply to: infolurker

One of my coworkers got the J&J. Her fiance got delta, and they live together. They quarantined at home as best they could, but she never tested positive. So there is that to back up your assertion.

So far as I can tell, the chest gear is plates inside vinyl. So we should be good there. The hand and foot pads are definitely vinyl.

a reply to: ketsuko
Best wishes to your mum, godspeed recovery to her.

About the stinky thing, airing out, vinegar, alcohol and coffee beans.

I use concentrated vinegar with a bit hot water for cleaning out places like the fridge, sinks, wet cleaning floors, cleaning windows, almost everything. It's very good at removing smells, prevents leaving stripes on glass. For sports equipment, since my headgear would not allow for alcohol based cleaning, I used it for this too, together with a bit soap.

It doesn't smell vinegar-ish if you wash it out with cold water. For things like shoes I like to put coffee beans in it. I got some in a big glass bowl as a decorative gift once and if you put them in the shoes over night, outside, the moist air and coffee bean will remove smell too.

For storage I like to collect flowers buds like Magnolia or Oleander, Lavendel, dry them on old newspaper and then put them in little cotton bags inside my closets and also backpacks, boxes with clothes.. It prevents that old type of smell and I never had problems with moth or such.

Along with pretty consistent cleaning, and a few other suggestions mentioned here..

I used baking soda for odors. They even make them in those handy fridge boxes now, so you can just open the tab on it and throw it in the gear bag

I hope everything else works out Kets.

you see? Women love it. Diseases, antibody test, booster shots causing stinking gear, doctors talking about their equipment... this thread was a clickbait
Oh yeah honey, get a booster shot. It doesnt stop a transmission. It does pretty much nothing except maybe shedding some spike proteins on your mom but you'll feel good. You'll feel like a hero

a reply to: ketsuko

Yes, I'm familiar with tae kwon do, I was (am, I guess) a red belt. One of our sensei was a 4th degree and the other was (surprisingly) a 5th degree black belt (which is pretty rare in North America, at least then). Didn't you have to do the punch the wall thing as a white and yellow with your snap punches and snap kicks? Our instructors were very big on that for control, you learned fast (especially when the wall was a cinder block wall in the basement) of the studio. Went home more than a few times with shredded knuckles and bruised feet.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Yes, we punch and kick things. Doesn't stop things from happening though. All it takes is for one person to move one way while the other moves the other way and you have an issue.

That's what laid one kid out in the ring last time. You don't do groin shots, but when one kid goes for the reverse and has his leg up while the other goes in for a shot and everyone moves just the wrong/right way ... things happen.

Husband dislocated another guy's toe because he put his foot down and so did the other guy ... at just the right/wrong time in the right/wrong place.

Like everything, sports are working to try to minimize injury.

a reply to: ThatDamnDuckAgain

Just on Oleander mentioned in this post.

Be very careful with products of this plant, it is highly toxic (usually if ingested, but it can cause skin irritations and hives).

I don't think it's for sale in SA anymore at all.

www.mountsinai.org...

OK. maybe potpourri sachets in the cupboard might be harmless, but I wouldn't put it in my Kendo/fencing helmet, or similar sports equipment.