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Overcompensating?
Written by Sean on Monday, March 12, 2007
Reflecting on my own life, as I’m prone to do (you never could have guessed, huh?), I thought about how many things I genuinely like that I would not be able to do if I were paralysed. Or that would necessitate so much adaptation and intervention that it would not really be what it is now.
I don’t qualify as the sports jock type, never have, never will. Nonetheless, I have been active in many sports and activities. I was doing competitive bicycle racing for a while, and long distance bike riding (I went nearly 2,000Km on one ride!). I was active with badminton, which I played twice a week at one point. I took up martial arts (well, I guess took up is a bit of an understatement considering I practiced judo for nearly 18 years, and also touched on aikido and kendo). Fond of solo wilderness canoe tripping. Dancing, though not just any dance, my poison is tango, and not the ballroom crap either.
None of that could be done from a wheelchair. Not as is . But I’d gladly give that up. In fact, I have. I haven’t practiced martial arts in a dojo in nearly 15 years. I don’t miss it. I haven’t danced the tango in so long I probably don’t remember even basic routines. Biking? ha! I was probably just turning 20 the last time I was on a bike. And the list goes on.
The question is, was I overcompensating? Was I trying to prove (to myself and the world) that I was not transabled, that I did not have this need of being in a wheelchair? Because if I did need that, from a young age, why would I have picked activities that were obviously contrary to wheeling?
I can’t help thinking of the transsexual who take up manly careers, and in some way repress their needs. The marine, the burly mechanic, the guy who makes a point of growing a beard, and becomes chauvinists, just to prove a point that, in the end, they can’t prove, because it’s against their nature.
I was recently speaking to another transabled individual, who was and is active with football. Very active. And triathlons. Yet, he is transabled, and sees himself as a paraplegic. This seems to me to also be overcompensating.
I’ve spoken to someone else who took up dressage.
And I forget other conversations I probably had along the same lines.
This is not to say we don’t genuinely enjoy these activities. But I can’t help wondering why we chose those particular activities. I’m not sure that it was just because it sounded like fun .
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3 Comments
2 On 12 March, 2007, Sean said:
That’s eerie :) I was never very high in Kendo, just fiddled with it enough to get a taste. Besides, I got my black belt in judo technical, because I didn’t want to do competition to get the points. There’s something about the atmosphere in competition that I don’t like, at all. Dunno.
3 On 12 March, 2007, Marie said:
Transsexuals most certainly overcompensate! Growing a goatee for example… ;) Some join the army or marry a woman or man and have children.
A friend of mine is a second degree black belt in tae kwon doe (incidentally he’s got a bum heart and had numerous surgeries as a kid.) and liked competing until people were getting away with cheating.
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1 On 12 March, 2007, Paradox said:
I was a member of the Scottish Kendo team in the early 8o’s !