Video Mix Michael Jordan_Maurizio

Wow, how beautiful. It makes you want to jump and smash. I really like these jumps, they give the sensation of remaining suspended in the air, not caring about gravity.

But Maurizio, you were quite good, weren't you?

Yes, during that period I was doing very well, especially physically (ailments aside, they are part of the "game"); I can tell you that when I jumped properly, I literally had the sensation of staying in the air

"at my will," because you can actually stay up there for more than a second, but to do certain things you have to be very coordinated, elastic, powerful, reactive, and now I have lost some of these characteristics (which you acquire over time) a bit; in fact, I didn't have time to start training again (after quite a few years—I wouldn't say I stopped, but doing 5/6 or even more hours of sport per day is not the same thing as walking briskly for many km, it's not exactly doing sport) and knee pains have set in, and I probably have some problems with my meniscus if not my ligaments (including the right lateral one, I think, which has been hurting me for more than 15 years); I will finally get an MRI in September (finally, you know how long I've wanted to do it) and I will adjust accordingly, because I feel "stiff" and rigid right around the knee, and when you jump you risk injuring it even if you don't push yourself; that's why you experience a strange sensation, mentally and physically you know you could do more, but this problem really "stops" you and you can't go beyond it.

When I made the video of the preview screenshot, I was about 1.72m tall, so not very tall, but I was truly springy.

Oh yes, I have a friend who, even though he was very short, was incredible when he jumped. Physical fitness is important if you don't want to get hurt, especially if you manage to do those jumps. Joint problems, except in particular cases, could be resolved by strengthening the leg muscles... I tell you this because I also had problems with my medial ligament in the past.

Wow, how you flew, Maurì!!

The physical condition doesn't respond like it used to, the "problem" is coming to terms with it; I found a video from 1993, I think, I was using very normal, low shoes, but I was like a spring and felt great physically, after having spent 2/3 years with continuous pain in my legs and back.

Simò, if you think that at 14 I was dunking, I was 1.64m tall, I had to jump at least 90 cm just to touch the rim, then I "grew" a few cm, but maybe I measured myself wrong (strange, because I am usually precise with measurements), now I am 1.75m if I haven't mismeasured again, so either I am getting shorter, or I inaccurately stated how tall I was before, anyway between 1.68 and 1.72. To give you an example, if I can easily touch 2.90m now, before it was 3.20/25m, and I was even shorter.

Maurì, it's normal, I remember that even when I was a kid I played volleyball and spiked under three meters; I was already very tall though, around 1.90m. If I play at the net now, fat drips if I go out with my arm and head, I used to go out with my torso!! It's also a matter of training. In the end, we aren't old. At 30, if you get into training, you can even be more performant than when you were 14 because you have different musculature. Obviously, if you don't train, you lack breath and initially your muscles are in pieces. Little by little, these are things that you recover anyway. Certainly at 50, you can no longer expect to do what you did at 30. But you just have to look at football too. Until age 35, players get results, athletic performances are roughly on par with others. After 35 they retire because, rightly so, despite being able to still play, they have to deal with 21-year-old kids who are super trained and, due to biological factors, are fresher and more performant and wouldn't be able to hold their own.

You're right Simò, but even if the memories aren't quite clear, I think I left training for at least 8/10 years, and not 5/6 as I thought; I always loaded heavily on my legs to distribute flyers, often more than 20 kg, and perhaps this hasn't helped my menisci or my ligaments (one of which has been hurting me for several years anyway); the MRI will finally reveal what the problems are.

I am training, though; there are some exercises to do (not exactly specific ones, I've never done them, but they are certainly great), but the problem is always consistency and motivation; before I was a kid and I felt a real inner strength that allowed me to push for hours, now I have accumulated a lot of fatigue over the years and, as we know, recovery "at a certain age" has slowed down.

I am not sure I can go back to jumping like I used to; my elasticity is no longer the same, my leg musculature is still powerful, and I need to strengthen my lower back muscles, but I'm not sure about "returning" to that level. I know it's nonsense, but when I go to the court and there are these kids who do something, though I've never seen them do anything difficult, I can't help but think "holy shit, if I were still in shape I would have shown them a thing or two," instead, it's me getting spiked in the face now.

Piccinesco wrote:

instead, it's me who is getting smashed in the face now.

In my opinion, at a certain age, you have to hang up your boots. I used to play football; after a certain age, there were more injuries than anything else... the body has its own decay, it's better to focus on the brain, which has less wear and tear and can provide satisfaction until late age

This is true, but the competitiveness remains; the difficult part is precisely accepting little by little that things cannot be as they were in the past, it's also true that I have started again after many years.