[whiddershins]

In general, much of sports injuries have to do with improper recovery cycles. So, although most skills-based practice (such as music) benefit from daily practice due to the way the brain adapts, this has to be somehow balanced against the body's need for recovery. So practicing language is great every day or several times a day, while power lifting starts with 4 recovery days per week and more recovery tends to be added as the person nears their genetic potential.

How to apply this precisely to martial arts and sports which have such intense mental and physical training/adaptation requirements, and adjusting for age and other individual considerations is way beyond what I can speak knowledgably about. I would recommend Thomas Kurtz's "The Science of Sports Training" but I found most of it impractical and incomprehensible. But what I think is the most important takeaway from his work is:

- recovery is everything

- sometimes a different, light activity, speeds recovery more than full rest

- so athletes' workloads should by cycled, they shouldn't do the same thing day after day, and it should also vary by season

- but really, recovery is everything, never underestimate how important recovery is