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Thread: Another BJJ Beginner Question

  1. #1

    Another BJJ Beginner Question

    Went to try out a BJJ class the other day by a well known Brazilian teacher who has won many competitions. While I was there one of his senior students injured his knee while rolling and he was laying on the ground moaning in pain. Another of his students told me that over half the class had undergone knee surgery.

    I'm wondering if serious injury is par for the course of training BJJ (not only knees but elbows, shoulders, necks, backs)- if there is something inseparable from training the art that eventually/inevitably leads to serious injury for the majority of practitioners? While I like the art and think its effective, I'm not keen on getting injured.

  2. #2
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    Injuries are part of any contact sport.
    That said, people tend to get hurt because of ego far more than they admit.
    BJJ, like any other grappling system, can be hard on the body.
    How hard depends on YOU.
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  3. #3
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    personally id avoid BJJ too many injuries.....is there a judo club you can try out instead??

  4. #4
    Injuries happen, but most are avoidable. Try following Roy Harris's advice: http://royharris-bjjover40.com/

    Even though it says BJJ Over 40, the advice applies to any practitioner who has a life outside of BJJ.

  5. #5
    The sad part is the acceptance of injury at that school. I wouldn't go to it, it's unacceptable to have that many serious knee injuries. That shows a lack of technique and a sheer reliance on athleticism. The only serious injury that we had at the club I used to go to was an overuse injury - the instructor needed rotator cuff surgery. And that wasn't specifically attributed to BJJ but it did play a part.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by ketchup View Post
    Went to try out a BJJ class the other day by a well known Brazilian teacher who has won many competitions. While I was there one of his senior students injured his knee while rolling and he was laying on the ground moaning in pain. Another of his students told me that over half the class had undergone knee surgery.

    I'm wondering if serious injury is par for the course of training BJJ (not only knees but elbows, shoulders, necks, backs)- if there is something inseparable from training the art that eventually/inevitably leads to serious injury for the majority of practitioners? While I like the art and think its effective, I'm not keen on getting injured.
    When participating in "manly" sports (pushing, shoving, slapping, tripping, etc) there is always the potential for injury. Do like most do, try tai chi and you will be happy! The potential for knee pain is still evident!

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by sanjuro_ronin View Post
    people tend to get hurt because of ego far more than they admit.
    This is true. Onetime my foot was caught on the grass. I couldn't spin. I could collapse my structure and accept my failure. I did my spinning anyway. I did take my opponent down but I had a broken ankle for 3 months.

    In one ground game, my wife refused to tap out. She had to visit ER after that.

    To win a round or to lose a round is not that important. It's not worthy to take any body injury risk.
    http://johnswang.com

    More opinion -> more argument
    Less opinion -> less argument
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  8. #8
    [QUOTE=ketchup;1231690]Went to try out a BJJ class the other day by a well known Brazilian teacher who has won many competitions. While I was there one of his senior students injured his knee while rolling and he was laying on the ground moaning in pain. Another of his students told me that over half the class had undergone knee surgery.

    i have done some bjj,competed once, some judo also competed once. and of course lots of kung fu. i had knee surgery,and it didn't come from the bjj or judo but from a moving push hands competition. the sumo type. so yeah contact sports are a bit risky .but also might have something to do with that school. for example i don't remember any of my judo classmates having knee surgery. a coupe broken fingers and other small injures though.

  9. #9
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    In my bjj school there have been a few knee injuries requiring surgery.......oddly enough a couple happened during the warm up on squat jumps. Injuries happen but they are not frequent. It is a contact sport, you have to accept you may be injured when you get on the mat.

  10. #10
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    I trained BJJ for a year in my mid-40s (I just turned 50 last month). I went into it with a chronic injury (non-martial related), but wanted the experience. I hadn't done any ground grappling since my judo days as a kid. I had a lot of fun, and luckily avoided any big injuries, but did experience some annoying, temporary minor injuries.

    Besides ego, another cause of injuries is not maintaining awareness of every body part in relation to your position and what's going on. This especially includes digits (fingers and toes). Those seemed to be the most common types of injuries I saw at the school I trained at. Even if you're careful and aware, they can still happen. And although I really enjoyed the art and the rolling, I ended up discontinuing after a year because in my profession (massage therapist) I depend on my hands. I had a couple annoying finger injuries that took the better part of a year to clear up; not good when you rely on your hands and hand strength a lot every day, like I do.

    But injuries can and do happen in any MA. I experienced various injuries over the years in both karate and kung fu. Believe it or not, the most contact-related injuries I've gotten have been in kung fu. Oddly enough, I never got any in judo.
    Last edited by Jimbo; 06-01-2013 at 09:47 AM.

  11. #11
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    I think in all MA's it's relative to the % you are going at.
    Originally posted by Bawang
    i had an old taichi lady talk smack behind my back. i mean comon man, come on. if it was 200 years ago,, mebbe i wouldve smacked her and took all her monehs.
    Originally posted by Bawang
    i am manly and strong. do not insult me cracker.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by ketchup View Post
    Went to try out a BJJ class the other day by a well known Brazilian teacher who has won many competitions. While I was there one of his senior students injured his knee while rolling and he was laying on the ground moaning in pain. Another of his students told me that over half the class had undergone knee surgery.

    I'm wondering if serious injury is par for the course of training BJJ (not only knees but elbows, shoulders, necks, backs)- if there is something inseparable from training the art that eventually/inevitably leads to serious injury for the majority of practitioners? While I like the art and think its effective, I'm not keen on getting injured.
    Wow. No, serious injury is not par for the course training BJJ. I'm not sure what's going on in that class you are talking about, but I have very seldom seen serious injuries (a finger in an eye was the worst). And people go pretty hard where I train. Our coach is all over keeping people from expressing idiotic risky behavior though. Minor injuries - toe sprains, elbow tweaks from armbars, bruises, fingers, etc. Those are pretty common.

    How exactly in that school are these multitudes of people injuring their knees? If there is a common thread, it would be something to present to the well-known instructor. That coach is responsible to teach about and prevent injuries in his school. Many do a good job, others don't.

  13. #13
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    I have 3 bulged neck discs from BJJ. It's so common they call it "Jiujitsu Neck."

    If you want to make an omelete, you gotta break some eggs.
    He most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher. -- Walt Whitman

    Quote Originally Posted by David Jamieson View Post
    As a mod, I don't have to explain myself to you.

  14. #14
    Masterkiller-

    Ouch. How long have you been training bjj/how long was it before you started getting those bulging neck discs? Are they reversible? I'm guessing you mean herniated discs

  15. #15
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    I work on bodies all day as Shiatsu and Thai Massage practitioner.

    Just because somebody gets certain injuries doing BJJ does not mean its going to happen to you.

    With any art you need to stretch and keep space in your body so you can move with freedom. Think spring steel.

    Offset your BJJ with some Qigong or Yoga – if you’re not working to keep your body supple while doing BJJ your asking for an injury.

    I think of BJJ as a dynamic type of Yoga, great for your core, you don't lift weights all day for this stuff otherwise surprise, surprise you cant move.

    BJJ is great - train safe and smart and you will be fine!

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