Picking up BJJ again

[AydinDubstep]

Did some submission wrestling in my late teens / early twenties and other than minor niggles here and there, got out fine and had fun.

Now just over my mid-twenties and thinking to pick up BJJ at a Gracie Barra gym, but the damn idea of getting a serious long term injury is plaguing my mind.

Picked up a few nagging injuries from work last year, lifting heavy things, and the pain seems to creep up on me from time to time, in my lower left back / hip area, which kinda just kicks in when I'm tired at work and almost locks my leg out. I've been doing a fair amount of strength work and stretching plus a few yoga poses over the months to strengthen the muscles around the area and it seems to be paying off.

Anyone can chime in?

Been training around 10 years, did a combination of stuff from points / continuous kickboxing, muay thai, boxing (my favourite), no-gi submission wrestling and mma. Never touched pure gi BJJ save for some random class I went to years back. Used to have a different mindset a year or two ago but since the work injuries, and seeing my dad after back surgery walking funky & nearly losing his lower limbs, I've become quite reserved / playing it safe.

For reference, was training to compete in amateur boxing last year Jan - Apr till I got a ruptured eardrum (4th time it's happened over the years) around the same time as my dad had to undergo sugery. Something changed after seeing him like that and realizing a) this is just a hobby / fun and b) I gotta be able to work to keep the £££ and provide for myself & family, but at the same time, if I didn't have this worry, I'd pick up BJJ in a heartbeat.

Picked up boxing again late last year to have another crack at amateurs but pulled a back muscle in sparring this January and called it a day. Work in a warehouse which involves a lot of lifting. Do strength training and stretch 2-3 times a week to make things easier at work.

Used to have a gung-ho attitude but now it's faded :/

Edit: gonna start and see how it goes, should be fine

[Zeta Reticulan1]

Quote: Originally Posted by AydinDubstep

Did some submission wrestling in my late teens / early twenties and other than minor niggles here and there, got out fine and had fun. Now just over my mid-twenties and thinking to pick up BJJ at a Gracie Barra gym, but the damn idea of getting a serious long term injury is plaguing my mind. Picked up a few nagging injuries from work last year, lifting heavy things, and the pain seems to creep up on me from time to time, in my lower left back / hip area, which kinda just kicks in when I'm tired at work and almost locks my leg out. I've been doing a fair amount of strength work and stretching plus a few yoga poses over the months to strengthen the muscles around the area and it seems to be paying off. Anyone can chime in? Been training around 10 years, did a combination of stuff from points / continuous kickboxing, muay thai, boxing (my favourite), no-gi submission wrestling and mma. Never touched pure gi BJJ save for some random class I went to years back. Used to have a different mindset a year or two ago but since the work injuries, and seeing my dad after back surgery walking funky & nearly losing his lower limbs, I've become quite reserved / playing it safe. For reference, was training to compete in amateur boxing last year Jan - Apr till I got a ruptured eardrum (4th time it's happened over the years) around the same time as my dad had to undergo sugery. Something changed after seeing him like that and realizing a) this is just a hobby / fun and b) I gotta be able to work to keep the £££ and provide for myself & family, but at the same time, if I didn't have this worry, I'd pick up BJJ in a heartbeat. Picked up boxing again late last year to have another crack at amateurs but pulled a back muscle in sparring this January and called it a day. Work in a warehouse which involves a lot of lifting. Do strength training and stretch 2-3 times a week to make things easier at work. Used to have a gung-ho attitude but now it's faded :/ Edit: gonna start and see how it goes, should be fine

Hey man just to chime in here. If you pulled a back muscle doing boxing I would
At least be very cautious and tell your partners you have back problems before rolling every time. You WILL get some r-tard that has your back and a collar and decides to YANK the collar as hard as he can, twisting the F out of your back to get a submission with absolutely zero technique. My back popped loudly when this happened to me, but fortunately no pain and I was fine. Heard about other people in my gym who had to take time out bc of back problems as well. Just want to mention my experience since you have back issues already.

Also, I recommend trying not to overtrain by adding weight training, at least at first. Give yourself a chance with just work and jiu jitsu first, see how you feel and go from there.

[Dave_S]

I don't know anything about bjj, but I know Luke Thomas has had some back issues tied specifically to training iirc.

Also, do what the first reply said. Make sure people you roll with are aware, and avoid grappling with the go-hards.

[MacGowan]

Quote: Originally Posted by AydinDubstep

I got a ruptured eardrum (4th time it's happened over the years)

4 times? jeeeez. had it happen to me once, never again. I've barely spared since then.

I got numerous small injuries doing BJJ to the point where I just stopped going to the gym and started doing lazy rolling in the garden with BJJ friends. There's just something about the gyms I don't like. makes me feel like I'm back in high school standing in the corner like an idiot.

To end on a fun note though, I bought a reflex bag a few weeks ago. It's in the middle of the livingroom, I'm sure my neighbours hate me now.

[WarMMA]

Quote: Originally Posted by Good Grappler

The biggest problem with BJJ for me though, and I’ve never told this to anyone, was drugs. For some reason I always felt the need to go to class high. And I’m not talking about weed... weed synergizes great with BJJ IMO due to the increase in bodily awareness. I would convince myself I’d roll better, be more easy-going, etc. I actually know a few people who have a drug problem in BJJ. Particularly opiates. It makes you more sociable, happy, ask more questions, etc.- all things that are positives in a BJJ environment. Plus all the injuries in BJJ - someone’s bound to have a script. Idk, I just had a problem with that. Maybe it’s just where I live. Or maybe just me. Not too sure yo.

Dang man...well at least you admit it. I've never used any hardcore drugs, but been using weed way before I started bjj and then mma training. And I agree I feel a hell of a lot better when I roll high lol. My coach hated it though and got pissed at me one time cuz I came to class kinda smelling like weed. He doesn't really care presonally, but said I was setting a bad example for the kids that are there. So out of respect I did'nt go to the gym high anymore lol. And on the injury thing, i've definitely took a few bumps. I'd say more i've taken more in mma sparring than bjj. Got picked up and slammed one time and went to post my arm as I was coming down and f'd it up. Then one time some jacka** cranked a kimura too hard and damaged my rotator cuff....couldn't train for a while after that one. I got my revenge though. When I went back I made sure to spar him hard lol.