Things no one ever told you about - how to sit.

by Mike

In Grapplearts' newsletter, Stephen Kesting recently recounted the time that Jean-Jaques Machado gave him advice on, of all things, how to sit:

My arm was straight and my elbow locked out. Jean Jacques told me never to sit like that on the jiu-jitsu mat. He pointed out that if someone behind me, absorbed in their sparring, rolled onto my arm then my elbow would be shattered.

Unfortunately, many gyms have a story about this exact thing happening - someone wasn't paying attention (make that two people - the person sparring and the person sitting) had their arm or leg locked out and...they've got an injury that may or may not ever heal.

Be aware of your surroundings, whether you're rolling, watching, hanging out or even just outside the pit at a Ministry concert.