Starting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Part 3: Injuries, Intensity and Schedule

by Flipper

As an 8-month student of BJJ, I tend to look upon newer students with mixed feelings. While it’s always good to see someone looking to try out the sport, and a new training partner is always welcome, I always feel a little trepidation about the first few matches I’ll have with them.

Actual, honest-to-god new students (and not the “oh, I went to a class or two” bricker type of folks who want to look good on their first day) tend to know little about technique, and try to make up for it with a lot of energy and physicality. While this usually means the new student will wear themselves out (and as such let someone more experienced like me control a match in terms of position and tempo)- it also means they unintentionally pose a heightened risk of injury to either themselves or their sparing partners (namely, me). New students will refuse to tap out to tight armlocks or chokes to prove they’re tough- and end up injuring their joints or passing out instead. Other new students will attempt illegal moves (wristlocks, for example, are not considered a legit move in most BJJ schools or competitions) or moves they don’t fully understand (if you think you know how to apply an inverted heel hook from an internet video- DON’T DO IT!) to try and stay competitive. It’s even possible for a new student to injure themselves simply because they didn’t realize turning/jumping a certain way would tug on their joints in a manner unintended by biology.

As such, the first bit of advice in this part is that new students should always try to work at a reasonable speed and intensity level. Avoid slamming, tossing, or bouncing your opponent off the ground, and be aware of the difference between pushing/pulling with your arms and legs and punching/kicking. If you know or suspect you weigh a lot more than your opponent, it is considered courteous to not fully sprawl your weight on them. Also, avoid “slapping on” submission holds- always try to apply a submission with gentle and graceful technique. You will lose more than a few submissions by doing this (applying a hold “gently” usually means your opponent will have a good chance to react)- but in the end you will greatly reduce the chance of hurting your partner. The goal of sparring is to learn, not to win.

Despite these precautions, you will likely pick up a number of injuries while training. Common, recurring injuries will include:

• -scrapes and cuts on your feet and hands
  
  
• Bruises on just about any point of your body
  
  
• Swollen knees
  
  
• Hyper-extended knees and elbows
  
  
• Pulled groin, shoulder, and neck muscles
  
  
• Stiff arms, shoulders, back, neck, legs, junk, etc
  
  
• Bruised ribs or damage to rib cartilage

In most of the above cases, you will learn to sort out the difference between minor occurrences (wear-and tear, things that you’ll be able to ignore by the time you’ve warmed up) and the “need to take a week off” items (rib damage will usually be here)- but for beginners, expect to always give yourself a day between classes. Own at least one (preferably 2) hot/cold pads for use after class; use cold for joint hyper-extensions and new injuries, warm/hot for general stiffness or soreness. Try to acquire equipment to mitigate injuries early on- while I look like an absolute tool for wearing them, thick volleyball knee-pads have kept my knees in very good condition while practicing take-downs and guard-passing.

Downtime is the most important factor in recovering. While I would recommend a new student attend class at least twice a week (and look to increase attendance if they intend to be serious about pursuing BJJ as a sport/hobby), I don’t think any new student is well served by attending class more than four times a week until they get a good 3 months under their belt and experience the full range of “jiu-jitsu injuries."

Starting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Part 2: Goals

by Flipper

After the conditioning issue, the next big thing that ends up causing a new student to let their school membership run out is expectations. As I mentioned in part 1, BJJ is a very technique oriented martial art, and it is regularly advertised as a type of “little-man” martial art…a grappling sport where smaller, quick (or just plain wiser) opponents can compete against larger ones. As I also mentioned above, when it comes to sparring between new students, the stronger or more athletic will almost always win. Sadly, this leads a lot of new students to think either (a) they are not “getting it or (b) they were misled about what BJJ is about.

Both of the above statements are true and not in any way contradictory- but most new students have little perspective on what it means to have “technique”. A week or two weeks of extra training over another new student usually means very little, and the fact that you have an extra dozen reps at applying a kimura from closed guard will mean very little against an opponent who weighs 20 lbs. more than you. As my instructor usually puts it, “white belt is about learning the fundamentals of BJJ, a blue belt is about learning the other 90% of the sport, and purple belt is about distinguishing and developing your own style for future competition.” In the above sense, “technique” is something of knowing your own game plan and trying to force your opponent into positions you favor- it’s your “style” in the purple belt sense. A dedicated student can earn their purple belt in just over three years.

Consider that for a minute. It will take you one to two classes to learn a basic armbar. It will take you around 3 months to learn how to apply that armbar from 3-4 basic positions and (maybe) get comfortable doing it in one of those. Then- it will take you between 6 months to a year to get used to setting up an opponent to give up an armbar, or how to reverse a counter to it.

You probably won’t win on technique for a while.

With this in mind, you have to set reasonable goals. Expect to lose a lot of sparring matches and drills early on. Expect to gas out. You will get submitted or swept by blue belt sparring partners seemingly at will, and they will defeat you with the same move over and over and over again!

So- reasonable goals. I recommend to everyone that their goals for the first few weeks should look like this:

• Control my breathing during a match and last to the end of class without being exhausted
  
  
• Spar with one person I have not sparred with yet
  
  
• Spar with one older student (NOTE: I cannot emphasize this enough. I will probably write a part on this alone) and ask them to let you either (a) keep them in guard or (b) attempt to pass their guard for the entire match. Attempt to determine the one/two moves they are using on you, and try to think of a counter
  
  
• Apply one high-risk move from your previous class to sparring/drilling this class. If possible, try it 2-3 times
  
  
• Try to go one minute with a higher belt in full sparring without getting swept or submitted. Then try for two. Then three.

These goals, to some, will probably seem very meager. After a year- they will be remembered that way! However, for your first few months, you will be trying to learn patience, balance, aggression, and foresight while also practicing new and unfamiliar moves every day. The smaller your goals, the more satisfied you will be with your progress.

Starting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Part 1: Conditioning

by Flipper

Writing this article, I think I should make one thing clear- I am by no means an expert in BJJ (or, for that matter, any other grappling art). I have only been practicing BJJ and freestyle wrestling for roughly 8 months. However, I have stuck with it, and I am still new enough to remember most of the early struggles I had in picking up the sport.

Before I began BJJ, I considered myself in good shape and well prepared for training- I worked out 4 days a week for roughly 2 hours a night combining running and a full body strength-training plan. My first two weeks of class were spent sucking wind after nearly every drill and sparring session, and feeling weak as a kitten when pushing or pulling on someone during a fight. Very little will prepare you for the cardio aspect of BJJ, as a good portion of it is understanding when someone is actually attempting to attack you versus someone simply stalling or toying with you. It can take a few weeks to remember to breathe normally and not exert all of your strength from the start of a match. Any decent instructor will teach you patience and focus eventually, but many newcomers assume they can’t excel in BJJ because of early experiences like those.

The first question most people ask (and usually the most misunderstood) is what kind of strength or conditioning do you have to be in when starting BJJ. Newcomers generally learn about the sport from watching UFC, and expect you need the body and conditioning of Randy Couture or such to start. In short, this is wrong. I have trained against 50 year old man with string-bean physiques, and against muscle-bound body-builders (I even trained against a man with half an arm- and he brutalized me!), both were capable of going full speed and full strength against me. A bare level of health and conditioning is, of course, required (as it is for any high energy sport), and you will find that the more athletic/stronger students in a class early on will have an advantage in any sparring situation. However, BJJ is one of the most technique-centered arts you can practice, and it is very common for the “less athletic” to catch up to people, especially if those more athletic students try to rely too much on their beginning physical advantages.

The short of it: in terms of exercising and conditioning, you should probably meet the following conditions:

• No major medical issues that will result in trauma due to high amounts of exertion
  
  
• No severe back, neck, knee, shoulder, or elbow joint issues
  
  
• A basic amount of flexibility: able to basic toe-touches, arm circles, and the like
  
  
• Ability to run/jog a mile (or perform similar aerobic exercise) for roughly 10 minutes

And really- that’s it. Being able to do more would be great, but from most of the other students I’ve seen, you won’t see any major drop-off in the difficulty of your first few weeks unless you are the type of person who participates in 2-3 sports at a time or wrestled in high-school or college (and those years haven’t passed you by). However, over time you will find regular training to be an incredible form of exercise- your conditioning will improve, as will your functional strength. Since starting eight months ago, I have slowed my lifting/running schedule to 1-2 times a week at most, but at the same time I have lost 15 pounds, improved on my running endurance, and increased my upper body strength. All it takes is patience!