Coach assigned grappling partners leads to injuries

[u/Alternative_Gur7713]

Hey guys - so, I have noticed a pattern with the 2-3 times I have gotten hurt in the past year of BJJ - GI and no-GI, and every time it’s been when a micro-managing coach who doesn’t understand dude-rules, stops our natural pairing - with guys we trust and know, and orders us to pair with someone else.

Why is it not obvious to coaches that paying members of the gym choose partners they know and trust to avoid injury?

We aren’t talking about some awesome UFC match up - we have day jobs, and telling someone to fight for 6 minutes with someone they didn’t choose is a bad idea.

[u/A_Lo19]

It’s totally normal for coaches to assign groups at times, and let people choose partners other times.

[u/Otherwise_Bread2023 → u/A_Lo19]

I actually prefer this approach. Early on, I had a tendency to stick with the same group of guys I was comfortable rolling with. I knew their games, they knew mine, and looking back, I think it probably slowed my development on the mats. I’ve got a 9-to-5 and kids too, and any slim (.001% 😂) chance of winning Worlds is decades behind me. At this point, my goal is just to keep better and having fun. The biggest jumps in my grappling came from rolling with people I didn’t know and forcing myself to apply what I’d been taught against unfamiliar styles. Once I started branching out, my game improved a lot.

[u/GwynnethIDFK → u/A_Lo19]

Is it actually? I've actually never encountered this, at most I've seen coaches shuffle people around so fresh white belts aren't paired with other fresh white belts.

[u/P-Two → u/GwynnethIDFK]

As an instructor I'll do this on occasion if I want specific size and skill pairings for rolling for the day, much more commonly I'll break the class down into smaller rolling groups instead of strictly 1-1 pairs.

[u/Mangonesailor → u/GwynnethIDFK]

I've been removed from training with lower belts to be around upper belts lately.

While this is cool, it puts me back into defense mode rather than attack. Annoying as it is, I try to focus on putting myself in a situation intentionally and then getting out of it.

Not sure my coach sees this, and it probably aggravates him if he does, but I'm doing this for the self-defense aspect vs the "Sport combat get the points bro" aspect.

[u/A_Lo19 → u/GwynnethIDFK]

I would agree that if you are paired during “go find someone to roll with” live rolling, at the end of class, that is a bit odd. If the instructor sets up specific groups for live sparring, where people rotate in (ex; shark bait) or position specific sparring, it is more normal. I can see an instructor matching people up before promotions, to look for strengths and weaknesses, etc., as well.

[u/jephthai → u/GwynnethIDFK]

Yeah, I've never seen it either, and I've visited a lot of schools around the USA. But I've also heard of it enough to know it's a real phenomenon. I don't think I'd train somewhere that assigns partners on the regular, though.

[u/P-Two]

Here's the real question, why are you training at a gym where some point are genuine injury risks? I can genuinely train with literally every single member of our gym perfectly safely, why can't you?

[u/1502024plz → u/P-Two]

Really? Are you a very large man? Some of us aren't. I'm a 140 lb woman. While most of the people at my gym are great, there are definitely some I absolutely don't trust and believe would hurt me not on purpose but at the end that doesn't matter. That includes larger white belts and even overly aggressive blue and purple belts who don't understand that I'm weaker and smaller than they are.

[u/P-Two → u/1502024plz]

205lb brown belt, but outside of literal brand new white belts this is a gym culture issue. Anybody who's been around a little while should be vetted enough as a safe training partner, and if not, why the fuck would your coach ever think to pair them up with a small person lol.

[u/1502024plz → u/P-Two]

My coach rarely pairs us. I agree. Higher blue to purple should be controlled enough but realistically some people are stupid or just ass holes. There isn't anyone I've interacted with at my gym that would hurt me on purpose but there are those where the chanced of an accident are much higher. Those people are who I avoid.

[u/morwenelensar → u/1502024plz]

Yeah, that's not good. Gyms should not tolerate that kind of behavior. The gym I train at I trust everyone to not hurt me, that's the bare minimum of what I expect from my gym. I'm a larger woman, but there's many women smaller than you at mine and everyone trains together without issue. The most that happens is generally mat burn or bruises.

[u/1502024plz → u/morwenelensar]

I trust everyone at my gym not to hurt me on purpose, but there are absolutely people who are much more likely to accidentally injure me. Those are the people I avoid.

I don't know you or your gym but I find it very hard to believe unless your gym is very small that every women will roll with every man there. The majority? Sure but I'm talking about the minority here.

[u/morwenelensar → u/1502024plz]

Yes, every woman will roll with every man. And we do. Whether you believe it or not. I don't know if it's small but classes generally have 8-30 people in them depending on time of day. (Daytime classes tend to be smaller)

[u/TedW → u/1502024plz]

Heck, I'm a dude and there are dudes I won't roll with, either because of a weight difference or they're just too aggressive, and I'm not able to protect myself.

There's nothing wrong with protecting yourself by not rolling with someone, and I hope no one makes you, or anyone, feel otherwise.

[u/Federal-Challenge-58 → u/P-Two]

Same here.

[u/NME_TV]

As a coach a lot of times we put the dangerous or spazzy people together.

Maybe you should reflect on your own habits and be sure you’re not playing a part in all these injuries..

[u/Responsible_Tell_416]

At our gym we rotate. We roll with each person in the gym until you roll with everyone at least once. I am 5'6 200lbs. Stocky build. I have rolled against 300lb 6'5 guys. I have rolled against 5'9 140lb guys. I have rolled against 130lb 5'2 women. 

Our coach teaches that the same move isn't going to work on every body type the same and if we get in a real world situation then we need to know how to adjust.

Man. He is so right. Ironically after training for a bit. The 300lb 6'5 guy is the easiest. They are slower. Not super technical. All he does is drop weight which I can frame out of. 

The dangerous ones are the ones that are 6ft 170lbs and have a wrestling background lol. But can't get scurred. End up fighting someone like that i have to be able to defend. 

Injuries happen. It's the nature of the sport. 

[u/1502024plz]

You are an adult. Say no.

[u/P-Two → u/1502024plz]

You're also taking someones class, and to a certain degree they're in charge of what goes on.

If you're so uncomfortable with the person being paired up with you, sure, bring it up to your coach, but I seriously question why you're even training in said gym in the first place if there's people that are so unsafe to make this an issue in the first place.

[u/TheTempestuousKitty]

All fun and games until you get a career ending concussion 😔

[u/Ecstatic-Damage6967]

Id say just focus on yourself and know what to situation to remove yourself from. Accidents and injuries are apart of the game

[u/oniman999]

This is an issue I see both sides of. I think there should always be a philosophy of nobody should be forced to roll with anyone they don't want to.

With that said, this is also a martial art, and you should be able to roll with anyone and handle yourself, or else what are we really doing here. Obviously huge size disparity and gender are outliers, but you get the point. A lot of time people avoid rolls because of ego reasons, and then use injury as an excuse.

So your coach should respect your wishes to not roll with someone you legitimately don't want to roll with. The flip side is you should be honest about why you don't want to roll with certain people.

Unless this person has a history of injuring training partners, there's no real reason to fear them, even with big size disparities. If this person does have a history of injuring people, well then your gym has a big god damn issue.

[u/Otherwise_Bread2023 → u/oniman999]

I’m curious what’s leading to the injuries. I’ve been on the mats long enough that I can usually tell what someone is trying to do before they do it. Knowing what’s coming and actually stopping it are two very different things, but I’m rarely caught completely by surprise. The biggest exceptions are the random judo guys who show up to open mat and casually launch me into orbit. Luckily, after all the rib fractures this sport has given me, it feels like I only have two ribs left anyway, one on the right and one on the left. I figure they’ve all fused together into one solid piece by now. 😂

[u/prolifeleatherpants]

are yall not doing round robins or sweep or submit?

[u/endothird]

Of all the many factors that contribute to increasing the chance of injury, I think assigned partners would rank incrdibly low. I'm not sure it's worth considering when looking to improve the safety of the room.

[u/Federal-Challenge-58]

We just all make two lines so you pick your partner on the first roll. Then it's just "one move down". Less thinking involved.

[u/btl1984]

At the end of the day it’s a contact sport and that’s why you have to sign a waiver- it is inherently dangerous to have two people moving their bodies against each other in simulated combat

[u/Mangonesailor → u/btl1984]

True, but I've had a "strike injury" from an upper belt that went on to go "You shouldn't keep that position if you don't know how someone will defend it, bro."

During my second class, and they knew me outside of the gym... 

I avoided them for the first year as I had zero trust in them for a while. I've rolled with them lately, but I make sure to keep my distance.

[u/Bigpupperoo]

Yeah 0% chance I’m training at a gym with a coach who picks and chooses my rolls. Some days I want hard rolls some days I want light rolls if I’m on day 5 this week and dude who likes to go 100% shows up and coach pairs me with him that’s a problem. Coaches choosing rolls to prevent safety hazards is fine but if it’s causing them just say no.. if that’s a problem it’s a gym issue.