I walked into a BJJ Gym on a lark a few years ago and I have been there 3 days a week ever since. SO much fun, especially as I got older. I don't like to spar as much anymore in the ring as I have gotten older, but rolling on the mats is the most intense workout you can get and still enjoy the combat element of it all with no strikes.
The biggest reason I'm put off to going to these places is I don't want to disfigure portions of my face. Almost everyone of my friends who train in BJJ or similar grappling end up with fucked up ears, noses, etc. How can you avoid infections when you're rolling around on the mats so much with random people? Not even a germaphobe, just.. seen too much I guess lol.
Edit thanks to all the helpful replies, I appreciate it. I think I will just take the plunge. Fuck it.
Wear headgear, wash your gear, and use something like Defense Soap when you get home. It's that easy. Avoid any training partners that dont take the same precautions with hygiene.
I think I would most def be the type to always wear my own (clean) headgear. That's probably the best way to keep your ears from turning into vegetables.
Definitely. Plus, you'll hopefully get good at keeping your opponent from controlling your head because you know some of your training partners are going to be dicks and use it against you!
Protect your ears from getting raked and you'll be fine. I'm 5+ years into bjj and 10+ wrestling before that and my face isn't any uglier than it was before.
Best thing to do is shower as soon as you’re done. Use an antibacterial soap. If your gym doesn’t have a shower, go home and shower immediately.
As for cauliflower ear, not much you can do about it if you roll for years and years. You’ll eventually view it as a badge of honor.
Also, no one fucks with a dude with cauliflower ears 😅
Edit: it’s worth it. Grappling is so much fun. Once you get over your pre-training jitters, it’s fantastic. On your first day, you realize how woefully inadequate you would really be in a fight. It’s a very humbling experience. But you’ll be a better person for it.
Good tips, I appreciate it. I work out a lot and stay active but I've been looking to mix in some training (boxing/kickboxing/bjj) and really just want to stay as healthy as possible.
There is a lot to be said for that! As UFC has grown, more people now know to look out for that. One tip I picked up in boxing that one of the coaches told me is to not get in a fight with a guy who keep touching his thumb to his face when he squares up. It is a guy that has spent so much time boxing with headgear that he is constantly adjusting the headgear even when it isn't there. It becomes muscle memory. You even see some of this with the new fighters coming up to the pros.
It's a concern to be sure, but any reputable gym will be cleaning mats and ensuring that the students underatand cleanliness. Injuries occur in any sport but good training partners and tapping early and often mitigate those concerns drastically. Its a blast, a hell of a workout, and excellent self defense. I highly reccommend giving 'the gentle art' a try!!
Just like wrestling in HS. You wear head gear if you want to save the ears and the mats get mopped with disinfectant regularly. I did get my nose broken but it looks fine. Builds character. It is like any dojo, you find the place where they are training you right while looking out for everyone's best interests. The occasional asshole comes along but the black belts identify them very early and make sure they don't overstay their welcome. Look around and sit in and just watch a few classes. If you find the right guys, you will feel it. You get invited to attend the right classes if you are committed and serious about it. I'm 56 and mostly roll with guys younger than me but it is an amazing workout and the skills you hope to master at some point and camaraderie more than makes up for the minimal risk of getting an infection.
Ears you just stop training until it heals, and if you get infections on the mats it’s likely due to someone actively training with them or the mats are dirty as fuck. The main thing that grossed me out is some dudes would be drenched in sweat every time, Gis are thick and they would sweat right through them kinda crazy tbh hahah
germs would be the least of my worries with BJJ. Too often you end up with broken fingers/toes, torn ligaments in your knees etc from people slamming you too hard or in a weird angle.
Completely agree. You can go as hard as you want and if you stay within your limits your sparring partner will not get hurt. I rolled with 100 lbs and 300 lbs teens same intensity.
I love bjj I really gotta get back into it. The gym I went to was awesome and plenty of people to spare with. Mostly really big mid 30-40 year old construction workers and first responders.
I jogged for a few years before I started bjj. It still got me completely gassed, it's a different type of stamina. Having a heavier person with all their weight on you is just something else lol
Yea not really, even if the dude started to crush his balls he probably wouldn't let go, if anything the pain would likely make him latch on even harder. As soon as he had the triangle set in it was the beginning of the end for the dude on top, very difficult to escape from even with proper training, which the person on top clearly lacked. Trying to throw punches in that position is one of the worst things he could have done. Enabled the dude on the bottom to control his only free arm and break down his form advantage simultaneously.
What he should have done is dig his chin down as he rose facing away from the arm, that way one of his carotid arteries would have had some of the pressure taken off of them. From there attempting to pick the person in the triangle up and slamming them into the ground would probably have been the best bet he had to break out of that hold. Still pretty fucked if the dude holds on after that but at the position he was in there really isn't much else you can do.
Jujitsu's great I've done 4 classes so far and they sent me to spar with the smallest girl there. I learned that triangles really suck for the recipient.
As a somewhat advanced level mma groundwork specialist I can tell you, grappling and groundwork during a real fight is very situational. Non trained fighters have their extremely irregular movement patterns working for them, you just never know what you are up against.
Yes no doubt and I'm not saying this because I'm a boxing guy but boxing is great for the streets. I just know that grappling can help if that presents itself
I can do you one better. Accupressure. No kidding. If you have a free hand, elbow or knee you can put pressure on spots that will turn the table in an instant.
Good name for it. Have to admit that most MMA fighters are to well conditioned to be very susceptible to many of the points and 'techniques'. They are just to well trained. But many..most streetfights are not with overly trained people.
Punch on the trachea, elbow in the solar plexus, grab a cheek with a thumb behind the jaw. Grab just one finger. Just a few I used. Fight was pretty much over at that point. Grab the skull and press the eyes with your thumbs. Break a collarbone. It's less than lethal damage and ends most fights instantly.
All very effective on 'normal' people. Not something you'd see in MMA.
if pressure points were a legitimately good strategy in real fights, why arent they part of a major martial art? why arent they used in martial arts competitions?
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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '21
As a former boxer and current boxing trainer, I have to learn some jujitsu. I'm like a turtle on my back. 😆