Injuries

If you have ever trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu you know what what I'm talking about. Sometimes it's a little injury that you can deal with and doesn't really bother you, sometimes it's a little more serious and you have to take a few days, or maybe even a week off, but sometimes it's that type of injury where you have to take an extended period of time off from training. Let me tell you, it sucks. If you do train, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You've probably even tried to continue to train with any of these injuries, but take it from me, it's not a good idea.

My first injury wasn't anything to be worried about, I sprained a finger, so I continued to train. My next injury was getting slammed on my head during an in-house competition (supposed to be friendly...hahaha) as a result I blacked out for a few seconds. At this point I was unable to continue to compete, so I called it quits for the day. My next injury was a little more serious.

At a competition in February of 2011 I decided to enter the absolute division after placing second in my own weight division (154 lbs). You typically face people in your own weight class, but in the absolute you can face any size opponent. I was "lucky" enough to face a 200+ pound behemoth in the first round. After frustrating him and almost winning (lost on a judges decision) I realized that I really busted up my rib during the competition. Ribs are a very touchy area on your body and this type of injury is a lot harder to train through than a sprained finger. As a result, I was unable to train for about a month...it was almost the death of me. I was unable to compete in the two biggest tournaments of the year. Needless to say I was very depressed. My next major injury came only a few months after healing up from my rib.

I was training in the academy, not hard or anything and doing something very simple I ended up fracturing my fourth metacarpal on my left hand (my ring finger). I had to get x-rays, multiple casts in which I was in for about two months and recovery for another three weeks afterwards. With this type of injury I was unable to really train at all. I would still go out and do what I could, but it was very minimal. This was a horrible time for me since the summer months were the prime time for me to train and here I was, injured and feeling useless.

Fast forward a month after my cast comes off and I hurt my knee in a competition when my opponent used an illegal technique (a heel hook) and almost ripped off my knee. Because of adrenaline I did not feel the full effects of this and continued to compete. The next day and almost two months later I'm just getting back into the swing of things.

So after my laundry list of annoying injuries, here are some tips on how to deal with the injuries.

First:
Determine what type of injury it is. Is it something that you can easily train through, or do you need to get it looked at?

Second:
If the pain lasts longer than a couple days, go to the doctor.

Third:
This ties in with the second one, don't be arrogant, or feel like a "pansy". Taking some time off to rest and heal is a crucial component of training BJJ. The ultimate goal is to become a black belt. If you can't train then you'll never be able to get to that point.

Fourth:
Know your limits and respect them. This kind of ties everything together. If you know that something is just a bothersome pain that you can deal with, continue to train. If you know something might be wrong and you're in constant pain, evaluate if training for a couple hours is worth it if you have to stop for a week, or won't be able to train when you're 40 because of the injuries you sustained when you were 21?

Like I said, the ultimate goal is to be able to train 20 years down the road, not just the next day. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an art, a sport and a self defense tool all at the same time. So instead of just thinking about the sport side where you are able to compete for a short period of time, think about the art side that you will be able to train and teach until the day you die.

So happy training and stay healthy folks :)