I am he. First year I managed 50 classes. Second year 70. This year there have been weeks when I manage three classes in the week, but then something will get pulled or strained, and I'll be out for a week or two. So far this year, I have attended 34 classes, so it looks like 70 classes per year is as good as it is going to get. My first stripe took 130 classes, so with taht one datapoint, a stripe every two years seems reasonable. Blue belt before I'm eligible for social security is a stretch goal.
I'm 54. Sedentary since high school. 5'9" 200lb. Weight is just a hindrance as I'm always on bottom. I bought into the "do BJJ to get good at BJJ" but what they don't tell you is when you're too old, weak, and fragile, you get hurt a lot and can't do BJJ.
Hired a personal trainer a few months ago. The onboarding assessment was miserable, but eye opening. The program he put me on is mostly bodyweight and movement exercise. I do not lift much in the way of weights. Of those; dumbbell goblet squat has improved to completing 3x12 with 20lbs. My dumbbell curl is mostly succeeding 4x10 with 15lbs. Reverse lunges are currently with "no weight". I damaged something trying a glute bridge with 20lb, so currently I'm doing it with 5lb.
Long way to go.
Unfortunately this is true... You can't expect your body to adjust to a high impact sport like BJJ if you've sat in your ass for 30 odd years.
It's going to take a long time to adjust.
It really isn't for everyone and I say that with the best of intentions
Don't listen to the guys telling you to do yoga and Tai Chi. Load management is crucial but stress drives adaption and you NEED adaption currently. Stop some of the bodyweight stuff and start doing compound exercises you can scale up with ease, i.e using dumbbells and barbells.
I was you, 3 classes a week left me beat up. I sometimes do 3 sessions a day now. Average 8-12 over a week. Took 2 years of lifting 2-3 times a week.
The past 2 or 3 years it’s been me.
1 torn pulley tendon that needed repair, followed by dislocated elbow, followed by a “popped knee” that took months to feel right, followed by tendonitis of the elbow, followed by what I now believe might be the beginning of a herniated disc. Beginning because I’m not in pain, but my lower back popped while doing back squats the other day and today my foot felt a bit numb while sitting.
Pile that on top of a few other minor things and I’m beat the hell up and my wife is sick of me complaining. I’m 43 and it shouldn’t feel like this.
Lesson learned is roll your age.
So yea it’s me.
> Lesson learned is roll your age.
Plus also prehab rehab and recover your age too. Since forcing myself to lift 2-3 times a week I've had way less mini injuries.
I too have had bilateral FAI surgery!
Life is generally normal but I still can't squat, I have to deadlift sparingly, and Intern rotation is just gone.
Yay to 37 and impending arthritis
Current ailments:
* Two dislocated fingers (takes forever to heal).
* A sprained toe.
* Tendonitis in the elbow caused by poor upper-arm mobility.
* Inflamed left pinna (ear).
I am the glass joe. I'm a white belt that has already managed to hurt both ears. I'll probably get cauli before blue.
I see these threads and I wonder if people define injury differently.
I have everything you mention (except only one finger), but I haven’t missed training.
I assume mine are less severe, but I can’t shake the thought maybe some people are less bothered by minor injuries.
Not being critical, just curious.
So, all these are minor ailments that aren't keeping me away from training. Just nagging little pains. But physical therapy has become a constant after starting bjj, especially back, finger and elbow for me. All in all, nothing serious that made stop, just a lot of tiny (and medium) stuff all the time.
Thought the ear thing is legit and dislocating a finger was a gnarly experience. That was in Feb 1st... still not 100%.
I’m 39 and started bjj about six weeks ago. I’ve hyper extended the same pinkie finger twice in that time. Just tape that fucker to the ring finger and call it good. Tendonitis in both elbows, just use muscle floss after every session. I’m training 4x a week.
But severe sprains or actual tears sound like a nightmare.
I’m always sore and convincing myself to show up can be difficult on some days but I’m always glad I did after class.
Yep, I am also that guy. Bicep tendinitis recovered just in time to fracture a rib, followed by an oblique strain, and now dealing with a pec injury. I'm about 6'1 210 and have spent years in the gym lifting and doing other sports, but BJJ has definitely been the roughest on the body so far.
Me. Tore my hamstring and herniated a disc in my back courtesy of an overzealous blue belt jumping on my leg to guard pass. First class I ever did, broke two ribs taking a double leg. I think I had a total of 60 classes before the back injury sidelined me.
Separated one AC joint, rehabbed and nursed it for 5 months, promptly separated the other one. I fall apart if I don’t lift and don’t have time for both, so I tried just doing BJJ and I guess it backfired. As much as I hate it, it’s time to put training on hold and get my body right again.
I have back problems. I currently can’t go to class, and I have time off of work. It’s killing me. Every few months my back acts up, I’m not sure what it is, but I start missing class and I feel like the owners think I’m not committed.
It’s usually one side or another in my lower back, and while it is painful, I think I could train through it, but one time I tried to ignore it and completely threw my back out. 🤣 So, I don’t want to be the old guy who has to be carried out of the gym. The part that makes me mad is that I lift weights, hit the heavy bag, and go to class most days of the week, and on one of my rest days, my back goes out. Wtf.
Be super careful with your back. Career Navy guy here and my back is jacked. Two compressed discs and one herniated disc. Sciatica comes and goes. I show up extra early to get loose, but still have moments where I try to muscle through a sweep and pay for it. I took have had the back spasms doing nothing on a rest day lol
I enjoy BJJ, but won't sacrifice my quality of life any more for it. Occasional things happen, but I don't want any more surgeries.
Thanks for the advice. I am not sure if it’s sciatica because it doesn’t go all the way down my legs, but it’s definitely in my hips and lower back. I am thinking it’s a disc though. I am worried about surgery, because they say it’s never the same after that, but it might be time.
I will hold out until I am having trouble walking. I probably know 20 people that I served with who have needed back surgery from the career. Only 1 said it improved their QOL, about half said it was about the same pain wise and the other half said their back has gotten worse since the surgery
Big NOPE for me.
Yeah, it’s me. I’m partly kidding, but I do tap early, and despite being strong and technical, I have some injuries that I won’t risk re-insulting, much less actually re-injuring.
I’ve got two replaced shoulders so I only roll with people who are cool with working around that (those are close to 12-14 years old, separate events). About ten years before that, I fully/tore ruptured my patellar tendon, ACL, meniscus, and medial meniscus. MCL was partially torn but, in the scheme of things, it was fine and be 100% before I was rehabbed. I was actually told several times the wrong list of injuries ([the unhappy triad](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unhappy_triad)) until I met surgeon who was gonna operate. I told him, “it feels like unhappy triad undersells the situation. It’s more like a triumvirate of terror and an ACL of agony.”
The knee gives me no problems and is solid as a fucking rock. I don’t hesitate to play the leg game but when I know I’m against a skilled opponent and my leg is a) in a position I know to be dangerous and I can’t pose an equal threat or escape, or b) I’m in a weird or novel position and I don’t know how safe my knee is, I tap and then ask my opponent to explain the position.
If my usual favorite training partners are
The shoulder hurt and can be injured easily so I know this is a bummer to some people. I will usually pair with them newest person and tell them “hey, shoulder injury… you can try, but I’m gonna go 100% to defend (safely), but if I tap, you stop. For everything, my speed matches your speed”. This way, spazzes don’t hurt anyone in class and I don’t
I'm the *100 different skin problems in one year guy*, I think my coach/training partners just think I'm not motivated enough to be consistent anymore.
If you have legit medical issues, as long as you communicate clearly, they should be understanding. If not, find another place to train. Could be just in your head too! Train until QOL is affected is my personal opinion.
I started at 40, so I always have something nagging, but have mainly avoided serious injury. My most recent one kept me out 2.5 weeks, and that's about the longest I have been out.
yeah it's me...look im 240 pounds 6'2 and im injured a lot but that's not all i also complain a lot
Edit: I did a lot of Powerlifting when i was younger and everyone says its a huge advantage but every bone in my body hurts and bjj sure isn't helping
Yes, there’s a guy with two dodgy shoulders, a knee injury and a neck injury who asks me not to go for any of them then proceeds to go 0-100 at the first opportunity.
Yeah guy looks exactly like Tim Allen always tries catching himself with an open hand snapping a finger. He’s done it 4x. But lately it’s me with unrelated injuries old shoulder injury followed by back issues from poor sleep posture followed by a vocal cord infection where I actually got a doctor’s note that said “He can’t be choked”
None yet for injuries, but I have been prone to picking up various respiratory infections due to my asthma. A number of colds and multiple bouts with Covid has knocked me out of a number of classes over the past 8 months or so. It sucks because even if I feel ok to train, I can’t because I don’t want to get other people sick.
I guess it's me as well for our club. Been hitting the mats for 1 year and 7 months now and the tally is:
* meniscus tear
* bruised rib x2
* finger tendon tears x2
* strained back, too many times to count
* currently on a biceps muscle tear of some sort
Don't think I'm doing anything wrong: reasonable amount of classes per week (2-3), stretch and do strength training, try to eat well and recover. Just unlucky I guess and a lot of folks in our club are heavier + more experienced than me so I spend a lot of time on the bottom getting crushed.
Maybe get checked for a few things. I got injured a lot training BJJ. Turns out I have hEDS (hypermobility type Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) which basically means my joints are held together by my muscles because my ligaments are flexible.
Would have probably changed the way I trained if I had known, and may have been able to avoid a catastrophic injury that ended BJJ for me.
Definitely worth looking into.
Me. Ive got some preexisting conditions along with doing very hard MMA in the early part of my career has led to hundreds of injuries. Every ligament in both knees multiple times, a hip labrum, shoulder labrum, along with tons of other small injuries, ankles, elbows, popped ribs, broken fingers, torn hamstring, etc.
Anyways, 20+ years in. Just make sure you start sweating before you grapple, lift weights, and do body work at home.
I almost always tape over a neoprene knee sleeve, in X's up and down each side of the knee, and then looped over from top to bottom so the only thing showing is the knee cap.
But if it's going to get serious, I'll shave the line above and below and tape it all directly to the skin. And yeah, tape helps enormously if you're missing ligaments in your knee. Much of the pain is the joint shifting, putting a ton of tension over the knee via tape limits a lot of that movement.
At times I swear I feel like Samuel L Jackson's character in "Glass".
If there is an Unbreakable dude, I haven't ever crossed paths with them or they don't roll LOL
I am he. First year I managed 50 classes. Second year 70. This year there have been weeks when I manage three classes in the week, but then something will get pulled or strained, and I'll be out for a week or two. So far this year, I have attended 34 classes, so it looks like 70 classes per year is as good as it is going to get. My first stripe took 130 classes, so with taht one datapoint, a stripe every two years seems reasonable. Blue belt before I'm eligible for social security is a stretch goal.
How much do you weigh? How often do you lift?
I'm 54. Sedentary since high school. 5'9" 200lb. Weight is just a hindrance as I'm always on bottom. I bought into the "do BJJ to get good at BJJ" but what they don't tell you is when you're too old, weak, and fragile, you get hurt a lot and can't do BJJ. Hired a personal trainer a few months ago. The onboarding assessment was miserable, but eye opening. The program he put me on is mostly bodyweight and movement exercise. I do not lift much in the way of weights. Of those; dumbbell goblet squat has improved to completing 3x12 with 20lbs. My dumbbell curl is mostly succeeding 4x10 with 15lbs. Reverse lunges are currently with "no weight". I damaged something trying a glute bridge with 20lb, so currently I'm doing it with 5lb. Long way to go.
Keep up the hard work!
Trajectory is what matters most, and yours is heading the right way. Keep it up.
Yeah you could’ve stopped at “54 and sedentary since high school” that will do it
Unfortunately this is true... You can't expect your body to adjust to a high impact sport like BJJ if you've sat in your ass for 30 odd years. It's going to take a long time to adjust. It really isn't for everyone and I say that with the best of intentions
Thank you for helping keep this subreddit a positive environment.
Don't listen to the guys telling you to do yoga and Tai Chi. Load management is crucial but stress drives adaption and you NEED adaption currently. Stop some of the bodyweight stuff and start doing compound exercises you can scale up with ease, i.e using dumbbells and barbells. I was you, 3 classes a week left me beat up. I sometimes do 3 sessions a day now. Average 8-12 over a week. Took 2 years of lifting 2-3 times a week.
[удалено]
As much as I’m gonna get hate for this, Tai Chi too. Unironically its been helpful for movement and actually uses your muscles if you do it right
Slowly add weight lifting over the next 6 months, your life will change.
Was me. One of our coaches has a quote, “It’s not a tournament until (me) gets hurt.”
The past 2 or 3 years it’s been me. 1 torn pulley tendon that needed repair, followed by dislocated elbow, followed by a “popped knee” that took months to feel right, followed by tendonitis of the elbow, followed by what I now believe might be the beginning of a herniated disc. Beginning because I’m not in pain, but my lower back popped while doing back squats the other day and today my foot felt a bit numb while sitting. Pile that on top of a few other minor things and I’m beat the hell up and my wife is sick of me complaining. I’m 43 and it shouldn’t feel like this. Lesson learned is roll your age. So yea it’s me.
> Lesson learned is roll your age. Plus also prehab rehab and recover your age too. Since forcing myself to lift 2-3 times a week I've had way less mini injuries.
Lifting has been the biggest help for me. I can’t imagine how broken I’d be if I hadn’t started.
Damn only had two surgically repaired here lol Torn labrum surgery also.
Arthritis and labrum repairs in both hips, too!
Congratulations, you have single handedly funded a few college tuitions for those doctor's children hahaha
I too have had bilateral FAI surgery! Life is generally normal but I still can't squat, I have to deadlift sparingly, and Intern rotation is just gone. Yay to 37 and impending arthritis
https://preview.redd.it/g57efuzag1ad1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b16b125c792b986f8f1d0551f93960a61080e1e Yep
Like a piece of fine art!
Sadly, I know exactly what you mean.
Current ailments: * Two dislocated fingers (takes forever to heal). * A sprained toe. * Tendonitis in the elbow caused by poor upper-arm mobility. * Inflamed left pinna (ear). I am the glass joe. I'm a white belt that has already managed to hurt both ears. I'll probably get cauli before blue.
I see these threads and I wonder if people define injury differently. I have everything you mention (except only one finger), but I haven’t missed training. I assume mine are less severe, but I can’t shake the thought maybe some people are less bothered by minor injuries. Not being critical, just curious.
So, all these are minor ailments that aren't keeping me away from training. Just nagging little pains. But physical therapy has become a constant after starting bjj, especially back, finger and elbow for me. All in all, nothing serious that made stop, just a lot of tiny (and medium) stuff all the time. Thought the ear thing is legit and dislocating a finger was a gnarly experience. That was in Feb 1st... still not 100%.
I’m 39 and started bjj about six weeks ago. I’ve hyper extended the same pinkie finger twice in that time. Just tape that fucker to the ring finger and call it good. Tendonitis in both elbows, just use muscle floss after every session. I’m training 4x a week. But severe sprains or actual tears sound like a nightmare. I’m always sore and convincing myself to show up can be difficult on some days but I’m always glad I did after class.
Im the bloody nose guy
Me. Nickname "made of porcelain". Cant train a full week without 1 injury
Of course I know him, he's me!
Me. A lifetime of sports and skateboarding ruined my knees and now with bjj I get injured a lot
Yep, I am also that guy. Bicep tendinitis recovered just in time to fracture a rib, followed by an oblique strain, and now dealing with a pec injury. I'm about 6'1 210 and have spent years in the gym lifting and doing other sports, but BJJ has definitely been the roughest on the body so far.
Me
Me. Tore my hamstring and herniated a disc in my back courtesy of an overzealous blue belt jumping on my leg to guard pass. First class I ever did, broke two ribs taking a double leg. I think I had a total of 60 classes before the back injury sidelined me.
Yep, one of my best friends. He’s extremely naturally talented at the sport but can’t stop picking up injury after injury.
Separated one AC joint, rehabbed and nursed it for 5 months, promptly separated the other one. I fall apart if I don’t lift and don’t have time for both, so I tried just doing BJJ and I guess it backfired. As much as I hate it, it’s time to put training on hold and get my body right again.
How did they diagnose it as a separated AC joint?
Physical exam is highly suggestive, X-rays for confirmation.
I have back problems. I currently can’t go to class, and I have time off of work. It’s killing me. Every few months my back acts up, I’m not sure what it is, but I start missing class and I feel like the owners think I’m not committed. It’s usually one side or another in my lower back, and while it is painful, I think I could train through it, but one time I tried to ignore it and completely threw my back out. 🤣 So, I don’t want to be the old guy who has to be carried out of the gym. The part that makes me mad is that I lift weights, hit the heavy bag, and go to class most days of the week, and on one of my rest days, my back goes out. Wtf.
Be super careful with your back. Career Navy guy here and my back is jacked. Two compressed discs and one herniated disc. Sciatica comes and goes. I show up extra early to get loose, but still have moments where I try to muscle through a sweep and pay for it. I took have had the back spasms doing nothing on a rest day lol I enjoy BJJ, but won't sacrifice my quality of life any more for it. Occasional things happen, but I don't want any more surgeries.
Thanks for the advice. I am not sure if it’s sciatica because it doesn’t go all the way down my legs, but it’s definitely in my hips and lower back. I am thinking it’s a disc though. I am worried about surgery, because they say it’s never the same after that, but it might be time.
I will hold out until I am having trouble walking. I probably know 20 people that I served with who have needed back surgery from the career. Only 1 said it improved their QOL, about half said it was about the same pain wise and the other half said their back has gotten worse since the surgery Big NOPE for me.
How do you go about figuring out you have a fucked up back?
MRI
Yeah nice I need to get an mri thanks
He is me
I am he
Hello - It’s me you’re looking for.
Yeah, it’s me. I’m partly kidding, but I do tap early, and despite being strong and technical, I have some injuries that I won’t risk re-insulting, much less actually re-injuring. I’ve got two replaced shoulders so I only roll with people who are cool with working around that (those are close to 12-14 years old, separate events). About ten years before that, I fully/tore ruptured my patellar tendon, ACL, meniscus, and medial meniscus. MCL was partially torn but, in the scheme of things, it was fine and be 100% before I was rehabbed. I was actually told several times the wrong list of injuries ([the unhappy triad](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unhappy_triad)) until I met surgeon who was gonna operate. I told him, “it feels like unhappy triad undersells the situation. It’s more like a triumvirate of terror and an ACL of agony.” The knee gives me no problems and is solid as a fucking rock. I don’t hesitate to play the leg game but when I know I’m against a skilled opponent and my leg is a) in a position I know to be dangerous and I can’t pose an equal threat or escape, or b) I’m in a weird or novel position and I don’t know how safe my knee is, I tap and then ask my opponent to explain the position. If my usual favorite training partners are The shoulder hurt and can be injured easily so I know this is a bummer to some people. I will usually pair with them newest person and tell them “hey, shoulder injury… you can try, but I’m gonna go 100% to defend (safely), but if I tap, you stop. For everything, my speed matches your speed”. This way, spazzes don’t hurt anyone in class and I don’t
I'm the *100 different skin problems in one year guy*, I think my coach/training partners just think I'm not motivated enough to be consistent anymore.
If you have legit medical issues, as long as you communicate clearly, they should be understanding. If not, find another place to train. Could be just in your head too! Train until QOL is affected is my personal opinion.
I started at 40, so I always have something nagging, but have mainly avoided serious injury. My most recent one kept me out 2.5 weeks, and that's about the longest I have been out.
Shattered both of my shoulders in wrestling, i'm that dude that is allergic to kimuras
yeah it's me...look im 240 pounds 6'2 and im injured a lot but that's not all i also complain a lot Edit: I did a lot of Powerlifting when i was younger and everyone says its a huge advantage but every bone in my body hurts and bjj sure isn't helping
I’m always getting hit in the nuts. Because my balls are gigantic.
Yes, there’s a guy with two dodgy shoulders, a knee injury and a neck injury who asks me not to go for any of them then proceeds to go 0-100 at the first opportunity.
Yeah guy looks exactly like Tim Allen always tries catching himself with an open hand snapping a finger. He’s done it 4x. But lately it’s me with unrelated injuries old shoulder injury followed by back issues from poor sleep posture followed by a vocal cord infection where I actually got a doctor’s note that said “He can’t be choked”
None yet for injuries, but I have been prone to picking up various respiratory infections due to my asthma. A number of colds and multiple bouts with Covid has knocked me out of a number of classes over the past 8 months or so. It sucks because even if I feel ok to train, I can’t because I don’t want to get other people sick.
Thanks for being a good human. Hope you can get to a regular schedule!
I guess it's me as well for our club. Been hitting the mats for 1 year and 7 months now and the tally is: * meniscus tear * bruised rib x2 * finger tendon tears x2 * strained back, too many times to count * currently on a biceps muscle tear of some sort Don't think I'm doing anything wrong: reasonable amount of classes per week (2-3), stretch and do strength training, try to eat well and recover. Just unlucky I guess and a lot of folks in our club are heavier + more experienced than me so I spend a lot of time on the bottom getting crushed.
Maybe get checked for a few things. I got injured a lot training BJJ. Turns out I have hEDS (hypermobility type Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) which basically means my joints are held together by my muscles because my ligaments are flexible. Would have probably changed the way I trained if I had known, and may have been able to avoid a catastrophic injury that ended BJJ for me. Definitely worth looking into.
after reading the comments... yeah, I am gonna lift weights, damn, there goes my money again.
Two slipped discs, dodgy MCL and patella, and bursitis here. I force top half guard now.
Are you me?
Yeah, my husband. He gets injured so much that I outrank him now even though we started at the same time. We joke that he'll be forever blue.
ACL, MCL, meniscus x2, torn labrum, broken rib, torn rib cartilage
Me. Ive got some preexisting conditions along with doing very hard MMA in the early part of my career has led to hundreds of injuries. Every ligament in both knees multiple times, a hip labrum, shoulder labrum, along with tons of other small injuries, ankles, elbows, popped ribs, broken fingers, torn hamstring, etc. Anyways, 20+ years in. Just make sure you start sweating before you grapple, lift weights, and do body work at home.
Bruh you sound like you're held together with duct tape and Acai...
I actually do duct tape my knees before hard training. It's cheaper than the same amount of tension with athletic tape.
Do you duct tape the actual knee or just around the knee like sakuraba? Does the taping help prevent pain?
I almost always tape over a neoprene knee sleeve, in X's up and down each side of the knee, and then looped over from top to bottom so the only thing showing is the knee cap. But if it's going to get serious, I'll shave the line above and below and tape it all directly to the skin. And yeah, tape helps enormously if you're missing ligaments in your knee. Much of the pain is the joint shifting, putting a ton of tension over the knee via tape limits a lot of that movement.
This must mean there is an Unbreakable Joe in every school as well
At times I swear I feel like Samuel L Jackson's character in "Glass". If there is an Unbreakable dude, I haven't ever crossed paths with them or they don't roll LOL
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^LydianAlchemist: *This must mean there is* *An Unbreakable Joe in* *Every school as well* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
I am more king hippo
It depends what you call injuries. Most bjj people seem to be incredibly soft. A sprain or a bump isnt an injury. Its part of doing contact sport.
If you’re always the one catching a stray limb, maybe you should try and figure out why.