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Thread: I took my first BJJ class yesterday - what advice would you give a neophyte?

  1. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by eaglefrq View Post
    I've been thinking about getting into BJJ and like others here, I'm older (54). I do have a neck issue, I have a fusion and plate at C6/C7. Do you think this could be a problem? I've read this thread and a few times I've noticed people talking about sore necks.
    It can be. Picking the right gym and right rolling partners can mitigate the risk, but it's a risk. I've remained injury free so far, but I also avoid a few people and I tap early and often when my neck is involved.
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  2. #72
    Quote Originally Posted by WobblyPossum View Post
    I’ve found that if I tweak something in class, 9 times out of 10, it’s my neck. So many situations involve some kind of strain on your neck, whether it’s being choked or defending against an arm bar. I’d probably run it by a doctor before starting.
    Yep, this has been my experience as well. When I was training no-gi heavily at an MMA gym, one of the best overall fighters there was a total dickhead and would neck crank people from mount (no-gi). It didn't help that he was 5-10 and 250ish lbs of (legitimately, openly) steroided out muscle. I'm not sure my neck has ever recovered, and this happened a decade ago in my early 20s lol.

    My recommendation for noobs, which isn't worth anything because I haven't grappled seriously in several years, is to roll relatively slow at first and to protect your neck. Tap early, tap often, and also avoid being a spazz. If you are training no-gi and are a larger, stronger human, don't just rely on raw athleticism every time you roll.

  3. #73
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    Roughly 9 months in now and I still really enjoy it. I'm bushed today, did a fundamentals class then some open mat (then came home and did my 5k training day). I rolled with a multi-stripe blue belt and a brown belt, and it was the first time I'd seen this particular brown belt. He had a very unique style that he said he put together from two different instructors and some of his own flavor. The best way I could describe it is he's like a fast growing vine. Every time you move he's wrapping something of his around something of yours in a way that just completely dominates your movement. It was incredibly fun just to watch him shut me down over and over, and I could recognize when he went for a submission and then released it so we could keep rolling.

    Funny thing today: I was rolling with a blue belt and grabbed his foot to try and stuff it into half guard. He was really really flexible and I was surprised when his foot bent a way I didn't think was possible. Then he moved his leg and I realized we'd gotten close to another pair on the ground and I was grabbing a foot from the guy on top over there...
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  4. #74
    Quote Originally Posted by BehindBlueI's View Post
    It can be. Picking the right gym and right rolling partners can mitigate the risk, but it's a risk. I've remained injury free so far, but I also avoid a few people and I tap early and often when my neck is involved.
    Often when people are new to BJJ they're worried about rolling with brown and black belts but it's the white belts and newly minted blue belts that will hurt you 9 times out of 10. Purple, brown, and black belts will prioritize position over submission and sink in the choke when it's there and gradually increase the pressure until you tap or go to sleep. Over eager white/blue belts will grab your neck like it stole something from them the second it's available and try to remove it. I've went nighty night from rear naked chokes from higher belts because one second you're like "it's not that tight" and the next thing you know you're seeing your dead grandma.

  5. #75
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    Quote Originally Posted by Casual Friday View Post
    Often when people are new to BJJ they're worried about rolling with brown and black belts but it's the white belts and newly minted blue belts that will hurt you 9 times out of 10. Purple, brown, and black belts will prioritize position over submission and sink in the choke when it's there and gradually increase the pressure until you tap or go to sleep. Over eager white/blue belts will grab your neck like it stole something from them the second it's available and try to remove it. I've went nighty night from rear naked chokes from higher belts because one second you're like "it's not that tight" and the next thing you know you're seeing your dead grandma.
    People say BJJ is unrealistic because there's no striking...

    ...but those people never rolled with a spazzasaurus white/blue belt....

    I enjoy rolling with the high level guys because they'll decide they want an armlock and even if they tell me that...well the odds are that I'm gonna get armlocked.

    They'll ignore the triangle, the guillotine, the knee bar...so in a way they'll let me work. But it ends the way they want it to. I aspire to that skill level.

    Meanwhile the purple belts and competing blue belts will be out to slaughter. They won't give any chance to work. It may be competitive, it may not be, but I won't get a concussion.

    The white belts give me a chance to hone my technique and clean up some mistakes that I noticed when rolling with other blue belts.

    I just need to make sure I don't get a concussion or a bruised testicle when they somehow reveal that they have knees and elbows literally everywhere.

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  6. #76
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    About 10 months in and got my first injury significant enough to take some time off. Nothing major, just bruising/pulled muscle in lower back. I really thought it was just a 48 hours and ice sort of thing, but it's turned into a bit longer recovery time. I went and in the warm up shrimping immediatly 'noped' and that was that. I'll give it a bit more time.

    Making 'old guy' noises when standing up, but once I'm up it's fine. Unless I drop something. Then I'm dicked.
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  7. #77
    Did my first BJJ class this evening.

    Plus- I’m still as strong as someone 20 years younger than me.
    Minus- I’m 20 years older than almost everyone there.

    Had a lot of fun and plan on going back
    This country needs an enema- Blues approved sig line

  8. #78

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