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

[Smoke]

I’d also like to add something regarding break falls and rolls. #1 If you have previous MA experience great but please, when doing a forward roll just keep it at that and not a one handed forward somersault that takes 1/3 of the mat. #2. Be mindful when doing shrimp/hip escapes and back rolls with others is like being in traffic. I have seen enough people’s heads crash into the forward person’s feet and hips. Same goes with cartwheels. Some of my classmates have had to warn each other stop ‘crashes’ #3 Hip escapes aren’t easy for newbies (I’ve literally seen only one person get the motion in one class) and so are some moves like backward rolls. We all get stared at, we’ve all been there, that’s why there’s 2+ lines of rolling you need time, so keep trying.

#4 I’ve run into spazzes (I’m probably 70% spaz still) and have got dinged a bit with them during rolls. I’ve also warned my training partners who were about to roll with them to watch out. Maybe that’s unfair, I just know when my partners got promoted they shared more and worked with me because I’m not out to ‘kill a blue belt’ for fame and a lot of those spazzes left.

[BWT]

I wanted to check-in and see how this was going?

More curious than anything else - do you think you’ll keep it or have you seen enough to know it’s not for you?

I find Jiu Jitsu pretty much is a love it or leave it kind of thing pretty quickly. I seem to recall in a long-arm thread you mentioned still working this.

[BehindBlueI's]

I wanted to check-in and see how this was going?

More curious than anything else - do you think you’ll keep it or have you seen enough to know it’s not for you?

I find Jiu Jitsu pretty much is a love it or leave it kind of thing pretty quickly. I seem to recall in a long-arm thread you mentioned still working this.

I'm still going, generally 3 classes a week. I switched shifts so I'm going more day time classes now, and the other students trend toward much more experienced and physically larger. I'm having a rougher time doing open mat, which is good since I'm forced to improve more. I've also went to my imaginary center line knife a few times and did some taint stabbing, which didn't help me in reality but got the mental/physical rep on board for really real stuff. Right now I'm just looking at it like conditioning. I'll also go again this evening for the white belt class with my son, but have to leave right on time to get home and get ready for work.

What I find a bit frustrating is how tired it leaves me. I am having trouble keeping up with my running schedule and bailed on a planned 5k because I just can't do everything I want to do. Not to overstate it, I'm not banging my head against the wall or anything, but I really like both things and just need to get my endurance up so I can still pursue both.

[BWT]

I'm still going, generally 3 classes a week. I switched shifts so I'm going more day time classes now, and the other students trend toward much more experienced and physically larger. I'm having a rougher time doing open mat, which is good since I'm forced to improve more. I've also went to my imaginary center line knife a few times and did some taint stabbing, which didn't help me in reality but got the mental/physical rep on board for really real stuff. Right now I'm just looking at it like conditioning. I'll also go again this evening for the white belt class with my son, but have to leave right on time to get home and get ready for work.

What I find a bit frustrating is how tired it leaves me. I am having trouble keeping up with my running schedule and bailed on a planned 5k because I just can't do everything I want to do. Not to overstate it, I'm not banging my head against the wall or anything, but I really like both things and just need to get my endurance up so I can still pursue both.

I’m glad to hear all of this.

As far as energy levels. I will say - man - there simply has never been something that pushed me so hard as Jiu Jitsu comparatively.

I got in great shape. It definitely filled my need for physical activity. I didn’t shoot a lot back when I was doing it. You only have so much time and it really scratched the martial itch for me.

Sounds like you’re doing great!

[perlslacker]

What I find a bit frustrating is how tired it leaves me. I am having trouble keeping up with my running schedule and bailed on a planned 5k because I just can't do everything I want to do. Not to overstate it, I'm not banging my head against the wall or anything, but I really like both things and just need to get my endurance up so I can still pursue both.

I found that consuming some fast carbs immediately after class helped me regain energy.

My specific issue was that I'd train early in the AM and be zapped the rest of the day. YMMV.

[BehindBlueI's]

I found that consuming some fast carbs immediately after class helped me regain energy.

My specific issue was that I'd train early in the AM and be zapped the rest of the day. YMMV.

I think it's just a matter of conditioning. I did open mat yesterday morning and today my chest, back, glutes, and thighs are all still pretty toasty. My forearms are not as sore as when I started. My exercise prior to this was nearly 100% running/walking/hiking stuff with an occasional light weight lifting session. My core got weak, and I'm still building up my upper body from when I atrophied over a few years of dealing with a nerve issue in my back which left me mostly useless as I had to *really* baby anything to do with my spine or I'd lose sensation in my left side, start cramping up badly, have trouble getting muscles to fire on command, and have significant pain. My wife and I walked about 3 miles, and we usually do 4.5-5.5 a day but rain was heavy today and we called it. I can walk with no issues, at least once I get moving, I just can't find the energy to run or lift after an open mat or really intensive training day. I think I need to get a white board and just ink in a schedule, I find seeing it in writing helps me stick to a plan. I'm unlikely to be 'overtraining' at this point as long as I don't go stupid with the weight for back stuff.

I am strongly considering doing the Bataan next year, and if so I'm thinking I'll probably take a 2 month break from BJJ to really focus on endurance hiking again during the run up to that. Otherwise I intend to keep doing 2-3 classes a week as long as I enjoy it and am reasonably able to do so physically.

[eaglefrq]

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.

[WobblyPossum]

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.

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.

[Cory]

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.

I'm nobody... and my grapple game is less than an active white belt. So grain of salt.

Having a doctor take a look at you is never a bad idea. However, in my experience a doctor who only knows of wrestling or jiu jitsu from TV is never going to outright approve that activity with regard to injury. There could be exceptions but my experience doesn't bare that out.

At 29 I messed up my shoulder with a grade 2 AC seperation that severed the ligiment there and bruised my collar bone and shoulder blade. I saw doctors, physio therapist and the like. I was told I would never lift again, and starting BJJ is just plain out of the question. "Those people are crazy" is what the PT doc told me. At 29 years old I was essentially encouraged to be inactive and give up by doctors who werent interested. Because they didn't live the type of active lifestyle that folks like us do. I had to find my own way forward with the help of the internet and finding my own information.

I think that doctors are often so injury and risk adverse that they are unlikely to approve of much past a general "exercise is good" when it gets down to it. They never seem willing to approve of any risk in my experience. Perhaps your doctor is better than the ones i've dealt with, and is an exception like some of the excellent ones on the forum. @Doc_Glock comes to mind specifically as being an active and awesome MD. I would definitely have them explain the ranges of motion that are likely to cause problems, but dont expect approval.

[WobblyPossum]

I'm nobody... and my grapple game is less than an active white belt. So grain of salt.

Having a doctor take a look at you is never a bad idea. However, in my experience a doctor who only knows of wrestling or jiu jitsu from TV is never going to outright approve that activity with regard to injury. There could be exceptions but my experience doesn't bare that out.

At 29 I messed up my shoulder with a grade 2 AC seperation that severed the ligiment there and bruised my collar bone and shoulder blade. I saw doctors, physio therapist and the like. I was told I would never lift again, and starting BJJ is just plain out of the question. "Those people are crazy" is what the PT doc told me. At 29 years old I was essentially encouraged to be inactive and give up by doctors who werent interested. Because they didn't live the type of active lifestyle that folks like us do. I had to find my own way forward with the help of the internet and finding my own information.

I think that doctors are often so injury and risk adverse that they are unlikely to approve of much past a general "exercise is good" when it gets down to it. They never seem willing to approve of any risk in my experience. Perhaps your doctor is better than the ones i've dealt with, and is an exception like some of the excellent ones on the forum. @Doc_Glock comes to mind specifically as being an active and awesome MD. I would definitely have them explain the ranges of motion that are likely to cause problems, but dont expect approval.

Sadly, I think your experience is closer to the norm than mine was. When I hurt my knee a few years back I got lucky and the orthopedic surgeon I ended up with happened to also coach wrestling in his free time. He knew the kinds of stress the knee would be under and understood that I’d be going back to training as soon as I was healthy enough to do so. I don’t really expect a doctor to “approve” the activity because they do tend to be risk averse in my experience as well. If you can find a doctor who is at least vaguely familiar with the activity, they can give you an idea of specific risks related to injuries you already have.