BJJ as an analyst/associate?

Yes. Fucking do it. It's awesome stress relief, a serious serious workout, generally a really fun hobby and you meet very cool people. I do no-gi, its less intense on the finger joints. Training and coaching there isn't much risk of injury unless you're super unfit and lack flexibility.

The real fun is when you spar, but that's also where injury risk is higher. Trick is to spar with people who are far above your level. They'll usually go 60-80%, or you can ask them to, you learn a lot and because of their experience the injury risk is lower. Most of the time its people who are inexperienced and either twist or turn the wrong ways, have bad takedown forms that clip you on the knees or whatever that hurt you.

I used to do MMA and BJJ but had to stop. Our work is too unpredictable. Sure you can go here and there, but not enough consistently to really become proficient. Mind you, I have over a decade of training behind me.

1st year probably impossible to get exercise in. Wrapping up my second year and I’m working out 5x a week, prepping for a half marathon and playing squash.

You can slowly build up things that are important to you as you get more senior.

Train and compete myself. You have free time its just how you value it. Hanging out with chicks, bars, or bjj, etc. Injuries are common sure, but it depends how hard you are rolling. If you are a beginner it is unlikely you roll until like month 3-4, early months are like classes and practicing techniques which is mostly safe. The better you get at bjj the less likely to injure unless you are competing in say ADCC, etc. Where they allow slams and what not. My best advice to you is, learn how to fall, learn how to attack out of guard, and you will be just fine. 

First year analyst or associate in IBD, probably pretty hard to train BJJ tbh. Treat that first year as career boot camp to establish a foothold in the industry. Second year gets better and you should be able to make time relatively consistently on the weekends (unless on a deal that blows up), and maybe once or twice a weekday sometimes. However, you only have so much time in the week w/ this job.. no matter how senior you get - BJJ will cut into your going out / socializing time so really depends on what you prioritize in your life.

In terms of not getting injured, don't roll 100 mph, choose you're rolling partners carefully, and tap early and tap often (ie check your ego at the door). You are an office warrior, not training for ADCC.

People act like it is impossible to have a life outside of banking. People love to do this to act like they are doing more than they probably are. I love it when people tell me they are working 100 hours or more. Like do you not sleep? No way that is a weekly occurrence. Maybe once every quarter. 

follow

Depends on the gym you go to. My only issue with BJJ and banking is that lack of sleep means you're prone to skin infections. Can't imagine having to go to a dermatologist while balancing live deals. Your hygiene has to be 100% while practicing BJJ. GI has to be cleaned, everything has to be cleaned.

It is a great hobby. 

Delete

Trained at Renzo’s, along with other gyms. Many finance folks train there but mostly hedge funds. It’s more common to see quant/ tech types there during the week. On weekends you’ll spot more investment professionals as well.

as for injury risk, it is real, especially at Renzo’s. Avoid rolling with people who are too aggressive, especially former wrestlers… most injuries in bjj start while standing. I myself have a torn meniscus and need surgery now.

I used to train BJJ and had minimal injuries. Did feel the onset of finger tendonitis when training a lot of Gi, and just had to take a break until the tendonitis left my fingers. The key to combating tendonitis is to not do too many Gi classes too fast, just gradually build up in hours per week if you want to do a lot of classes. I did crack some ribs one time getting a knee to the chest. I also had minor cauliflower ear that just looks like an inflamed ear, but my ears went back to normal basically after time and it looks like I just have regular ears again. I might go back to training again and had an invite from a friend to one gym with a black belt former UFC fighter/coach and think I'll end up there at some point.

100% do it. Never had a problem because I roll light and more for technique vs trying to be the strong man on the mat. People getting frantic or rolling hard are generally the ones who get injured, unless you just get an asshole as a partner in which case all bets are off. Just try to keep it chill and focus more on learning than trying to out macho anyone and you'll be fine. I literally just had to put a guy in the gym who got into a fight in a chokehold the other day to pull him off someone else and was thankful I knew how to synch in a tight one from a not so natural position. You never know when it might come in handy!

I used to, when I was in university.  Or rather, I studied Hapkido, but focused on the grappling.  Love to roll. But sadly haven't been able to keep it up while working. But if you manage to make it work time-wise, absolutely do it. 

Do it. It's amazing and life changing ... a couple of things to note:
1. Don't get too eager or you'll get injured. Ease into it.

2. Don't roll with new white belts or younger kids. They spazz alot and are more prone to injuring you and themselves.

3. Roll with more experienced white or blue belts and communicate that you're new, they will teach you.

4. Learn the limits of your own body, until now (and i have been doing it a fair bit), if i had a rough night at the office or two, i do the drills but skip the sparring so as not to injure myself.

5. Also learn your limitations as a finance professional, you can do with minor injuries but you can't sustain with a broken arm, rib, collarbone etc. So learn to tap, and understand that you're training with younger guys who heal faster / students who are free / etc. so don't get carried away

6. Independently work on your fitness. will do wonders for you.

Great stress reliever, definitely worth doing. Any gym that has common injuries is a bad gym. Find a place that has people who will be good training partners who are looking to get better and make you better, and not ego driven retards who want to "dominate" their training partner.

I got a ton of BJs as an analyst / associate. As others have said, they’re great for relieving stress after a long day 

what a coincidence, I went to my first class this week and it was awesome. Definitely want to pick it up.