I’ve been looking to get into Jiu Jitsu but I’m worried about injuries that could interfere with work. I’ve been doing research and apparently wrist/finger injuries are pretty common.
Has anyone suffered or know anyone that suffered injuries from any form martial arts that prevented them from working? Is it worth it?
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Have been learning/training/sparring for a couple of years now and yet to be injured. BJJ + muay thai.
Proper technique for both you and your training/sparring partner and setting ground rules for sparring are key. As a beginner, rules like no subs, no reaping that sort of shit will minimize injury risk until you're at a comfortable level. If you're starting off, you should also only spar under supervision. You would be surprised how easy it is to miss an opponent tapping out.
I do no gi, which I find less stressful on the fingers and wrists.
Awesome. I’ll probably go through with it then.
Sorry I’m a newbie but does no GI also mean the opponent doesn’t wear the GI? Would I have to find a gym that doesn’t wear GI?
That's right, nobody wears a gi. You still do a lot of gripping but less dependent on your fingers.
You would have to find a no gi gym but those aren't rare. Usually more MMA geared but at least at mine, you can skip the types you don't want to learn. E.g., lot of people where I go only do BJJ or only do muay thai.
I've also thought about BJJ but have so far passed because of injury concerns as well as time, my current plan is to take it up the same way bourdain did, in his 60s
lindyman did it for 4y but quit bc of injuries. these are his instructor's hands
Those are def gi hands, a lot of wear and tear from intense gripping with your fingers. No gi is the way, more sweaty but also less damage.
interesting, never knew that nuance! perhaps some of my fear is unfounded
Hey- I've been training in MMA for around 5 years now and did compete for my uni team. I picked up a serious back injury (disc bulge) through training and also a shoulder impingement. The back injury made it so I couldn't sit of long periods of time which impacted me as I couldn't be glued to the screen for hours at a time. Injuries are very common if you plan to take the sport atleast somewhat serious- if you spar or roll very lightly then you aren't exactly putting yourself to learn best for actual combat/self defense. Injuries such as disc bulges are very, very common in the MMA community and alot of athletes get them, get better and come back perfectly fine. If you do pursue juijitsu and do pick up a disc bulge, just be aware that sitting for long periods will be very bad for your spine (so in a finance environment it might be hard to recover to 100%). But equally, there are just as many people who are just fine in terms of injuries. I hope you do decide to join, it is a fantastic sport and is cool to see poeple on this site showing interest for it! All the best :)
Thanks for sharing. I’ll watch out for disc bulge injuries as well. Ive been wanting to get into martial arts a while now. Picking the right gym seems like the key.
I’ve done Muay Thai and Gi and No Gi BJJ. I never got any injuries in Muay Thai except for bruising on my quads from sparring. I never had any hand/finger issues from Gi BJJ. I developed a slight cauliflower ear in both ears, but it went away. My ears changed shape, but they look normal. Oh also I broke a couple ribs in BJJ when I tried to jump over someone’s guard and they kneed me to block me.
Also, when you join a Muay Thai BJJ gym, you’re pretty much like family with your peers and instructors. It’s very healthy emotionally and likely results in lots of oxytocin in the brain.
Worth it 100%
You can wear headgear to protect your ears, but where I trained no one wore them and most people thought cauliflower ear was a sign of a badass warrior, but I personally think cauliflower ear is ugly and always feared getting it, but still never wore headgear.
Thanks for sharing. Idm cauliflower ears. That rib injury sounds nasty.
Would you say Muay Thai is safer?
Yeah I think Muay Thai is safer. It seems violent, but usually you just get a bit banged up in sparring and get bruises - no big deal. Some people only do pad work in Muay Thai and no sparring which is the safest.
The rib injury was no big deal, it was just a fracture. I just couldn’t laugh or sneeze for a month. I had to take time off training as well to recover.
This is my Muay Thai gym, we have some of the best fighters in the southeast here. Inspiring.
https://instagram.com/charleston_muay_thai?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Long time BJJ/grappler here. Never suffered any injuries aside from the odd bruising and minor sprains. I attribute that entirely to the culture of the gyms I’ve trained at and the professionalism of the instructors.
To reiterate what a few posters have said, I would highly recommend shopping around. Any decent gym will not only be fine with this but should actively encourage it. Obviously check online reviews and ask around during your trial classes. Frankly, it usually isn’t too hard to pick up on the vibe during these classes. Newer students ie. the other white belts in intro classes have a tendency to go far too hard during even controlled rolling. That’s to be expected; what is important to keep an eye out for is that A) the instructor actively supervises and steps in during anything REMOTELY unsafe and that B) the other students take both your and the instructor’s feedback seriously.
To this end, I’ve found that less « MMA » oriented gyms attract crowd with far less hardos. If you’re looking to do only BJJ/grappling then I would encourage you to avoid the all-in-one gyms. I know an earlier poster offered some recs for NYC; both of those are great from what I’ve heard. If you happen to be on the West Coast you’re welcome to PM me and I can offer some other recs.
Overall, I wouldn’t be too worried unless you plan to compete frequently or pursue an upper division belt. Accidents can and will happen but can be mitigated extremely well by picking the right gym and training smart.
https://www.facebook.com/hygorbeckbjj/
This guy used to instruct me in BJJ and he was really good - not sure if you've heard of him. He is from Brazil - his English isn't great, but he can explain all the key words in BJJ.
Getting into Muay Thai and BJJ is cool because when you start, you basically just see things on a surface level. You don't see all the technique. Then you begin to learn technique and people help you and it starts to click and it is very rewarding when you start to get things. I picked up Muay Thai a bit better than BJJ. Although I am very inflexible and this limits my Thai kicks. I find BJJ classes to be very challenging mentally. But, when you get it - you just get it. And with BJJ when you roll at the end of class, sometimes you get immediate results with a tapout. You're usually around very positive and confident people who help you on this journey.
I've taken Dutch Muay Thai classes as well and they are super long combos that I always forget, unless they start the pad training with sequential (building) combos. The Dutch Muay Thai instructor at my gym invited me to train in Thailand with him a couple years ago at AKA and I said no, but kind of wish I went on that trip.
If I ever have kids - they are going to be in Catholic school and training at an MMA gym. I think it is a valuable life experience. Also, if I have girls, they better be expert kickboxers for self defense situations. The training is useful.
Do BJJ regularly and have trained Muay Thai in the past. I go to a pretty intense BJJ gym and have still avoided major injuries. I’d recommend a mouth guard and wrestling headgear to protect the ears (some guys think cauliflower ears make you tough, but I work in an office so prefer not to have them).
I haven’t gotten much more than bumps and bruises, but make sure you stretch and warm up properly if you spend most of your day sitting in an office.
This guy (Uriah Hall) taught me how to kick.
That kick forces you to learn how to stay light on your feet. love it.
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