Why Do I Keep Injuring Myself In Jiu-Jitsu?
by Jai Sappal
Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu (BJJ) is a sport rooted in technique and poise. Part of that technique is using levers and forces of action to go into a submission and ‘tap’ your opponent to win the fight. There are a couple reasons I can think of just based off personal experience. I took a crack at BJJ a while back (before I was a physio!) for a few years and noticed I kept getting injured (my neck, right arm, ankle, both hips, my back). I had to stop as a result so take a lesson from me and do better than I did. Looking back, the two main reasons why the injury rate was so high for myself was due to:
- Rolling Errors
- Improper additional training
Rolling Errors
Let’s be honest, when I say rolling errors I really mean ego error! There’s a certain amount of pride and sense of accomplishment if you can emulate a fighter not tapping out when he/she is on the mat. It’s hard to admit sometimes that you got beat.
My biggest mistake when I did BJJ was that it never clicked in my head that this is just sparring and meant for fun. Most of us aren’t training for a professional fight. So, there is no point in getting submitted and staying there until the bell rings. My advice? Don’t do that. If you’re being submitted, just tap, learn from it and move on and ask your coach how to work on the escape. Your opponent hasn’t out-forced you, they have outsmarted and out techniqued you!
The other thing with rolling is that you must be able to trust your partner. If the first thing they do is crank your neck, or yank your ankle into a lock, that isn’t someone you might want to spar with if you’re worried about injury. There is a mutual respect when sparring/rolling that you aren’t there to injure the other person. If you are uncomfortable with the intensity with which someone is rolling with you, let them know. Quite a few people may not know their own strength either.
If you’re also absolutely keen on rolling through an injury (which we don’t recommend), let your partner know so they avoid submissions to that limb (eg avoiding an armbar if you have recently injured your elbow). There is a lot of trust placed in your sparring partner, so roll correctly and communicate.
Improper Additional Training
Though BJJ has been advertised as a sport rooted in technique so that anyone can do it, if you’re doing it everyday, the body needs a high level of conditioning and recovery for you to keep going through with it, or the risk for injury is higher. Having appropriate strength and stability in the relevant muscle groups is going to make it that much easier to nail the positions you need more easily. You also need good muscular endurance to do a lot of the submissions seen in BJJ!
A good example of this is the kimura. Your arm is placed already in a precarious position, so having strength and stability around the smaller muscles in your arm is paramount. This is to reduce the risk of shoulder dislocations. If you have ever dislocated your shoulder, you’ll also know just how important rehab exercises are to keep the shoulder happy. The same principle can be applied to other limbs in the body such as the hips. If you keep these small muscles happy and strong, you are also less likely to get injured!
When you do talk one of our physios about an injury you got in BJJ, it is important that you do the exercise prescribed, as that will be your road to longevity in order to keep submitting your opponents.
Osu,
Jai Sappal
Physiotherapist
Peak Health Services.