Jiu jitsu and injuries in the first classes: Tips to prevent them

Jiu Jitsu and injuries: How to prevent them.

It is unquestionable that injuries occur in jiu jitsu at different stages of learning and that as you progress and train regularly, some ailments also become chronic, so you must learn to avoid them and live with some. Otherwise you will end up giving up.

Although it is true that injuries can occur at any time, it is also true that the beginnings in soft art are a critical moment and many factors come together that end up producing injuries in the first classes.

In this article we want to share some suggestions to help people who are new to jiu jitsu and minimize injuries.

Do not do open sparr initially and develop the correct mobility.

For those people who have never practiced any martial art or who are in poor physical shape, it is recommended that during some classes they do not fight and limit themselves to exercises and technique to develop some flexibility, muscle tone and learn basic movements that help avoid injuries. .

Learning to fall, to get up correctly among other movements is essential. If this is your case, ask your teacher to help you in this way.

Although currently many teams and teachers work in this way, there are others that allow everyone who starts to fight.

Finally, do not feel bad if you see that another person who comes to try like you does fight, it is a decision of each one and you must learn that in jiu jitsu comparisons will never help you.

Warm up well before fights.

If you have some experience in other martial arts, you are in good shape or you have simply already learned the basic movements, remember that it is important to warm up and stretch before the fights, in this sense many teams are warming up before and not at the start of the class as it used to be the norm.

It is not that it is bad to warm up to do the class techniques, but it is also very important to do it before starting the fights, this will help you start the fight with the most prepared body.

Start doing only situational or specific sparring.

Another strategy that can help you minimize injuries and also improve is to perform specific fights by starting and maintaining certain positions, thus minimizing the range of movements and situations that can cause injuries (for example, fighting only starting from closed guard, both in attack and defense).

Learn to recognize dangerous situations.

Although falls and endings are the cause of many injuries in jiu jitsu, there are many other situations that also cause damage and if we learn to recognize them in time and stop the fight we can avoid them.

An example is that the fingers get stuck in a grip, that the opponent is going to fall on top of a hand or that twists and extensions are taking place in joints that, although they are not endings, can end up being dangerous and damaging.

Learn to recognize these situations and stop the fight before they end up causing an injury.

Be clear about the different ways to surrender.

Although it seems obvious, sometimes for different reasons people who start are not explained how they should surrender or they are only told that they can do so verbally or by touching the opponent with their hands.

However, there are situations in which your opponent will not listen to you or you will not have your hands free to indicate that you surrender, so you must use your feet to indicate it by hitting the ground for example.

In any case you must make sure that your partner knows that you are giving up and that you want him to stop the movement he is making.

Don't defend submissions until it's too late.

There are many submissions that are painless until an injury occurs, so it's very important that you don't resist too much and learn to surrender when you can't escape it.

Most strangulations and many dislocations are not painful until the person passes out or hyperextends the joint, then it is too late.

Don't go too hard.

It is undeniable that at the beginning many people are very tense and use a lot of force and sudden movements to defend or win positions.

This type of movement and sudden changes in position can cause bumps and dangerous falls.

For this reason, it is recommended that you try to regulate the rhythm and intensity of the movements and it is preferable that you go slower.

This will help you see what situations are repeated and start learning very early.

Although it is very difficult for some people, if this is your case, you must become aware of it and breathe and relax your body to continue.

So far these recommendations so that you learn to minimize situations that can cause injuries in your beginnings in jiu jitsu and that you can maintain a constant learning pace.

If you have been injured or suffer from injuries and conical ailments that are preventing you from progressing, we recommend the article "Jiu Jitsu and injuries as an opportunity to continue learning" in which we have discussed some strategies to be able to continue training and learning in those periods.

Originally Posted by Mario Rodriguez on June 28, 2021at BJJ Terrassa