This week I injured my knee (LCL) in class while training for my blue belt in BJJ.
While I am convalescing, I decided to write this report.
In this report, I will share some lessons learned, tips on injury prevention, safety in training, and some of the typical injuries in training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This report is my personal perspective based on my experience, my research on the internet and some great input from some of fellow martial arts practitioners. Use it as a reference only. You will certainly experience your own set of injuries (and lessons learned) if you train long enough or hard enough.
Let me repeat that: if you train long enough and hard enough, you will get injured.
No training worth the time or money happens without hard work and long duration. If you intend to get good at this (BJJ), expect to work through discomfort, pain, and injuries. Some prevention is possible, but if you are going to really improve your game, you are going to put yourself in harm's way. Be prepared for the consequences and the rewards!
However....BE SMART, BE SAFE!!!!
The injuries sustained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are similar to what you'd see in most contact sports (MMA, grappling, wrestling, etc.). Soreness (which has become much less frequent as I have become accustomed to the training) is by far the most common side effect. But soreness is just your body telling you it wants to rest after a good workout. That's not an injury! Soreness for me is a simple barometer that tells me that I trained hard enough yesterday!
Basic Prevention Tips
Do the techniques correctly - injuries are very commonly the result of poor training. Visit some of the resource site that there are on the internet, like AustinJiujitsu.com or LearnBJJtechniques.com.
Protection - get the right gear for training. Use equipment such as:
- Mouthguard - required of all my students
- Men - Groin protection cup
- Earguards - Never wrestle without them
- Wrestling shoes - if you are nervous about your toes
- Wraps - In boxing drills, wrap your hands to protect your hand bones. Your coach can show you how to wrap them. Wraps are cheap and make a big difference.
- Keep your nails short and clean
- Wash your hands and face before class (I'll assume you all wash up after using the potty room)
- Only wear clean clothes to class.
- Always leave your shoes outside the mats. Lots of nasty microbes are on the bottoms of your shoes. If they get on the mats, they can cause problems!
- Shower immediately after class
- Do not come to class if you have any kind of infection (skin rash, common cold, etc.)
- If you see a rash, blister, or sores on your training partner, don't train with them
- Use skin protectant. I apply Derma Plus (http://www.mfasco.com/) on my hands, arms, neck and feet before class. There is a FAQ about this product at http://www.timeless-ent.com/dermashield/faqs.html. I recommend you all buy some (if you find a better product or a better price, let me know).
- Disinfect the mats with an antimicrobial solution at least once per week. We do! We've never had an outbreak at our gym!
Set Limits with Your Training Partners - If you are nervous about sparring with someone much bigger, stronger, or more capable than you, tell them so. Ask them to be careful and always quit the match if you sense danger. The beauty of BJJ is that you can always "tap out" and stop immediately. Most advanced students know how to "throttle down" so this is more commonly an issue with beginners.
Don't be a hero. “Tap Often and Tap Early” was the best advice I received when I started training in bjj. Tap if it hurts, if you are dizzy, or have any reason to suspect you can't continue the match.
See a Doctor - If you think you have an injury, see a doctor. Take responsibility for your training and your healthcare. It's your body!
Don't be “the source” of injuries at your gym - Most gyms have a couple of guys who are a bit dangerous. They are usually beginners and don't know how to safely take someone down or apply technically correct submissions. They can also be advanced students that do not have the discernment to adjust to the partner they are working/rolling with. If your favorite submission is a neck crank, you're probably not making many friends at your gym. Be considerate of your training partners and their skill and fitness levels. Read about some disallowed techniques, below.
Common injuries you can expect every week or two Based on my personal experience, observation and research, the most common injuries in order of prevalence are:
- Bruises - These are most commonly from people grabbing your arms or legs. Most BJJ students will carry their bruises like a badge of honor. The only interesting perspective I can lend to this is that the longer I’ve trained the less I see bruises. I have no idea if that is an indication of my capillaries changing or me just getting harder to grab on to!
- Scratches - If you keep your finger and toenails short, you'll help reduce the scratches. See below for more prevention tips.
- Bloody lip - If you don't wear a mouthpiece, a bump against someone's knee, head, or elbow will bloody the inside of your mouth. A mouthpiece will reduce the chances of this significantly.
- Torn ligaments - I've never heard of any torn ligaments that required surgery, but plenty of tears occur that require recuperation time. For example, I hurt my elbow a couple of times that required a few weeks off. It took several months for my arm to feel "back to normal." One of my training partners tore the intercostals between his ribs, which is quite painful.
- Cauliflower Ear - Over time, ear injuries can cause cauliflower ear to wrestlers and boxers. I recommend all students buy and wear ear guards during wrestling and any drills which put pressure on the ears. I have one training partner that developed this condition and had to be treated by a doctor when he had some swelling on his ear. He is now a dedicated ear guard wearer!
- Toe Drags - This is an injury where you step on your own big toe as it gets caught under your foot while stepping forward on the mats. It sounds hard to imagine, but it has happened to me. It hurts like heck (especially when you have arthritis) and can really stress out your toe ligament. This took a couple of months to heal. While it healed, I wore wrestling shoes and was able to train at full intensity. I've heard of another couple of students getting toe drags. It is one of the most frustrating injuries, as it is one of the only "self-inflicted" injuries you can sustain on the mats.
- Breaks - The most common bone break I've seen is a pinky toe break. The mats are not kind to your toes. The solution to this is wrestling shoes. Wear them and you'll probably never get a foot injury. In nearly a decade, I've only seen one broken bone (a leg) at a competition -- not during regular training. I've heard about another guy who got his arm broken in the class of another school here in town, but not at ours!
- Dislocations - I've seen one dislocated shoulder in training. It popped right back in, but was a very painful experience for the poor student it happened to. I have also seen one dislocated elbow. Both of these were due to sloppy arm bars or “goofing off”. I have seen several dislocated pinky toes (again, wrestling shoes will nearly eliminate the chance of this).
- Lacerations - I have seen remarkably little blood in my gym other than from scrapes or a busted lip and bit tongue. Since we aren't punching each other in BJJ, it is rare to see split skin. I’ve only seen one serious cut that required stitches, and in that case it was "self-inflicted" in that the student who got cut slamming into his opponent’s knee when trying to take him down. Lesson learned: don't slam your head into someone's knee!
- Choking out - Prevention: TAP OUT! EARLY & OFTEN! To minimize risk here, just TAP OUT!!! It also has to be mentioned that I would NEVER…NEVER!!! let children choke each other in regular sparring. It requires individual adult attention to each match, and without enough sets of eyes on the mats, it's best to only allow chokes in controlled demonstrations. When I teach, children ARE NOT ALLOWED to choke.
- “Tossing your cookies” - This is very easy to prevent. Don't train with food in your tummy! If you train hard in any sport, you really can't have any food in your stomach. Different people have different windows of time they need to make sure they are safe. I won't eat within 2 hours of training. I know others that won't train for 4 hours.
- Any joint manipulation outside the range that is safe for that joint. All techniques have a safe way to apply them that will prevent injury. If you don't understand the way to perform the technique, ask your coach.
- Any move that is done at a speed greater than the ability for your partner to react and submit before injury. In other words, give your partner a chance to tap.
- The heel hooks - Unsafe at any speed above slow. Always avoid sideways torque to the knee.
- The neck crank - This technique is done from numerous angles, but is never accomplished without unnecessary stress to the vertebrae in the neck
- Laryngeal chokes - Any choke that puts pressure on the air passage is unsafe
- Slams - Takedowns where your opponent is dropped from any height above your knees are unsafe
- Any takedown or sweep where you cannot guarantee your partner will fall into a safe place on the mats. When throwing your partner, make sure they have plenty of open mat space to land in. Other people may be there!
- Single finger grabs - BJJ is all about control, which requires lots of grabbing. When you grab and pull on a single digit of your opponent, you risk breaking or straining it. Always grab 3 or more fingers
- Facial cranks - Not surprisingly, excessive pressure on the face will make someone tap, but they'll label you as unsafe and probably avoid you when sparring in the future
- Most back cranks, as in the case of neck cranks, this is an unnecessary risk of serious injury
BE SMART, BE SAFE!
Our number one priority at the martial arts school that I teach at (Dinoto Karate Center) is not only bring the best of martial arts training to Mount Laurel NJ, but SAFETY!!!
Find out about our family programs by visiting www.MountLaurelMartialArts.com
Peter Liciaga is a member of Tom Callos' The Ultimate Black Belt Test (http://www.ultimateblackbelttest.com/), an undertaking of The 100 (http://www.the100.us/), and a part of Dinoto Karate Center's master instructor staff (http://www.mountlaurelmartialarts.com/)
To find out more about Peter Liciaga's, visit www.PeterLiciaga.org
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