#024 You're Sidelined. Now What?

Coaches John and Matty discuss what it's like to be injured and how to do jiu jitsu better, meaning ... don't get injured!!

You live and breathe jiu jitsu. You wake up doing technical stand ups out of bed. Co-workers say hi and your instinct is to respond with ‘oss’. Your Chrome is filled with jiu jitsu articles to read, and most waking moments of your life are dedicated to the gentle art.

So when you find yourself out injured with no chance of doing jiu jitsu, that world can easily come crashing down.

Physical ailments very quickly becomes mental anguish. Every part of yourself wants to don the gi and jump on the mats to train. You get antsy, and no amount of Youtube videos will help you. You hate being on the sidelines, and so does everybody else.

Injuries Suck

Have you ever attempted to drive a manual car with a dislocated left shoulder? Or push in a clutch with a torqued left knee? I have. It’s frustrating, humiliating, and extremely difficult. It makes you want to flash a wand and make everything better. Then you wake up, only with the real pain.

Change is Hard

Most jiu jitsu injuries are the result of boisterous enthusiasm coupled with a lack of knowledge.

You’re not mindful of your movements. Your partners don’t look after you enough. Your gym doesn’t know what sustainability means. There’s a litany of reasons to explain you being hurt. None of them help you.

How To Yield

Give up a position. Be swept. Tap early, and even if it isn’t totally locked in. Initially it will hurt to concede earlier than you need to, but this practice will help you minimise injuries, and will leave you more capable of jiu jitsu for a lifetime.

Be Intelligent

The best thing you can do is learn from your mistakes. Whether you are injured or not, use your experiences to help you make better ones. There are always ways to optimise your training if you’d only be happy to do some things a little different.

While our objective in jiu jitsu is to hyperextend limbs and asphyxiate our prey, we can do this in a way that is sensible, and smart. This means that we can train regularly, and always, keep the trauma to a minimum, and enjoy learning Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a lifetime.

Original article: You're Sidelined. Now What?

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Oss and Out!