Dealing With Injuries by Gordon Ryan 

Shout out to everyone watching this with an injury and trying to improve while unable to train. Broke my foot a month ago but I’m almost ready to get back. Keep grinding!

“Find the balance between respecting your body, and not being a total pussy”. Solid advice. There’s always a way to work around injuries and keep progressing with trusted training partners 🤜🏻🤛🏼

There is a common misconception that people at the top train balls to the wall, EVERY SINGLE TIME! I’m glad that you are putting this video out here for all of us, and specially for the young athletes thinking destroying their body is the only way to become the next Goat of a sport that doesn’t even pay that well (unless you are the top top) Thanks King!

If you can’t train it physically then train it mentally, great advice dude. Stay healthy

Great advice. There's always things you can do outside of the gym that can elevate your overall game If you're currently injured and watching this, good on you for trying to improve when you can't train. Safe and speedy recovery to everyone!

Mario Yamasaki told us many years ago. If you're hurt, stay off the mat. If you come back to fast, 2 days will turn into 2 months, then 2 years and then you have a lingering effect. Take it from someone who is older, slower and been injured. Taking a month off may seem like you're losing time. But if you train for 20 years. (From 15 to 35). Taking a month off to let yourself heal is .00041 of that 20 years. So in the long game, it's a blip.

Finding partners that you can trust are very rare. If you have them, don't take them for granted.

It kinda makes me feel better about my injuries look at how good Gordan is at competing even after those injuries.

Man that’s so true! I’ve noticed that when I can’t train, it gives me time to think about my game and fix some problems in my mind. When I go back to the mat it feels like I never took time off…thanks Gordon..obviously watching this now with a torn meniscus fml

Thank you Mr. Gordon for the advice! I wish I got this advice years ago. Having good partners that take care of you is super important. Years ago, I rolled with a blue belt that was also a judoka black belt over 40lbs heavier than me a couple of times. He took both of my shoulders home in different occasions lol. I stopped rolling with the guy after the last time he did a violent uchimata and almost dislocated my shoulder. I re-injured each shoulder on different occasions again because of inexperience and getting back to training too soon. It took longer to heal after re-injuring each shoulder. It’s important to allow injuries to fully heal and get back to training slowly and train with partners that know how to train with injured people... do not train with white belts if you are coming back from injury. I was luckily able to come back from shoulder, ribs, knee, elbow, and wrist injuries (fingers and toes come with the territory), but what I find most difficult now is dealing with Father Time and a herniated disc. At over 40, three years ago I’ve already accepted my limitations as I get older (it never stops once it starts lol), but dealing with a herniated disc is something you will have forever and it limits your training so much. I train with the best posture possible, but year by year I’m losing more of my flexibility and mobility, and my back acts up from time to time. I still keep on training 3 times a week though as I know I will lose more if I stop. My goal is to improve and stay healthy within my limitations. I used to get so depressed when I aspired for more than I could possibly handle. I think when we start to get old, this is something we learn to do and it makes training so much more enjoyable! Respect to all the brothers and sisters here that have gone through injury and still train, and the older guys that still keep doing it!

Thank you for the advice. When I'm injured like now torn pec. I watche jiu-jitsu moves on RU-vid. And think about defense vs offense. Like this keep me going. Cant wait to start sparring again next week. My doc said today no sparring. If you do dont do anything crazy. I just smile. Thanks again Mr. Gordon

I just had my foot sprained and I was worried that it was going to ruin me, I know this is weird but you talking about all your list of injuries makes me feel greatful and less worried about coming back fully.

The cliche Gordon spoke of, getting better while injured, is a phenomenon that extends beyond grappling. Any time that you immersed in something as extensive as grappling, stepping away for an amount of time, whether it be for injury illness or personal reasons, can give you time to reflect on things and better understand a complex subject as a whole. All of the information you had been absorbing at practice bit by bit, which can seem overwhelming, can be fully assembled as a working thesis. In Navy Nuke School, I was an average student, 3.0 GPA until I had to go on medical leave for about 4 months. During that time, I was able to really envision the entire reactor, to imagine all of these different systems and how they worked together. When I came back, without even being allowed to study during that time off, I became a 3.9+GPA student. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but I went from about 50th percentile to top 1% in the most difficult and intense school in the military, and I didn't do anything different. I was able to study less. Instead of 30 hours a week, I would give it a few hours the night before a test and thats it. All because I had that time off to put it all together in my head. And red bull.

so much respect for this guy

Watching this while with an injury here. I felt frustrated when I injured my wrist. I thought of being an athlete before the injury but now I couldn’t even hold my bag myself. I have stopped training for two weeks and yes I watch jiujitsu move in RU-vid every night and practice in my mind. This clip is like a big relief to me Gordon said everything I’m feeling right now and what I should do next. I’m grad to I watched this video tonight with my injury. I hope you guys feel the same. Thank you Gordon and stay healthy everyone.

Thank you sir. Great words of wisdom.

Gordon is a legend for dealing with all of these injuries

There's quite a few old folks I work with that now know an unholy amount about the various utilities of the collar tie or the hip escape because through keeping Jiu Jitsu front and centre during my knee and shoulder injuries, Jiu Jitsu rehab has come up as a topic of conversation. Seeing folks only months from end of life doing isometrics and balance exercises puts things in perspective. There's almost always a way to get value out of your situation, even if you're extremely limited by injury or circumstance.

Thanks Gordo Bryan

Thank you Gordon

good info, thank you.

The advice at the end is really good

06:43 honestly motivated me so much. I am currently facing a complicated ankle Injury with a pending surgery to prevent arthrosis. I will probably be unable to train for 8 to 16 weeks. I am in my mid 20´s and just started to take competition serious after 3 years of training. I never had any serious injuries and I am kind of terrified. Jiu Jitsu developed into my biggest passion and the thought of having to stop the sport or dealing with a big set back is hard to stomach, but now I am really determined to make the most out of it!

moral of the story dont be afraid to tap early

Lol, I had a grade 2 tear of my right mcl as a blue belt also!! Lol, my daughter said, “you’re almost the next Gordon Ryan, Dad.” (Heavy sarcasm in her voice)

Thanks for sharing I thought I was the only one who gets injured. To think you're in your 20s and and still get that type of injuries. People would think that it's because of age but reality is it happens with all ages. And that it also happens to high level guys. Great stuff!

Being injured really sucks.. Great advice.

You're the best no gi grappler on the world on this moment, keep up the good werk👍. greetz from the Netherlands.

Ty for that.

2 years later I’m still not on the mats. Herniated my L4-L5 and I’m still having nerve issues. I also have Anterior Pelvic Tilt which is also an issue. I miss bjj so bad and I’m scared as hell to go back. Especially at 45

"Craig broke my arm in half" I fucking knew he had that armbar locked, lmao. Gordon's a freak for not tapping but hey, he got paid.

This is a great video. I’m a blue belt. I just broke my right ring finger on my right hand (choking hand gripping the lapel) doing a bow and arrow choke. I heard it snap as soon as I threw my leg over the shoulder. It was during a sparring match at my school with another blue belt. I had a displacement fracture that went down at a gnarly angle. I just had surgery less than 24 hours ago and my surgeon was Dr. John Knight. He put two screws in to repair my finger. I am not on insurance so it definitely ended up being expensive. Really makes me think that if I want to continue doing what I love I may need to invest in health insurance. I have a household of four and it can be expensive. I’ve had some other injuries that weren’t horrible but sidelined me. I always still come to class and be a support to my other teammates and try to continue to learn when and wherever I can. My recovery time is six weeks with rehab. Definitely going to be easing back into training after I am fully recovered.

This was real good advice. I just recently got my first stripe for my white belt and was asked to roll with a guy that has a tournament coming up. To make a long story short, my body was already heavily fatigued, and I ended up twisting weird and pulling my rib muscles. Very painful and kind of embarrassing. I needed to hear this. Very good stuff

For a serious athletes like yourself you can do great stuff with it

Broke my shoulder today looks like I gotta watch the classes for the next few weeks 👌🏽

I had an ACL tear and was out for two years just getting back. 2 strip blue. I forgot a lot of fundamentals its humbling.

Broke my foot 20 days ago and had surgery, tough mentally but I can’t wait to start exercising again

I was wondering why I haven't seen you compete lately, sorry Gordon I hope you get better soon so you can show these guys who the f'n King is !!!

I'm 51 and just started jiu-jitsu a few months ago and broke my little toe in my second class doing a take down. I had just paid my tuition too...lol...so they showed me how to buddy tape the toe and I haven't missed a beat yet...

So in the match with Craig Jones he did break his arm. Damn I thought it was an escape. Gordon is a champ

Had a intercostal strain 5 months ago been getting back to training way Til early and reinjured 3 times so I am taking at least a month of ALL hard physical activities/workouts and I’ll see How I feel then. Keeping the mental game up is gonna be huge. Great advice.

Im a white belt, with only 2 months and just got my first injury, someone heavier than me push all his weight on my left ribs with his elbow and now i have 10 days recovering, glad i found this video from one of the best to ever do it

Rock solid advice Gordo. Thank you.

Thank you Gordon. You are our inspiration

Thanks so much, Gordon. I'm a fan of yours now because of this honesty & sharing this precious knowledge. I've got a thumb injury and it was making me depressed to not be able to train. Thanks for showing that we can all came back to it given enough time.

great video!!! this totally helps, i wonder who are the 8 people that thumbs down this video, just some haters

I got kneed in the back by a crazy white belt like 4 months ago still hurts

Someone 175 did the s mount on my chest. Hurt my rib. Took about 1.5 months to heal. 125 bounced off my chest and didn't really feel it.

Look into wim hoff method

Got a neck and shoulder injury with a competition tommorow. Neck was injured yesterday. I am so annoying at myself for allowing myself to get injured a few days before comp. I should have just taken the week off rolling, but in the past I've never really had an issue before, I roll light and everything is fine. But yesterday, someone caught my neck at a bad angle when transitioning, and it re-injury a neck pain I had months ago. Not ideal. Just need to push forward and get it done anyway.

He said not many injuries and then proceeded to list like 15 injuries. Daaaamn.

Popped rib. Attending as many classes as I can while participating where it makes sense given the injury. Continue learning everyone.

Has anyone ever had pain in their hand where in between your pinky and ring finger it hurts? Also if I squeeze the sides of my hand it hurts. Grips getting ripped away isn’t fun either. It’s in my left hand and the side close to the pinky hurts sometimes as well. Any insight are much appreciated. Also I had X-rays so I know it’s not broken.

Broke my hand in BJJ yesterday, sucks balls but I appreciate this video

the thing he said at the end about remaining mentally engaged was pretty interesting

I don't compete but it's all about finding and sometimes 'nurturing' a training partner you can trust. It actually takes time and investment to find someone in class like that. I've sprained my ankle and a good training partner will roll with you, will be cognizant of it and mindful but still allow you to work. Those partners are rare.

Got injured my right knee LCL ,got checked by a doctor and he sent me to rest for 2 months with no deep check of my injury. I have been doing yoga for more than a year, bought a mat and a dummy to drill with, but not sure how good my knee is right now in a real fight. Never did Ray X or formally checked if I needed surgery after the 2 months I was not ready, now I can run in a peaceful way. Doing lot of mountain biking to try to make my knees stronger at the end I do not feel pain even if I ride rocky sections my knee acts fine. Would you rec to go and try a class in any school or should I go to a doctor either way?. Has been a year and few months that I feel great but not sure about my LCL thanks for anyone who can help with this.

man, i just injured my ribs recently and i'm soo sad about it. I've been watching videos and thinking about it but its not the same if i can't implement what im thinking.

visualization is huge

I love Bjj, but my body does not. I train light but keep getting injured, not sure if its worth it anymore. its sad.

Every TIME I’ve been injured it’s been with I guy about 40lbs heavier than me. Probably doesn’t help I’m over 40

is that a Breitling?

He Sounds like Ben Shapiro in this video lol

2 weeks into practice this dude cranked a gullotine on my neck and pulled the shit out of the muscles in my upper neck, i wake up with horrible neck pain every day now after 2 months since this happened. i been icing it doing everything you can think of this shit sucks

I have a shoulder injury and it sucks

❤

I dont do tornaments but when i roll with my buddies at the gym i always do get joint injuries im 17 should i keep going if i have joint injuries like my elbows from armbars? I also do boxing and mauy thai btw

What about his NECK specifically? How he is doing with that?

I’m still waiting for that “gentle art” BJJ school.

I have a foot injury it sucks not able to train

1:39 By this time my lame excuses had been disolved😂

Does Gordon also train wearing a GI ?

Gordon: ya I’ve broken every limb on my body but nothing major

Dislocated my shoulder 3 times, now i have stiff shoulder for one year, i can't move more than 20% of my shoulder and stills bad. No progress. I'm afraid of the surgery but it will be the only way. physiotherapy doesn't solve my case anymore 😔

Not really been injured much... then proceeds to list injuries for two mins straight. Every actual jiujitsu person is like this

Tried to fight out of a darce last week, now my neck feels like a pepper grinder... it's taken me out of training

Gordon “baby hands” Ryan

popped my ankle and ac joint dislocation grade 2

100% more watchable than Eddie bravo. Thank you for being the no gi paragon alternative. Humility, grace, methodology. 🤩

Blew both my knees twice and im scared to train again now that i just hit 40

There would be alot less injuries especialy on the knees ACL if the gyms would lay down softer matts,,there all rock hard,,its a no brainer....

Just keep up your routine dosage of hgh and trt

it'll all show up a little later in life- with the path he's chosen-- he'll be a wobbly , limping 55 year old

6:46 came back better

Oh shit. So craig did break his arm

Gordon Ryan you have rib injury?

Gordan “I ain’t tapping for shit” Ryan

“Respect your body, but don’t be a Pussy” CLIP IT!

Broken toes and fingers? Dang.

herniated discs in my back and that was the end of my bjj career lmao

Bruised the ribs on my left side from a dumb 250lb blue belt doing double leg takedowns and dumbing me on my back

Broke my radius bone clean and dislocated my wrist skateboarding am I cooked

You have to learn to compete with pain. If you can't put it outta your mind for 5 minutes then don't compete or train

When I break a bone or tear a ligament, I just sleep it off, then eat some chicken, rice, and broccoli. If I REALLY want to get better, I listen to David Goggins yelling at me to stop being such a wimp, and my testosterone level goes through the roof.

Why is he not talking about steroids when dealing with injuries?

I think Gordon crossed the line into straight up villainy

Lol he still has the 120lbs voice 🤣

is he wearing a breitling superocean heritage

You could be in 20 street fights and never get injured like many BJJ guys. What's the point of taking BJJ for self-defense, again?

This must be why he juices so bad now