How to Avoid Injuries in BJJ 

Ive been doing jiu for 17 years. The best way not to get injured is not rolling with dbags that do t have good body control and dont have respect for there training partners. And do yoga and swim 👍🏻

Tap early, tap often. Old guy here, if someone is about to submit you, tap, don’t wait for any pain.

Thank you for this content. I'm a 57yo white belt (two weeks in). Way more fun than going to the gym to lift weights or run on a treadmill. But I see I'll probably need to keep lifting if I want to stay healthy for bjj. Your videos are very helpful and encouraging. Keep up the good work.

What timing for your video! 54 year-old blue belt. Just got home from class and somehow bruised a rib tonight while escaping mount by bridging, etc. We weren’t even going hard, and I’m very careful, but sometimes it just happens. Been hurt worse, it’s part of the game.

dude - your production and content is flawless

Thanks for the lessons. I'm Brazilian.

Rick, I always enjoy your videos. As a "senior" white belt, minor injuries have robbed me of about a month of training in my first year. Like you, I don't have time for this! On the other hand, I'm grateful that I can train at all - I know people younger than I who have a hard time getting off the couch. BJJ is a wonderful motivator for taking care of yourself.

Would love to see your stretching routine pre and/or post rolling. Thanks and cheers!

I trained BJJ, but recently stopped. I miss it somewhat, but it is difficult to find training partners that want to roll light and I don't want to hinder more serious people from training hard. I think injuries are unavoidable if you train hard. It really burst my bubble when one of the best BJJ guys in the world needed a hip replacement and he did yoga, great diet, etc. I think I was one of the few in the school I went to that didn't have a surgery on something. I feel fortunate.

I’m wishing you a speedy recovery Rick. I suffered an injury to my left shoulder during a tournament in January. I sat out a week and rehabbed it using pitching exercises that I found. I was able to recover in 2 weeks and make it to another tournament

Training through a knee injury now. Seeing incremental recovery, working on specific movements and skills, gradually re-entering sparring, still drilling technique and helping beginners with their technique. Active rest seems to be working.

As an old guy, swimming is great active recovery. For me, its better than yoga. Great content Rick.

So ive been watching your content since starting this journey 8 months ago and keeping in mind your advice on everything. Im here in Brazil for my instructors promotion ceremony and a week's worth of seminars (there are so many Coral belts and I'm the only white, a little intimidating honestly). But the fundamentals you teach in your videos have started to click with what these guys are teaching and i wanted to thank you for all of your help. I appreciate what you do sir, looking forward to watching more.

Great advice as always...Im learning this now especially being an older practitioner at blue belt. I look forward to joining the seminar next time. OSS!

well-timed video for this 46yo blue belt. this week is my first back to training after taking several weeks off for a broken hand. since i started bjj i've probably racked up close to a year in injury time. i too lament that lost training. i have become consciously focused on maintaining good body control, measured movement, technique, and choosing good training partners. thanks rick!

Ive weight trained my whole life but was lucky to learn the importance of flexibility and mobility in my 20s from one of the US strength and conditioning coaches I worked with. I found yoga in my 30s and have been doing that for the last few decades. So even though I am a 225lb meathead and 48, im still incredibly mobile and youthful

Another way to avoid injuries is to pick a BJJ dojo with the right culture and avoid the dudes who just wanna grip it and rip it (especially white and blue belts). At 60, I started jiu jitsu and have been training for a year now (61 as of a couple days ago - still a white belt). Everyone I roll with is respectful and does their best to help each other out. There are a couple dudes who are in their 40s, but most everyone is in their early thirties or twenties and I tell them all that no matter how good you feel now in your twenties and thirties, if you aren't practicing mobility drills, flexibility, and working on muscle endurance off the mats, you run the risk of feeling pretty crappy when you get to my age. Oh, and I also tap early!

Yoga for BJJ has some great content (both free and paid). Sebastien is great.

Great episode Rick!!! Thanks for the mention of “Jiu Jitsu Impossible “.

Ok, so rather than wait to get injured and then start a specific program to rehabilitate that injury (while not being able to train) and then get injured again etc I'm going to start an injury prevention program now , to hopefully avoid some injuries and keep training. I reckon yoga, weights, swimming and bjj drills at home should do it, thanks for the great advice as usual Rick!

Your thumbnail is 😂 Hilarious!

That’s my bigger concern I’m not a office worker who can still sit at their desk and do their job with a tweaked knee I’m in construction I need to be in the field moving lol

Just the video I needed, thanks!

I'm dealing with my second training pausing groin pull in 2 years. I ignored warning signs in my tight, stiff, sore glutes, I should have worked on them more. After much research I think inner thigh muscle/tendon/ligament groups overcompensated and gave out, resulting in injury. I've resigned myself to the fact that I need to do even more pre and post workout/class/rolling stretching and mobility exercises. So I'm reviewing and learning about related rehab exercises, which are literally a pain in the ass. When I do them, my ass hurts, hahah.... Icing and compression also seem to be helping so far. (62 yr old blue belt fwiw)

Hi rick, You prob heard about bioginastica, It was also practiced by rickson gracie. Orlando Cani came up with it. It combines tai chi/yoga/ animals movements etc in one''system'' Imo it reaches many dimensions as you speak off. Kind regards

Brilliant 👍🙏

Hardest part for beginners is tapping. Ive grown accustomed to it. You got me, dont hurt me lol, ill tap if you got a sub. Fighting it after they have it tight is to late. Just stop the sub before to gets deep. And tap, at white belt everyone is better than you just accept it.

Would’ve attended this one , but not enough lead time, dates for October, sooner than later.

East Coast seminar…yes, sir! Recover quickly, brother!

live in half guard

I have ruptured my ACL, injured my MCL and Meniskus at a white belt tournament last Saturday after three years of Jiu Jitsu.

Tap

Have you walked a dog in the last three weeks?

I'm pretty close to being done It's not my fault I'm getting hurt, it's reckless partners It used to be I'd get injured and be frustrated because I want to get back to training, now I finally had the thought the other night as I'm laying awake with an ice pack and a massage gun that this isn't worth it anymore and my quality of life is worse because of this hobby, not better It's either every roll is a 100% smash and I don't let my partner move at all, or it's so light with white listed people that it isn't even an engaging activity Which if that's how I need to play this game then I'm not interested in playing it That playful in between is when some idiot tries to gain an advantage by flying through the air or ripping at something and putting my body at risk is not worth it anymore

Well, the comments from your last video have some good advice- don't compete in a tournament.