How to still improve while injured in BJJ
How to still improve while injured in BJJ? To train or not to train, that is the question. BJJ is not easy on the body sometimes, especially if you are an older practitioner. The trouble with having a BJJ injury is not that you’re hurt. It is that you can’t train. Or can you? If something is minor, and you are the type of person who falls out of their schedule easily, has the tendency to quit at first sign of adversity, change that! Get a brace, tape it up. If if becomes too much, seeing your doctor is the next step. Next is actually following their advice. So, if the advice is to rest for a couple of weeks, listen. What you mustn’t do is skip it all together and jump straight back in. Take it slow, some flow rolls, grab a partner you trust. Just give your body enough time to heal. I always tell my students “don’t turn a 3 week injury into a 3 month one”. Aggravating an injury is very easy to do if you train without letting it heal up enough. In addition, even if you do not make an existing injury worse, you’ll can cause a new injury. When you’re favoring a certain part of your body, the body tends to compensate. That is why “rest is sometimes best”.
That said, let’s see how you should train after a BJJ injury, or with a minor one.
To Train Or Not To Train?
Injuries!!!! Listen to you body. If it is screaming at you for a day off, take it! you do not “lose your game” in a day a month, or a year. That being said, and this is SO important, STAY IN YOUR ROUTINE! Whatever your training schedule, it is so important that you come to class and watch while you are injured, especially if you are a white or bluebelt. First, you don’t want to fall behind and you can still be learning the moves even without drilling them (sometimes, it is even better this way, you see more) And secondly, I see this all the time. When you are training consistently, it becomes part of your day to train or work out. When you are not coming consistently, it works the same way in reverse, it becomes part of your day not to come and makes it harder to come back. Do not fall into this trap!! Also, and **BEWARE OF THIS TRAP** Please understand that in the majority of cases your situation and/or injury is not special. Someone is or has gone through it and a lot of times they are training right beside you and you’d never know it. Unfortunately, I’ve had tons of students quit over the years because in their minds, their injury or circumstance was “the worst.” And, for that person, it became OK to quit because they can use that injury or situation to rationalize their quitting spirit. “I had to quit because…..” Don’t be confused, you quit because you made the decision to, that’s it . The first time you overcome these pitfalls will set the foundation for your ability to succeed in the future, regardless of what your endeavor is…and then when you run into injuries or tough times again, you will be better equipped to handle it because you’ve rewired your brain to understand that if it’s important, you will find a way.
