Are you injured or are you hurt??? Should I train when I am hurt?

Hello everyone! I am back from my Holliday break in blogging. I have two guest blogs coming up. My two guest bloggers are being slow and lazy, so I thought I would throw together something on my Saturday night.

It goes without saying that you will have boo-boos, ouchies, nicks and bruises when training BJJ. At it's essence, BJJ is all about trying to make your opponent quit through threat of injury, or actual injury. However, there is a big difference between being hurt and being injured. Hopefully, this blog might help you better decide if you should "suck-it up buttercup" or take a little time off.

My broken pinky toe, because I want you to feel sorry for me. 

Before I get into the meat of this blog I should make a disclaimer: I am a doctor, with that being said, I am not the type of doctor that actually helps people (I have a PhD in Child Development). So, any advice I give is purely earned from experience and not a medical diagnosis.

I have been very fortunate in my grappling career. I can think of two instances that have forced me to miss time on the mat. Our coach separated my shoulder on a throw and I got my knee popped on a cheap heel-hook, other than that, I have been able to train without major injury. But, it seems like I always have a sore part or two. We have a great club that tends to be incredibly safe and friendly. If you are at a gym where guys are getting seriously injured on a regular basis, you are at the wrong gym. Find somewhere else that values your health. Nothing trumps mat time. It is far better to roll at a lesser known gym a lot, than a premier gym where you are missing time because higher belts are ripping your arms off for trophies.

Good example of why to tap. 

So, what type of injury should you not roll with? Any broken bone, anything you cannot put weight on, anything that if it is more seriously injury you will not be able to do your job. We have several construction workers who come to our class, if they broke their leg, blew out their knee, etc. they would be off the mat for awhile and losing money they use to feed their family. DON'T MAKE YOUR FAMILY GO HUNGRY. You can always come back to the mats when you are healed, but if your bone is broken or a joint is seriously injured, it will eventually force you off the mat. You might as well heal it now and get on the mat sooner, than tough it out and roll like poo for 2 weeks and still have to rehab the injury. Here is a great article about common BJJ injuries.

The more tricky situation is when you are hurt and not sure if you should roll. I would suggest you start to build a stable of partners you can roll "light" with, to test the injury. Typically, an upper belt is going to be good for this job. They have better control over their body and will not maul an already injured appendage. Also, they get subs all the time, tapping out a white belt is not going to be a notch in their belt. If you can roll light with little or no pain, then you should increase the intensity when you feel comfortable.
 

In the event a you are not able to finish a light roll without getting getting hurt, you should take it easy. I would suggest coming to class and still doing technique. When you are unable to do technique without pain, try to roll light again.  After you can roll light with minimal pain, start to increase the intensity.


Respectable instructors and fellow BJJers will not frown on you for getting yourself healthy after an injury. The only time classmates and instructors will start to question your injury status is when you are taking to long to tap (typically this problem takes care of itself) or you are using a former injury as an excuse to get out of rolling. I am not sure why anyone would want to get out of rolling, that is the best part.