Bad ass retirement

i think it depends on intensity and technique. like i said, if you're getting smashed in closed guard or doing a lot of inversions it's gonna be a lot rougher. it's like how running isn't *bad* for you, but running on pavement as a heel-striker will fuck. your. back. up.

i think BJJ has a higher *opportunity* for injury because of submissions, but I think you've also got a lot more opportunity to control certain variables and prevent injuries than most other contact sports.

BJJ's probably the lowest-impact hobby i have aside from climbing or paddleboarding. definitely lower-impact than judo or snowboarding.
 
So I'll pull guard for people I'm stronger or more experienced than, but if I'm going against anybody athletic or who outranks me, the last thing i want to do is concede position, especially if it means getting stacked. I'm getting too old for that shit.

This is interesting. I feel like I'm the exact opposite of this. I just returned to the mats a few weeks ago after a 5 month layoff. I had been injured at first but then decided to take additional time off because I was tired of getting hurt over and over. I was enjoying just working out and running and maintaining a regular routine with no injuries for the first time in a while. Eventually, I had to go back though.

One of the biggest things I've decided to do this time around is to concede top position more, particularly when it comes to potential scrambles. I have never gotten seriously hurt playing guard and I'm fine with ending up there against anyone. Most of my injuries have come because I was trying to get on top in a scramble or I wanted to avoid being swept or from a transition somewhere between turtle/standing where I wanted to create distance and they stopped me from doing so. Basically these are all situations where if I had just been content with them ending up in my guard, I would've been fine. So now that's what I'm doing.

If I feel like I'm in an awkward position, I'll just let the other person come out on top. Guard is good enough for me to start working from again and I'm not going to get hurt doing it. I've gotten swept a couple times so far where I didn't fight it as much as I could have and the other person gave me a weird look for it, but whatever. It's not worth it to get injured again.
 
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