I quit BJJ ... moving forward

[SAMURAI SPIRIT]

So I had a very tough year. Life began to collapse on all levels at the same time. Work related stress piled up and my job situation was severely compromised. Then I lost a number of people in my family. Finally medical bills piled up and financial collapse began to happen. I developed my own health problems which I had to ignore and just push through just to prevent other areas of my life from collapse. It ended up with me selling everything I owned just to pay the bills that were drowning me.

One thing that I lost in all of this was BJJ. I had to let go of it for a better time.

After a year of some very bad time, I am able to breath again (somewhat.) I plan to be out of debt by next year. Doctors are telling me that I am medically fine to get back into training but the prolonged stress and ignoring my illness has taken a severe toll on my body. My gym poundages have come down and I am injuring myself more often doing lighter weights that I was managing. Recovery is very slow and muscle soreness lasts forever.

I am also working a shift that begins from 5:00 am to 2:00. Since my bed time (presently) is 8:00 pm I am unable to return to BJJ with this work shift. Part of me says, forget martial arts and work on gaining some strength back. Develop cardio in the gym and wait for a better time to start BJJ. Another part of me misses the discipline aspect of it. There is weekend judo near me which is more affordable. Since it is weekend, my night/early morning shift does not effect it. I was wondering if it would be wise to train judo for the next three months until life gets back fully on track for my BJJ.

It is only one class a day with an additional open mat. I am not sure how much progress can be made in a new martial art with this frequency. Two days of judo plus general conditioning ... until situation allows for more. Makes sense? Or just stick with cardio workouts and getting my strength level up?

Many thanks. Reading this board has kept the spark alive.

 

[Dogstarman]

First. I'm glad you kept your composure. I'm glad you are finally coming out of the pit you found yourself in.

I think you should keep trying to regain your strength. I don't know if Judo would be necessarily good for you. Maybe give it a try and see how your body holds up.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

How old are you?? Maybe take a year off totally. Just walk 3-4 days a week. I would think judo throws would be more damaging on your already taxed body. sometimes taking a step back to go in the right direction is best.

 

[KikoJones]

I think you should focus on your fundamental health and mental well being. Strengthen your foundation. If you choose to train, train cardio until you're able to commit consistently. Once you return to the mats, the techniques will come back to you soon enough.

 

[The Thrill]

ill give you the opposite answer, if youre feeling up to it, train as often as you can...dont kill yourself, but training makes you feel better overall in a way running and lifting never has, at least for me personally

 

[RJ Green]

Judo is pretty rough...it's one of those activities with a 100% injury rate on a long enough timeline.

Regarding the other stuff, have you looked into an income-based repayment plan? It's disgusting to me that half of the bankruptcies in this country are due to medical debt. You shouldn't be forced to choose between life and livelihood.

Have you considered switching shifts or jobs? Off-hours aren't good for anyone's mental health. Obviously, given your circumstances this might be daunting, and no, it's not *that* early, but when I worked either super-early or super-late shifts I felt like I was missing out, and after a while that stared to grate on me.

Regarding training, I know plenty of people (myself included) whose continued sanity is thanks to the physical and mental benefits of consistent rolling. If you get that same catharsis from lifting or running that's definitely where you should focus your efforts, but for me, I need the camaraderie and progression of grappling.

It really sucks trying to get back to a certain level once you've backslid. Conversely, it's also a reminder of what you're able to achieve. Remember that it took you your entire life to get to the point where you were. It may take a few months or even a year to get back to the level you were at, but it's attainable.

Regarding your current plan, if you think that's what's best for you and it's what you can make work, it's better than nothing. Embrace the grind. Do what you can. Give yourself realistic goals and work towards them on a daily basis. Keep fighting for what you want and know that a bunch of keyboard warriors have your back. You'll make it.

 

[jr jr]

Judo is pretty rough...it's one of those activities with a 100% injury rate on a long enough timeline.

true words

 

[Old Man]

Focus on getting back to a good place. BJJ/Judo can be good for your well-being, but it can also be physically and financially demanding. If you are not up for that, then continue to put it aside and don't worry about it. You can always come back to it at a later time. I gave it up for 16 years when my first daughter was born, and I don't regret that. Good luck!

 

[CFGroup]

.
Almost 3 weeks into rehabbing hip resurfacing and I can take two unassisted steps!

Down to only Tylenol 2 times a day!

Getting the best sleep in the past few nights since getting hacked open!

Fucking WOOT!

That's how progress is judged.

I'm waiting 8 months before I get back on the mat, so there's guys out there in worse shape than you.

Shit man it did anything more than squat on the loo in the morning to poo my leg would dislocate and the foot long incision on my ass would split open, LOL!

Heal up right, than think about training again.

Take where you are right now and picture where you want to be. Map out the steps you need to get there.

Maybe a beginner Judo class would be fine for your health, Ukemi drills and rolls out of light throws.

All I see is bowing in and practicing rolls from my knees and taking it from there.

Good luck and keep hope man!

 

[Solidus Snake]

Hey man. Sorry to hear about your problems. Life sometimes can suck really hard and there is really not much to say.

I would have suggested just lifting and doing cardio for now, or if lifting is really out of question then just cardio and maybe some small workout, if you're sore with just lighter weights work I think that doing judo in this moment of your life would only destroy you..

By the way.. this shift isn't a permanent situation right? I mean when you'll have more decent turns, and maybe your stress level will come down, you should be able to come back to Bjj fine.. I'd pay particular attention to your stress situation really, this can easily fuck your health hard..

Best of luck man!

 

[SAMURAI SPIRIT]

Judo is pretty rough...it's one of those activities with a 100% injury rate on a long enough timeline.

Regarding the other stuff, have you looked into an income-based repayment plan? It's disgusting to me that half of the bankruptcies in this country are due to medical debt. You shouldn't be forced to choose between life and livelihood.

Have you considered switching shifts or jobs? Off-hours aren't good for anyone's mental health. Obviously, given your circumstances this might be daunting, and no, it's not *that* early, but when I worked either super-early or super-late shifts I felt like I was missing out, and after a while that stared to grate on me.

Regarding training, I know plenty of people (myself included) whose continued sanity is thanks to the physical and mental benefits of consist rolling. If you get that same catharsis from lifting or running that's definitely where you should focus your efforts, but for me, I need the camaraderie and progression of grappling.

It really sucks trying to get back to a certain level once you've backslid. Conversely, it's also a reminder of what you're able to achieve. Remember that it took you your entire life to get to the point where you were. It may take a few months or even a year to get back to the level you were at, but it's attainable.

Regarding your current plan, if you think that's what's best for you and it's what you can make work, it's better than nothing. Embrace the grind. Do what you can. Give yourself realistic goals and work towards them on a daily basis. Keep fighting for what you want and know that a bunch of keyboard warriors have your back. You'll make it.

Great ideas. As for repayment plan, after selling my house and a few other things, I have paid half of my debt and hope to pay another half within a few months. So I am expecting the financial crunch to be over. After that it will only be about getting back into life slowly and gradually.

Changing jobs is the next priority but I had progressed really far in my career and changing to similar level may not be that easy. Still it is an option and I am not giving up on it. I just need to plan my life in case that does not happen anytime soon.

Many thanks about the suggestions.

 

[lechien]

It took me years to get out of the shift work and that meant I could not train as well.

Something will come up later. To be honest, by reading your post. You should not feel bad about the lack of training

 

[SAMURAI SPIRIT]

Just wondering, how much can you progress in judo keeping things to one class and one open mat? These classes tend to be longer than my BJJ classes but I have been told that since you are taking falls, doing judo 4 times a week is only recommended pre-contest. Two to three sessions is not unusual for off season.

True?

 

[RJ Green]

judo's got an exponential learning curve as is. with training, you're trying to find the happy medium between progress and beating the shit out of yourself. you need time to recover, especially from the hard practices. the thing about sporadic training is you're also not quite building the conditioning your body needs to withstand the falls.

once you've learned the mechanics, judo's mostly just a game of timing and feel. it's much easier to develop those with consistent training, but even then you're still talking years to get to the point where you're hitting techniques cleanly. that's not to say you can't throw someone, but the first time you hit one of *those* footsweeps is like popping your cherry all over again. you'll always remember it.

that's the dragon i chase now. i'm big enough i can just fuckin maul people if i want. sometimes i do, but this year i've really been focusing on walking people into footsweeps. it's pretty great because you get to the point where people just feel absolutely hopeless, which is nice because they'll usually stay so tense and wary that they're that much easier to throw.

as far as scratchin the itch until you're back at BJJ consistently? it'll do. the groundwork isn't nearly as refined and if you've got a stickler-type gym they might have removed leg grabs from the curriculum. that said, it's not *not* complimentary to your BJJ.

to paraphrase what Holt said in another thread: fuckin 2-3 times a month is still better than not getting laid at all.