first night at BJJ

[skinnyhb]

well, after my first night training BJJ, i am quite pleased. i have been wanting to train in a martial art for years now, but i have always been too busy or whatever. so a few weeks ago i started to train in Muay Thai, however the instructor apparently thought i was his personal punching bag, as i was the biggest guy in the class. So, everyday, instead of learning technique, he would pair everyone up, and me with him, where he would proceed to go through his entire training regiment. Eventually, he would finish, and i would get to go, but would be too tired to go 100%, and considering he would just scream at me in unintelligible english (he is Argentinian) i learned nothing but how to get hit. so i said screw that and decided to find a BJJ gym, which is what i have wanted to train in for a while. i went tonight and signed up for their week for $10 or whatever. after my last experience, i wasn't gonna put down a ton of money. so we started warming up and went into drills. i have never done any kind of grappling before, so i was kind of nervous about my virginity being exploited. however, one guy who had been there for a while immediately grabbed me as a partner. if i ever had a question, he would walk me through it. we went through a few drills, in which i feel pretty good about. my only real problem was that i locking in armbars which would connect solidly with my kid factory, that felt nice. then everyone went to roll, where i had no idea what was going on, but our instructor said i could hop in if i wanted. however i decided to hang back and observe rather than flop around like a fish to the chagrin of the blue belts we were supposed to be challenging. anyways, good overall experience and while this post may not be groundbreaking, i am hoping to look back on it a few months later and realize how far i have come.

 

[TheHumungus]

You're in better position than me. I'm Out of shape and I'm a big dude 6' 230 lbs, should be 6' 205 to be in good shape. So I get to go with the biggest guys in the school... and I get annihilated by the warmups at the beginning of class.

 

[skinnyhb]

ya, im 6'2, 205. so im in fairly good shape, so i was tired, but not too bad.

 

[SmashiusClay]

Good luck with training, stick with it and you'll find it more rewarding than you'd believe. If you're worried about hurting your nuts while rolling you could buy yourself a cup.

 

[TheHumungus]

I think if you're crushing your nuts with your armbars you're not squeezing your legs tight enough.

 

[vanguard_anon]

I'm glad you liked it. Being informal and friendly is part of the BJJ culture. As for the armbar problem, squeeze your legs and wear a cup. There are just so many time that you'll take a knee to the nuts that a cup is welcome protection.

 

[TheHumungus]

I'm glad you liked it. Being informal and friendly is part of the BJJ culture.

NO kidding. I was so surprised to have Carlson Gracie JR like re-adjusting my gi and whitebelt on my first day, and just being like "it'll be cool dude." Or to have Sr. just like joking around. I really expected them to be like "choke dat fool!" "No, you must break it, we are brazillian!"

 

[b0b]

You're in better position than me. I'm Out of shape and I'm a big dude 6' 230 lbs, should be 6' 205 to be in good shape. So I get to go with the biggest guys in the school... and I get annihilated by the warmups at the beginning of class.

I am in the fatboys out of shape club as well. I started to try to get into shape before I started BJJ by running and stuff. I am 6' went from 215 down to 205. Now I am at 195 and do BJJ 3-5x a week. The warmups gas me out as well, but I get over it. I can barely do 15 pushups in a row because I am fat and weak. I am definitely losing weight and getting stronger, though.

 

[Smash your face in]

Fantastic thread. BJJ clubs here are often very different to TMA schools. People are more helpful and enjoy the opportunity of sparring with noobs as thay can relax (without the chance of getting some knuckes in the face) and focus on specific parts of their own games.

And yes, buy a cup. I often used to get a shin in the nuts when going for one of my crazy guard passes.

Good luck and keep it up!

It get better!