Forrest Griffin's interview....

[B33bs]

Hey everybody,

after Reading the Forrest Griffin interview here and how the years of training, grinding, sparring and prepping for MMA fights started little by little breaking his body down to the point where now he can't even brush his teeth with his right hand due to all his shoulder injuries, it kind of put things in perspective to me..

Not that I can even compare my situation to his - it's not even close - but, this article hit a bit close to home. I've been doing jiu jitsu for some time now.. I already had surgery on my right knee, aches and pains on the other. I have pain on my right foot from a foot lock a long time ago. I have pain on my left toe due to a bunion. Whenever I shoot on a single leg or a double, I put a lot of stress on that big toe joint.

My right soulder has its bad days, both my elbows hurt from trying to escape armbars, and finally my neck... once I got thrown and fell straight on my head. Since then my neck has never been the same...

So here I am at 31years of age, and questions start to come up... for how much longer can I be doing this? I train jiu jitsu everyday. I've already started getting depressed because of all the aches and pains I have. I try to train smart, but sometimes you get carried away. Specially when training for national jiu jitsu competitions. A few months ago I made a point to miss an entire week of training just to give my body and mind a rest.

Last week, after suffering another foot lock on that same foot, that depressing feeling started all over again. (for those questioning, I tapped immediately). I don't want to be one of those 40year old guys that did combat-sports when they were younger and now can't even pick their children up. How do you guys feel about this? Have you ever started questioning your training, and if it's all worth it? I love BJJ, the thought of quitting doesn't even make sense but...

Thoughts?

 

[mikenugs]

I am 38 years old and I train about 5 days a week and have been doing this six years. I have those same thoughts all the time. Especially when I roll with a spazz who likes to exert all his energy and roll like it is the mundials each time. I think the answer is to train lighter as you get older like more flow rolling and more yoga type warm ups. I believe that this is the only way to have a really long career at this. Unfortunately most places have at least 30 minutes of regular training which leaves me feeling like shit each time. I am going to train as long as my body will let me but at this point my knees and joints kill me every day.

 

[The Apostle]

I think as bjj hobbyists and athletes, we are prone to grasping onto the invincibility thing that most teenagers or young adults had. What could possibly happen?

All it takes is one time being inverted and a dude coming down full force on you to mess up your neck and spine.

I wouldn't say I felt invincible at 40 but all it took was one violent guard pass from a young stallion while he had a collar grip to basically shut everything down for months/years/still.

And when I read from some of your guys' posts titled 'Major C4 Blowout' or 'My Herniated Disk is Trying to Come Out my Urethra," I cringe. Instead of the young adult question being what could possibly happen it shifts to what if.

 

[The Apostle]

Oh and for Forrest's sake, here is a pic of him when he stopped by Memphis Judo & Jiu-Jitsu to roll. Go ahead and shoop away, those people aren't me ha ha.

edit: from maybe like 2.5 years ago?

 

[winterbike]

You have to be super aggressive with rehab, mobility work, fixing muscle imbalances, and a clean diet.

What you're experiencing is not just with BJJ though. Any semi-competitive sport will leave you hurting after a few years. I work as a physed teacher and all the older guys in the department have a broken body. They never really took care of it though, so I'm hoping I can avoid ending up like them.

As an aside, I think the whole ''sports=health'' thing has been overblown. Most sports lead to a lot of injuries, especially in high volumes. If I just wanted to be healthy and injury-free, I'd walk, hike, bike around, go to a dance class 1-2 a week, do yoga and lift some weights. BJJ is too much fun though.

 

[FinBJJ]

A bit over a year of training and 23 years old I already feel the effects of training.

I have at least one aching and swollen finger joint almost all the time. I've injured my right ankle twice and the ligaments have loosened a bit. They were pretty loose to begin with though.

My left knee has been aching, popping and stiffing up for a while. I'm pretty sure my medial meniscus is messed up, but I haven't dared to show it to a doctor yet.

It isn't affecting my everyday life yet, but I'm a bit worried what it'll be like when I reach 30. It would be great to be able to do this to my retirement days, but I think it's wishful thinking.

Forrest's interview doesn't exactly inspire hope.

 

[B33bs]

I feel that my problem is that I keep training through injuries, I've never gone to a physical therapist, or even ever gotten a massage.

Bjj is not my job. It's my hobby and I really love doing it, but the fear of an achy future starts creeping into my head.

There's also some peer pressure. I just don't want to leave my academy and feel like a p**sy

 

[pesadissimo]

At 37 I just find I have to train smarter and tap a lot faster. Foot injury? Opportunity to work my guard. Caught in a guillotine? Tap to save my neck rather than fight. I don't play inverted much. Sure, my game may be slightly limited, but I'm still able to play.

 

[The Apostle]

Yeah man, all it takes is one time.

I am a pretty active guy. I go to the dog park with my awesome dog like 4x a week and ride at least 3-5 miles. I chop wood because it's therapeutic, and camp, hike, and climb trees for fun.

I operate boilers at work so I do a little pipe fitting, if you know what I'm saying, climbing up and down ladders all the time.

I don't drink any soda and hardly eat fast food, maybe 1x a month. That includes eating out at all. And these haven't been like recent changes due to bjj. I am old and from the sticks in WaRshington, soda was like dessert.

I guess what I am trying to say is that after a lifetime of activity, I still got destroyed by one aggressive move.

It was like a standing pass, I was on my butt. He sidestepped my knees and on the way around almost must have gotten like a bow and arrow lapel grip. As he passed, he yanked that thing so hard. It was like a sideways whiplash car crash sort of thing.

He was maybe 19 or 20, new, aggressive, and larger. I was pissed at how bad it hurt as I went underneath him. He got the pass as I crumpled. I remember thinking "oh I'm gonna get you soon mfer." Ha ha.

He still had that grip.

Then I woke up, sitting up, getting my neck and shoulders rubbed. Ha ha.

But that one injury people. Just one time. Spread to my left shoulder, then it was always like my funny bone was being hit but just sitting there. Then it went to the left thumb and index finger, then the whole left hand.

It seems to have subsided now, months & months later.

 

[redaxe]

I used to get tons of injuries and aches and pains from BJJ. Knees, shoulders, lower back, neck, ribs, wrists, fingers... Something was always messed up.

Then I started lifting heavy weights a couple days a week. Barbell squats, deadlifts, presses, and cleans.

3 years and 30 lbs of (mostly) lean body mass later, I'm so much stronger and I never seem to get training injuries anymore. I feel rock solid on the mat.

Only thing that sucks is, my thighs and ass have gone up two sizes but my waist stayed the same, so it's really hard to buy jeans!

I also go pretty light when I roll with people. I mean business, but I don't freak out and go balls to the wall as soon as a huge blue belt gets side control on me. I try to keep it playful and I have no problem tapping.

 

[Spoonman7]

Train long enough and injuries will happen. It is the approach to dealing with them and learning when to back off which can make things better or make them become chronic after a few years. I have learned when to push through and when to not train at all cause of body aches and pains. And I feel those extra days off I give myself really help.

 

[35andOver]

I'm about to turn 40 so I struggle with the same questions at times...yet I still end up in class the next day somehow lol!

Taking 10 steps back and looking at it objectively though, I still feel I am better off physically for training rather than not training....provide I train responsibly and smartly.

It feels like there has been a lot of progress within our sport when it comes to the mentality of us "older" guys. In the past, I think all the older guys sort of sucked it up and did everything they could to keep up with the young bulls. Pride and expectation are a bitch.

These days, there's a lot of talk of training "smart" as you get older. There's more awareness surrounding over training. There's more talk of aggressively pursuing rehab and recovery. Of course unplanned things will always happen but you mitigate much of that risk by simply being careful and not getting carried away in training.

Forrest is too extreme an example for most of us "hobbyists" to look at. First, his work volume is...or was...incredible being a professional fighter and all. Also, from all reports, he was a gym rat. First there....last to leave kinda guy. Second, his style of fighting really didn't lend itself to longevity.

Even when hobbled by this injury or that one, I feel more physically prepared for life day in and day out than the average 40 year old guy. Training the way I do benefits me even in silly, everyday sort of things like doing yard work or maybe putting up Christmas lights on my house...or riding bikes and playing with my daughter.

 

[B33bs]

I am 38 years old and I train about 5 days a week and have been doing this six years. I have those same thoughts all the time. Especially when I roll with a spazz who likes to exert all his energy and roll like it is the mundials each time. I think the answer is to train lighter as you get older like more flow rolling and more yoga type warm ups. I believe that this is the only way to have a really long career at this. Unfortunately most places have at least 30 minutes of regular training which leaves me feeling like shit each time. I am going to train as long as my body will let me but at this point my knees and joints kill me every day.

My body does let me roll aggressively, calmly, for 1h or more... but, what will be the repercussions of this in the long run?

I also lift weights, do strength training and some crossfit. But strength training won't avoid foot injuries caused by an eager 230pound 19year old cranking on your foot. Oh well...gotta be careful I guess

 

[35andOver]

My body does let me roll aggressively, calmly, for 1h or more... but, what will be the repercussions of this in the long run?

I also lift weights, do strength training and some crossfit. But strength training won't avoid foot injuries caused by an eager 230pound 19year old cranking on your foot. Oh well...gotta be careful I guess

Training smartly means managing your side of the roll of course....but it also means making atn attempt to manage the other side of the roll as well. Obviously you can't always anticipate someone going rogue and cranking something but often times there are signs.....often times we know the people that are apt to be a little spastic.

Too many people sort of stand by and let shit happen to them without doing something about it. I did exactly that until I became more comfortable with expressing myself on the mats.

Someone rolls too rough and cranks shit too fast....speak up or even check out of the roll. "Winning" or not winning on a Tuesday evening in jiu jitsu class is trumped by the need to get to work the next day and pay your mortgage.

 

[B33bs]

Training smartly means managing your side of the roll of course....but it also means making atn attempt to manage the other side of the roll as well. Obviously you can't always anticipate someone going rogue and cranking something but often times there are signs.....often times we know the people that are apt to be a little spastic.

Too many people sort of stand by and let shit happen to them without doing something about it. I did exactly that until I became more comfortable with expressing myself on the mats.

Someone rolls too rough and cranks shit too fast....speak up or even check out of the roll. "Winning" or not winning on a Tuesday evening in jiu jitsu class is trumped by the need to get to work the next day and pay your mortgage.

Wow.. cool.. that really helps a lot. Thank you for your feedback.

I guess I'm taking it far too seriously for an IT Guy whose hobby is BJJ. Maybe I'm setting my standards far too high as my gym has National Champions that train everyday 3 times a day, while I work sitting down for 8+hours a day, and train at the end of the day for a couple of hours.

I put in the effort to go and train everyday but, .... Guess I have to really sit back and analyze my goals objectively and realistically