How bad is grappling on the body?

[crankyd'arce]

Well damn I was just about to make a post asking how to find a legit gym when you're starting out, but I read this first.
I'm 45 who laid brick for twenty five years. So shoulders and back aren't the best, especially shoulders. Guess I might need to find something else to get into.

nah don't worry about the small stuff
I can't scratch my back that well but i can easily manhandle your average man, you give up some comfort for the ability of dominating your average human.
Also the injuries and nagging pains only occur when you're consistently training so if it gets too hard you can just quit and most of the pain will go away

 

[ahheadlock]

i started bjj at 34 and judo at 38, i'm 42 now. For me it's mostly niggly joint injuries and stuff. Bad knees, shoulders, etc. I train a fair bit but not with the intensity i would have if i was younger, I've been training with the state judo squad the last couple of months (my son is on the team) and that has been kicking my ass, that stuff definitely has me feeling my age.

I think probably the biggest problem is time (or lack thereof). Once you have work, kids, etc. it's super hard finding time and energy to do all the stretching, strength work, mobility, etc. you probably should be doing to keep your body healthy. I tend to prioritise grappling over that because if I have time to train, I'd rather do the thing that i'm trying to get good at instead.

If you listen to your body, tap when you're supposed to, and take your time with it - you will be fine.

 

[sb413197]

My worst injuries in BJJ were from the takedown/Judo portion, surprisingly enough...although that may be because I wasn't nearly as skilled with dealing with it compared to the ground game. But the injuries piled up eventually and I haven't gone back to training again - right achilles and left ankle (not BJJ related but impacted grappling), right knee, back, both shoulders, left elbow, wrist and finger injuries combined with having more trouble with cardio as I got older...just stopped being fun after awhile. "Retired" as a 42 year old brown belt, although now a year + later I'm having BJJ dreams and find myself looking at videos, so you never know

 

[Smato_rules]

Well damn I was just about to make a post asking how to find a legit gym when you're starting out, but I read this first.
I'm 45 who laid brick for twenty five years. So shoulders and back aren't the best, especially shoulders. Guess I might need to find something else to get into.

I’m a mason and have been grappling for ten years. It’s tough on the shoulders for sure, but I found hanging from a pull-up bar has helped my shoulders a ton. You should look into it if you haven’t already. Don’t let the trade ruin your fun, your shoulders are fucked anyways, might as well have fun

 

[mattemate]

I’m a mason and have been grappling for ten years. It’s tough on the shoulders for sure, but I found hanging from a pull-up bar has helped my shoulders a ton. You should look into it if you haven’t already. Don’t let the trade ruin your fun, your shoulders are fucked anyways, might as well have fun

I bet your grip strength is ridiculous haha.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

Always wanted to get into it for basic self defense and confidence but have bad knees and spine issues. How bad is BJJ and wrestling on the body?

I wrestled through high school and college and have had 5 knee surgeries. Wrestling is very tough on the body in my experience. BJJ is a different story in my experience though -- I have never been seriously injured doing BJJ or at grappling competitions. When I'm grappling, if someone puts me in any comprimising position, I just tap. If I get into a rough scramble for a takedown, I just give up the takedown and work my guard, It is far more forgiving; just know to tap early (especially with leg locks) and you should be fine, most likely. Hell, I even have less issues on my body grappling that boxing or muay thai classes without sparring.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

I bet your grip strength is ridiculous haha.

If this aint't the damn truth lmao -- the strongest dudes I roll with are always either from a farm or some trade with their hands lmao I've seen folks like that ragdoll heavy lifters from gyms many times.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

Well damn I was just about to make a post asking how to find a legit gym when you're starting out, but I read this first.
I'm 45 who laid brick for twenty five years. So shoulders and back aren't the best, especially shoulders. Guess I might need to find something else to get into.

I think you would be fine grappling, honestly; maybe just worry less about takedowns and more on your guard. I bet you're twice my strength from laying brick lol You can make do with that as a base

 

[mattemate]

If this aint't the damn truth lmao -- the strongest dudes I roll with are always either from a farm or some trade with their hands lmao I've seen folks like that ragdoll heavy lifters from gyms many times.

I'm one of those guys haha. My dad owned a machine shop. I grew up swinging hammers and welding, and I'm a contractor. I'm also a drummer (drumming puts it on your hands too). And my favorite exercise was always pullups. I'm built like Roger Gracie, 6'4", 230 (honestly I'm pretty fat now, when I'm lean I'm anywhere from 195-210). But I never lose grips. It's something I don't really think about, I never train grips, but people tell me my grips are ridiculous. I'm around a lot of other contractors and tradesmen, day laborers, framers, welders, all have really strong grip strength. Funny enough, chefs end up with really strong hands too.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

I'm one of those guys haha. My dad owned a machine shop. I grew up swinging hammers and welding, and I'm a contractor. I'm also a drummer (drumming puts it on your hands too). And my favorite exercise was always pullups. I'm built like Roger Gracie, 6'4", 230 (honestly I'm pretty fat now, when I'm lean I'm anywhere from 195-210). But I never lose grips. It's something I don't really think about, I never train grips, but people tell me my grips are ridiculous. I'm around a lot of other contractors and tradesmen, day laborers, framers, welders, all have really strong grip strength. Funny enough, chefs end up with really strong hands too.

I worked on a ranch as a part time weekend job during my undergrad one year -- dude I worked alongside was a guitar player and had a very particular muscle pronounced surrounding his elbow. Real world strength application is definitely a thing. An electrician I used to train with oftentimes gave up position, but if he got you in a lockdown position, you'd be tapping from a modified calf splicer if you weren't careful haha

 

[TheMaster]

Always wanted to get into it for basic self defense and confidence but have bad knees and spine issues. How bad is BJJ and wrestling on the body?

Most of the top BJJ guys have had multiple surgeries in their spine or knees etc, and often have to give up formal rolling when they get much older.

 

[Smato_rules]

I bet your grip strength is ridiculous haha.

That’s what my training partners always say haha it’s one of the perks of the job

 

[ReasonableMan]

If you train hard, you will damage your body and you will give yourself a chance to compete at a high level.

If you don't train hard, you might be able to avoid most of the damage but you will never compete at a high level.

 

[ReasonableMan]

I'm one of those guys haha. My dad owned a machine shop. I grew up swinging hammers and welding, and I'm a contractor. I'm also a drummer (drumming puts it on your hands too). And my favorite exercise was always pullups. I'm built like Roger Gracie, 6'4", 230 (honestly I'm pretty fat now, when I'm lean I'm anywhere from 195-210). But I never lose grips. It's something I don't really think about, I never train grips, but people tell me my grips are ridiculous. I'm around a lot of other contractors and tradesmen, day laborers, framers, welders, all have really strong grip strength. Funny enough, chefs end up with really strong hands too.

Hand size is a huge factor in grip strength. At your height you probably have massive hands.

 

[mattemate]

Hand size is a huge factor in grip strength. At your height you probably have massive hands.

They're big but not huge. I can palm a basketball, but can't really control it or wave it around (that's mainly a function of thumb length it turns out). I have really big feet though, 14.

What astounds me is guys with huge reaches. My height and reach are exactly the same, 76"
Jon Jones at my height but with an 84" reach is nuts. Sonny Liston was only 6'1" and had an 84" reach.

 

[Thrawn33]

Grappling is fine...

I feel like a young 60 year old...

I'm 41 and have been wrestling/Judo/BJJ since Jr High.....

 

[Zankou]

Some people are durable, some aren’t. If you already have a bad spine and knees, I wouldn’t take up grappling.

 

[legkicktko]

Obviously there are accidents, but in my gym, the guys with repeated injuries almost always fall into one of the following:

A. Everyday Porrada competition focused BJJ players. These guys train really often and rolling is a competition so they fight submissions quite a bit more than most.


B. Meatheads. These muscle everything and roll hard and shit blows out relatively often.

Our instructor never gets hurt and he competes at worlds all the time and has placed high in the pan ams, etc. But his style of rolling is he literally goes with everything. As a while belt, if you attempt a bump sweep, he is likely to go with it and work back to guard from the bottom. If he gets a sub on you, and you resist, he lets go and transitions to something else. He's always smiling.

 

[sb413197]

Our instructor never gets hurt and he competes at worlds all the time and has placed high in the pan ams, etc. But his style of rolling is he literally goes with everything. As a while belt, if you attempt a bump sweep, he is likely to go with it and work back to guard from the bottom. If he gets a sub on you, and you resist, he lets go and transitions to something else. He's always smiling.

LOL I recognize that style, one of the younger heavyweight blackbelt instructors I used to train with used that style of training. It was a NIGHTMARE - there was no chance to rest because there was continuous activity - I always had to sit out and gasp for air after rolling with him, but it sure was fun! I think it's used more commonly with high level dudes because they don't get much out of training if they just smash people...I kind of did that against far smaller/weaker/less-experienced guys too. Oh no...that means I was THAT person to the blackbelt...oh well

Some people are durable, some aren’t. If you already have a bad spine and knees, I wouldn’t take up grappling.

I think a lot of my problem is hypermobility. Dislocated elbow, sternoclavicular joint injury, shoulder subluxation etc...I've always been hypermobile and the occasional impacts that occur with grappling (particularly takedowns) frequently don't agree with my body's attempts to stay healthy

 

[shunyata]

Obviously there are accidents, but in my gym, the guys with repeated injuries almost always fall into one of the following:

A. Everyday Porrada competition focused BJJ players. These guys train really often and rolling is a competition so they fight submissions quite a bit more than most.


B. Meatheads. These muscle everything and roll hard and shit blows out relatively often.

Our instructor never gets hurt and he competes at worlds all the time and has placed high in the pan ams, etc. But his style of rolling is he literally goes with everything. As a while belt, if you attempt a bump sweep, he is likely to go with it and work back to guard from the bottom. If he gets a sub on you, and you resist, he lets go and transitions to something else. He's always smiling.

As a recovering meathead erryday porrada brown belt, this is my goal in rolling.