How severe of an injury before you quit bjj for good?

I'll stop training when im dead. I have a few injuries that seem to heal very slowly but as long as nothing is broken and it doesnt hurt too bad i still train.
 
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I think for some people it's all or nothing. They train 6 times per week, grinding through the pain, until their injuries are too much to bear - and then that's it for them. That's not for me. I'd rather train sporatically and let the injuries heal then go back to training 3 times per week, than grind through it at 6 times per week for years and then have to quit altogether in my 30s. Yeah I probably won't achieve what the grinders do in terms of tournaments etc but I'm just a hobbyist and that's ok with me.

I look at it this way. When I'm 60, I'll be a waaaay better 60 year old BJJ player than they are. :)
 
Probably after another couple of ankle sprains. Like others say, I have other interests that require me to be able to walk and each time it happens i think about quitting.

I wonder if the OPs friend quit snowboarding too.
 
I'm starting to worry about this. I have a lot of wear and tear on my knees from close to 2 decades of playing soccer and ~5 years of breakdancing.

About 6 months I blew out my knee (ACL, meniscus and MCL). I'm still about 6 months out from returning to BJJ. I think one more bad knee injury and I'll hang it up. I love BJJ but I also have other hobbies and interests that I love. I don't want to be one of those guys who needs knee replacement in their 40's and can barely walk by the time they are 60.
 
Likewise I tone my game down for people who are smaller, weaker or much lower grades than me. I never understand watching people who are clearly way better than the new guy, smashing him and getting like 10 subs out of a roll.

I sometime smash some white belt with the same move (like a closed guard armbar) over and over to get reps on some things I'm working on.
 
I think about this from time to time. My joints are all wrecked, and I haven't been at it as long or accomplished as much skill as others here. It already affects my day to day life. My knees ache constantly. I can't sleep on either shoulder for more than an hour at night. But I was morbidly obese for years so my lower joints have already taken a beating for like 20 years. Then I've been lifting weights (hobbyist) for 8 years.

Almost every time I train, I have a pop in the outside of my left knee. It doesn't even have to be through anything hard. I can be drilling a guard pass for example, sitting in base and POP, and pain and I can't move it for a few minutes and have to wait for it to pass. Googling it, it might be my MCL. Can any of you guys who have torn your MCL tell me if this was similar to your injury? I saw the doctor for a torn meniscus in the same knee last June, so I'm about to make an appointment for this.
 
I understand the obsession people have with BJJ, as I had it, but it really is short sighted.

I used to do kickboxing before BJJ, and it was my life. I spent as much time as possible training, and when I wasn't I'd be reading about it, watching videos, or talking about it. I did it for about 15 years in total.

Then I started having a clicking in my hip that caused high kicks to be very painful. I struggled for a couple of years with it. Took short breaks and missed the sport like hell. Eventually, I started BJJ alongside it and loved that too. So I quit kickboxing as I just couldn't do the techniques anymore.

At first, I felt lost. But BJJ proved a nice distraction. Then I got obsessed with BJJ. I was in university at the time, so I could train twice or three times a day. I trained a lot, competed a lot, and spent all my free time thinking about it. Just as many people describe their own feelings towards BJJ on this forum.

My hip injury got worse though, and then my knees started to get hurt. Mostly due to the pressure on the hips when someone is passing your guard, and being on my knees when passing theirs... but also just the general scrambles and having people on top of you that goes with the sport. It got so bad that I was unable to walk some days, others I could not go up or down stairs. Constant pain, etc.

There comes a time when you think, "If I carry on, and seriously hurt myself, am I going to have a limp for the rest of my life? Will I be able to be active with my children, chase after them at the park, play soccer with them, etc? How will I feel aged 70?".

I went to numerous doctors and specialists, and was told my problem could not be fixed by surgery or rehabilitation. It was a permanent injury. I had been taken small breaks from BJJ whenever the injuries flared up... and felt lost... and those breaks just became longer and longer.

It's been 7 or 8 years now since I did BJJ, and I don't miss it. I missed it at first, but haven't for a long time. Life goes on, and there is more to life than BJJ. I have other interests and things going on in my life that provide the same benefits that BJJ did (except for self-defence training). Despite the username, I keep fit, I compete, I socialise, I am intellectually stimulated.

When people here talk about never quitting until their are literally unable to do it physically, because they love it so much they cannot imagine life without it... I just think they are short sighted. Life is ok without BJJ.

My friend also quit. He has an arm injury that occurred due to a meathead white belt student cranking a kimura. He's resentful because the instructor knew the guy was a loose cannon but let him train anyway. My friend is now in constant pain and discomfort, and had to quit because his career involves the use of his arms. Too bad. But earning a living is more important that doing BJJ.

This is almost exact to my story lol

Kickboxed, became obsessed , never missed a session, then 1 day woke up with a sore hip. Continued to train through it till the point I was taking longer mini-breaks to rest it. Finally got some surgery on it which didn't fix the problem. At that point it only bothered me doing higher kicks.
Decided to give BJJ a bash and again became obsessed. Only been training a few years now but my other hip is starting to bother me and as of typing this, ive been away for 3 weeks or so. Beginning to wonder if its gona improve with a rest or if this is it.
Probably didn't help that I was a serious powerlifter from my teens, along with being on my feet all day at work for the past 13 years.
At first it was really bothering me that I might have to quit this shit, but the more time ive had off, the more ive kind of accepted that it might go that way.
Like others have said, you put it into perspective, and realise id rather be able to walk without hip pain, than go back to BJJ.
 
This is where some folks make fun of the "keep it playful" mentality often stressed by the Gracies. There's a reason why you can't roll balls to wall 100% all the time. Your body can only take so much punishment until it starts to give out on you.. I want to train in this sport for as long as I can.
 
A bad knee injury would have a high chance of me picking up a new hobby and not returning to bjj.
 
Almost every time I train, I have a pop in the outside of my left knee. It doesn't even have to be through anything hard. I can be drilling a guard pass for example, sitting in base and POP, and pain and I can't move it for a few minutes and have to wait for it to pass..

Sounds more like your lateral meniscus. I've torn mine 5 times.

I think about quitting all the time. I'm currently 3-6 months out from getting back on the mats after having hip surgery for a torn labrum and arthritis. I've had 4 knee scopes for meniscus damage.

My knee problems are from a combination of BJJ and stubbornness. Each time I got injured it was because I was insisting on something that I should have let go (triangles, mostly). My hip issues are from a growth disorder and not the fault of athletics. However, the damage is done and any activity from here out can make it worse. No matter what happens, I'll probably need a hip replacement before I'm 50.

There's a give and take. BJJ is not the healthiest activity from the perspective of orthopedic damage. However, it's a lot of fun and is a form of vigorous exercise that I will do regularly. I'm a pretty lazy dude and tend to get out of shape without motivation to train. My cardiovascular health is vastly improved while I'm training.

To my mind, there's no point in having good joints if I'm going to die of a heart attack. I'll probably come back after this round of rehab. However, one more major orthopedic problem and I'll have to quit and take up swimming or something. I'm stubborn, but not stupid.
 
This is where some folks make fun of the "keep it playful" mentality often stressed by the Gracies. There's a reason why you can't roll balls to wall 100% all the time. Your body can only take so much punishment until it starts to give out on you.. I want to train in this sport for as long as I can.

I agree with this. I train an extremely safe club. We don't crank on each others subs, we avoid stacking, we discuss injuries with each other and so on. Accidents do happen though and I think with things like necks, backs and knees that no matter how safe or soft you train, there's a little video game style health bar that is getting depleted no matter what.

I am a martial artist, not a fighter, so one day when I'm too old and beat up for full contact like kickboxing and BJJ, I'll be perfectly content to go LARP with the Aikido and Taichi guys. I'll just secretly be rolling my eyes at "too deadly" stuff. :)
 
This couple months I have been repeteadly hit in the balls and mouth rolling with partners. I'm taking it easier than before as far as intensity goes because I'm trying new things, not smothering others, letting them work easier, yet I'm getting hit way more often than before.

And these are the same partners I had before. I don't know what's going on. I have never hit or injured anyone while rolling, so it's not vendetta, afaik.
 
I'd have to tear my ACL or something to legitimately STOP training.
Yup, that'd be one for me. Anything serious back/neck related and I'm out. I love BJJ, but there's too much stuff out there to do.
Agreed.
 
I've had major operations on both shoulders and both times all I could think about was getting back on the mat. The first time I wasn't even training that consistently but the imposed down time made me realize how much I missed it. I've had numerous other injuries of varying severity over the years, most recently a broken and dislocated toe. The only time I've even considered altering my training routine was a lower back injury that was a good 6 months until I was 100%. I've pretty much sworn off high amplitude throws after that, and due to recurrent shoulder issues I'm gradually less and less interested in being taken down at all.

Fortunately, I train at a gym where we many of us are working adults with families and we take care of each other.

My wife's experience was different. She was eaten up with BJJ for the first 9 months and was progressing very quickly. A freak accident resulted in, or at least severely exacerbated, a large herniated disk in her neck. The pain and potential for surgery or permanent disability were enough for her to hang it up. Her priorities are different than my own, but based on what I've learned from her experience I can't say that I wouldn't feel the same in the case of a severe neck injury.
 
An STD would be the line for me. Getting herpes on your face from the mats has to be the worst. Can't even getting an std without the fun part.

That's the line...
 
An STD would be the line for me. Getting herpes on your face from the mats has to be the worst. Can't even getting an std without the fun part.

That's the line...

the CDC estimates that 50-80% of people have HSV1 and about 20% of the people have HSV2. these figures are from those who REPORTED it...

and it is possible for either/or to infect their respective counterparts. think oral sex...

an instructor of mine made somebody get off the mat because he was ulcering around the mouth.
 
This couple months I have been repeteadly hit in the balls and mouth rolling with partners. I'm taking it easier than before as far as intensity goes because I'm trying new things, not smothering others, letting them work easier, yet I'm getting hit way more often than before.

And these are the same partners I had before. I don't know what's going on. I have never hit or injured anyone while rolling, so it's not vendetta, afaik.

Maybe its becasue you're playing it looser than usual, you're giving your training partners more space and therefore the opportunity for flailing limbs increases and therefore accidental injurys occurs.

I'm guilty of this a lot of the time. I play a super tight guard game if i'm being competitive but otherwise i'll give the other guy some space and try and trap him into a sub. When i do this i often end up covered in bruises.
 
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This would probably do it for me
 
I worry most about a neck injury, I've known older people with bad necks and it seems to be far more debilitating than a knee injury
 
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