How to get started in BJJ if you can't see without glasses?

[JustOnce]

Thanks all for your suggestions! But I guess one point is that, it'd be impossible to defend takedowns or from distance...which kinda would make no sense in a way....but I suppose in BJJ they just roll....a lot of times...since you are already in contact with someone...

And Just wondering, how close are your bjj gyms? I can't seem to find a place that's close

You think that’s hard trying getting into striking without contacts as I did when I was younger lol. I’ve had lasik since then but my prescription was -5 and couldn’t wear contacts back then

Trust me if they’re dedicated enough they will make it work. There’s no real secret here just gotta train and adapt bruh.

edit: just wear glasses when coach is going over the techniques and take them off when drilling and sparring. Simple as that.

It's not bad at all. I used to coach wrestling during the summer at Western Michigan's sports camp for the blind and low-vision. On balance, I'd say they picked up wrestling and judo better than sighted kids, although the coaching was tailored to blind and low-vision and the head coach, John McMahon, was basically an expert on how to communicate technique to them, so that helped. But wrestling and grappling is actually a great sport for the visually impaired.

Maybe something like these ?

Sports Glasses ?

It’s all pretty tactile, get out there and give it a try.

If you're worried about seeing technique demonstrations a guy i trained with years ago used to leave his by the side of the mat and just put them on to see what was getting shown. He seemed to be easily able to do the technique he'd watch without them and roll without them once he had his hands on someone.

I wore (daily) contact lenses while practicing combat sports for almost 20 years and I never had an issue, and nowadays they are so soft and watery. I could see decently without glasses but when I'm training/rolling/sparring I want to see in Full HD. The only 3 or 4 times I lost one in the gym was for a finger that slipped on my eye doing NoGi or for a very lucky hook that touched me in the eye. No problem, I go to the locker room and I put in another one. If you can't wear contact lenses for serious/medical reasons take an eye surgery.

I've spent my entire martial arts career - striking and grappling - with crappy eyesight and no contact lenses (really contemplating seeing if contacts are a possibility for me once I go back to BJJ).

Anyway - it's not a major problem and you shouldn't hesitate to try out BJJ if your eyesight isn't great. It's not really an impediment at all when rolling or drilling technique. Stuff's pretty blurry for me, but thankfully my eyesight isn't so compromised that I can't see where an oppoent's gi is to take a collar grip, for instance. If yours is really bad, then you may have to adapt accordingly. As mentioned above, there's an awful lot you can do on feel alone.

Some general pointers:

- if you choose to wear your glasses when observing technique (I often don't, just kinda depends on my familiarity with what's being drilled that day), find a safe spot in the gym to put them when you take them off. Put them in the same spot every time, don't let anybody else touch them if at all possible. Last thing you need is somebody crushing your glasses when rolling carelessly. Staggering around trying to find them when you're exhausted sucks too.

- Don't be afraid to ask your coach questions. If your glasses were off and you think you missed a small detail watching the demonstration of a technique, ask about it. Your technique shouldn't/doesn't have to suffer because of your eyesight. Don't be afraid to move closer or around whoever's demonstrating to get the angle you need - just don't block others if you can avoid it.

- Get in the habit of memorizing gi color/belt color combinations of your classmates before you take your glasses off. For me, I cannot see faces at a distance. If there's somebody I really want to partner up with/roll against (or somebody I don't want to roll against for whatever reason) this memorization is how I identify people in addition to their basic size and shape. No gi...uh...good luck?

- Going off the last point: your teammates will probably make fun of you for being "blind." If it's good-hearted, just let it slide. For instance: I can't tell if someone is making eye contact with me from across the mat if they'd like to roll. Folks have to wave their arms and yell at me to get me to notice them. Laugh it off.

I have -8 in both eyes and I do just fine. Sometimes I use contacts so it is easier to recognize people who are not familiar to you.

It's fine. You can distinguish bodyparts right? At least you don't have to see ugly faces and bad skin up close

Just keep training until you get a feel for it.

You can roll with your eyes shut. Grappling is about feel more than anything.

My son have been rolling without glasses since he was 8. He has one eye that is a lot weaker and it goes cross eyed without is glasses. The best part is that he's pretty good for his age so the other kids don't have time to make fun of him before they are stuck in an armbar.

terrible idea.

I tried those. All it takes is one cross face snd those lenses are digging into your eyeball like an ice cream scoop.

like someone else said. Safer to drill with glasses and spar without them. Worst case scenario when you dose ask your partner to start with grips and move from there.

Wear glasses during instruction and put them off to the side somewhere safe for drilling and live.

It would'nt be a problem in bjj in boxing maybe it could be a disavantage when you say that you cant see its not completly i guess so dont worry about it my coach was making us do sparring with eyes closed and we where still able to do the proper technique

try at least and see by yourself but dont make yourself quit for the wrong reasons first bjj class are always a little bit difficult you need time to adapt

 

[Amianto]

how close are your bjj gyms? I can't seem to find a place that's close

30 minutes to go, 30 minutes to come back, by car.

 

[Whitebeltatlife]

Wear glasses to drill (sports glasses maybe). Then take them off to spar.
Neil Melanson trained whilst blind and said it eventually helped his game. Apparently, his turtle position improved massively because he could feel weight distribution etc, rather than relying on his eyes.

 

[sb413197]

It's not bad at all. I used to coach wrestling during the summer at Western Michigan's sports camp for the blind and low-vision. On balance, I'd say they picked up wrestling and judo better than sighted kids, although the coaching was tailored to blind and low-vision and the head coach, John McMahon, was basically an expert on how to communicate technique to them, so that helped. But wrestling and grappling is actually a great sport for the visually impaired.

Yep I used to train with an older guy who was almost completely blind. He was tremendous - a very serious grappler, and decorated in tournaments too.

The distance issue is a problem and can be exploited (sorry to say it was once in a competition, to my old team mate); but as long as you can make contact you should be fine.

 

[Xuh]

find a gym that will let you take your guide dog onto the mat with you

 

[Kforcer]

Yep I used to train with an older guy who was almost completely blind. He was tremendous - a very serious grappler, and decorated in tournaments too.

The distance issue is a problem and can be exploited (sorry to say it was once in a competition, to my old team mate); but as long as you can make contact you should be fine.

Yep, distance is an issue. Blind wrestlers have the option of invoking the "constant touch" rule, which neutralizes that, although I know some who have opted not to out of pride. A very talented kid I knew who had a degenerative eye condition refused to use the rule and ended up quitting scholastic wrestling, though he still did participate in the camp I used to volunteer for and actually was probably the best wrestler there.

 

[yetanother]

I used to train with -6 for years.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

So, Sherbros, hear me out and answer my plea!

How can someone get started in BJJ if you can't see without glasses, and can't wear contact lenses either?

Any advice and help is greatly appreciated.

This is the boat I'm in actually (kind of). I'm not legally blind, but my vision is pretty bad even with glasses. Thankfully, vision is not a premium when it comes to grappling (in my experience at least). It is mostly about feeling, patterns, and timing in my experience. Taking instruction as a blind person would be difficult I reckon, but with a good training partner to interpret the instructor when learning moves and drilling would help a ton.

 

[Thrawn33]

You have zero to worry about.

Hell I close my eyes sometimes during rolls or newaza.

 

[aus101]

Just wear contacts. You can't feel them once they're in.

 

[fullspar]

Just go slow and learn to feel as opposed to see, there is some beast blind guys in BJJ schools