Should I train?

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ararauna

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So, I have a decent background in martial arts, nothing too useful, Hapkido, Aikido, and Tae Kwon Do. I want to train Jujitsu/judo, I've found a good school and an instructor who seems to be very good.

My problem - I'm in my early 30s. I have a rotator cuff injury and an anterior deltoid injury. Both from climbing. I do not want to fight MMA, I just want to learn these styles. I'd say my life mostly revolves around climbing. For people for whom that is unfamiliar it means I like climbing vertical rock walls and peaks. While most of what I do is footwork a good injury from training could keep me from climbing which would suck. When I say my life revolves around it I mean it, I climb on a regular basis and try to get to international peaks whenever possible.

What do you think? I'm not going to become a fighter but want to learn the styles but also don't want to stop climbing. How likely am I to worsen my present injuries and really screw myself if I try to take up Jujitsu with a good school?
 
Seems like you mostly just want to tell us about how much you like climbing. You should probably do that on a climbing forum.

Anyways, yeah, you'll probably re-injure your shoulder, and gain alot of brand new injuries when you first start grappling. That tends to be the trend. But if you really want to try it, your gonna do it regardless of what some guy on an internet mma forum says right? Well, at least you should...
 
ViceGrip said:
Seems like you mostly just want to tell us about how much you like climbing. You should probably do that on a climbing forum.

Anyways, yeah, you'll probably re-injure your shoulder, and gain alot of brand new injuries when you first start grappling. That tends to be the trend. But if you really want to try it, your gonna do it regardless of what some guy on an internet mma forum says right? Well, at least you should...
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Actually, I expect most people not to know what rock climbing is and not to give a shit, I was emphasizing it to make the point that training would be far from my life's priority and I'm not interested in getting injured. Hurt, sore fine, injured, not so fine, but thanks for the quick judgment call.
 
Haha, ok ok - Wasn't trying to come off as a douche, my bad. Anyways, I'm serious about hurting yourself when you first start. I see so many more new people injure and strain themselves in their first months training than more experienced people, and there's a reason for it.

You can tell people over and over "Relax, slow down and don't try to muscle through the techniques" Just like newbie climbers right...no matter how much you tell them "Use your feet, Use your feet" They still hang on the wall in lockoff, trying desperately to muscle themselves up using their upper body alone. Same with grappling..It's something you have to learn by doing, so in the first little while, unless you have some natural ability, your gonna have sore shoulders, neck, back etc etc. I know I sure as hell did. If you have a serious pre-existing condition like a torn rotator cuff, my money is gonna be on that injury haunting you for a while, until your body adapts to the new strain of grappling. Anyways, my 2 cents. I hope you give grappling a shot. Your shoulder might piss you off the first time you have a serious Kimura slapped on you, but you'll love it in the end.
 
Hi,
I appreciate the clarification. I might give it a go and go easy on the trying to muscle side. I've picked up my climbing injures from exactly the same mistakes you mentioned and have learned from there. I'm in Boulder, I say that because there is a good chance another climber might be as well.

If I get your point my best bet is to go in and not rely on trying to muscle through. That's good advice for a lot of things. I'd realy like to try it I just don't want to be laid up for months. Thanks for the advice from both a climber's and grappler's perspective.


FWIW I'm not a great climber, I just like it, I'm just getting older and want to avoid more stupid injuries.
 
I say go for a trial, and gage it yourself as how injurious it can be. Everybody gets injured in grappling time to time, it's inevitable.
You yourself have to assess the dangers and weigh up the risks, I can't tell you which mountain to climb :p
 
I am far from an expert, but if you're really concerned about your MA training intruding on your climbing, personally, I'd say stick to Jiu Jitsu, and forget about Judo. Judo is much harder on your body, although you can certainly find opportunities for injuries in both sports.
 
Don't train. You wouldn't want to mess up your feet for rock climbing. Or get hurt so you can't rock climb. Then again it might help with your conditioning for rock climbing.
 
Judo throws kick your ass. Seriously. It's like getting fucking beaten with a 2x4
 
ararauna said:
Why is Judo tougher on the body?
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because you're constantly being thrown.


bjj is mostly on the ground.


japanese jj is in the same category as the other styles you mentioned you already trained in.
 
ararauna said:
So, I have a decent background in martial arts, nothing too useful, Hapkido, Aikido, and Tae Kwon Do. I want to train Jujitsu/judo, I've found a good school and an instructor who seems to be very good.

My problem - I'm in my early 30s. I have a rotator cuff injury and an anterior deltoid injury. Both from climbing. I do not want to fight MMA, I just want to learn these styles. I'd say my life mostly revolves around climbing. For people for whom that is unfamiliar it means I like climbing vertical rock walls and peaks. While most of what I do is footwork a good injury from training could keep me from climbing which would suck. When I say my life revolves around it I mean it, I climb on a regular basis and try to get to international peaks whenever possible.

What do you think? I'm not going to become a fighter but want to learn the styles but also don't want to stop climbing. How likely am I to worsen my present injuries and really screw myself if I try to take up Jujitsu with a good school?
Click to expand...

I'd say go bjj as you will less likely fall on the shoulder. But, yes, you can train often w/o injury if careful./
 
ararauna said:
So, I have a decent background in martial arts, nothing too useful, Hapkido, Aikido, and Tae Kwon Do. I want to train Jujitsu/judo, I've found a good school and an instructor who seems to be very good.

My problem - I'm in my early 30s. I have a rotator cuff injury and an anterior deltoid injury. Both from climbing. I do not want to fight MMA, I just want to learn these styles. I'd say my life mostly revolves around climbing. For people for whom that is unfamiliar it means I like climbing vertical rock walls and peaks. While most of what I do is footwork a good injury from training could keep me from climbing which would suck. When I say my life revolves around it I mean it, I climb on a regular basis and try to get to international peaks whenever possible.

What do you think? I'm not going to become a fighter but want to learn the styles but also don't want to stop climbing. How likely am I to worsen my present injuries and really screw myself if I try to take up Jujitsu with a good school?
Click to expand...

BJJ is pretty gentle. So long as you make sure others are aware of your injuries, it should be no more strenuous on your shoulder than bouldering. If you stay away from spazzes you should be good.

Judo is more dangerous. I would stay away from there if you're worried about your shoulder.

I think BJJ should be fine.
 
not super relevant but climbing strength and technique crosses over really well to jiujitsu, the grip and leg strength, and being used to having to be "strong" in strange situations / body configurations.


In other words the white belts would fear you.
 
BJJ isnt dangerous....seriously! The people who get hurt are usually training for a tourney or a fight...normal everyday class doenst get you hurt!
 
This is a tough call. Opinions differ on just how "dangerous" brazilian jiu-jitsu is. All of us who do it seriously have our stories about injuries. In the course of roughly eight years of training the majority of the injuries I've run across from others are shoulder and knee injuries. Those are the big ones, along the way there are minor issues (had my elbow hyper-extended 3 times) plus there are things like broken toes as well as the occassional twinge or muscle strain, you know.

Judo is definitely more dangerous IMO. That's not a bash on judo by any means, but most people on this forum, including the die hard judokas, seem to agree that judo is pretty hard on your body. Basically its because you're getting tossed, sometimes very hard, with someone else's whole bodyweight coming down on top of you as you hit the mat.

In BJJ, other than the occassional asshole who cranks a little too hard on a kimura or straight arm lock, you'll mostly be okay. The pre-existing shoulder injuries you have may or may not be a problem, you'll know whether or not it's wise for you to be grappling once you step onto the mat for an intro class.

Oh yeah, and I've known guys who started training in their 40s.
 
what i recommend is you get 100% injury free. i had a shoulder injury in November and started jiu-jitsu in Jan. and then injuries kept on coming. I'm almost healthy just make sure you take extra supplements to get the injury to heal faster
 
Only if everyone says yes otherwise its a no. So technically, this is a maybe.
 
JudokaBJJ said:
what i recommend is you get 100% injury free. i had a shoulder injury in November and started jiu-jitsu in Jan. and then injuries kept on coming. I'm almost healthy just make sure you take extra supplements to get the injury to heal faster
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Yup,I've dumped about 10 lbs of muscle (intentionally) and switched to higher reps/body weight manipulation. I was getting injured pretty constantly because lifting heavy weights and climbing apparently don't mix. I've switched up my whole routine to more usable strength training and a ton of cardio. I was thinking of laying off for another 6-9 months and getting a whole lot better then starting.

I appreciate all the opinions offered. I think I'll skip Judo, heal up for half a year or so, then give it a try.
 
You're going to do well when you start training. Rock climbers have great grips and good core strength like Todd.
 
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