r/jiujitsu

So I did BJJ like 12 years ago. Made it to blue belt. Enough to give me a false sense of confidence 😂

Followed by a move to Las Vegas. I did some training with the UFC guys and coaches (also a wide array of others in our classes… it was always fun because we’d get WWE wrestlers who’d come in, pro boxers, etc…)

Anyways, I needed a major spine operation and went from competing, to doing nothing. Like shit. Moved to Texas now and went to a class last year and was totally gassed and inflexible (since my operation). So it’s been like 8yrs and I’m old now, but I want to get back.

Anyone else have a similar history? Or a large gap in between? How did you get over it?

Combat sport aside boxing is a niche sport in the country I live in much less bjj and because of it theres not much kids my size or skill level. The highest ranked kid is a 1st degree grey and black belt but he's half my height and 1/3 of my weight the next is a girl who is half my weight and 2/3 my height and I wont lie I'm a big person but when I see gyms in America(where I was born)I see kids they are yellow, orange and green who are my size and I wish that I could roll with them or just even train with someone on that caliber. I feel like a kid thats grounded whilst he watches his friends play outside. I have also done some adult classes and the people that are my size are relatively easy. I just want to see where my skill level is. I don't know what to do I'm thinking of stop training with kids all together cause I don't feel like I'm getting anything out of it.

NB: I am a grey and white 1 stripe

TLDR- New to area, 2 gyms, AJJ and Gracie... 2 belts?

I'm a 43yo 3 stripe white with slight mobility issues(of course its my hips) and just relocated to a new area with 2 gyms I have interest in. The gym I left was Gracie heavy, with a Gracie Instructor, but not an official CTC. We didn't have attendance cards and rolled every class, but followed the combatives training schedule. The local AJJ gym is 15mins away with a lower cost than the official CTC 30mins away( which does play in), but the AJJ rolls every class, which I love, but has uncovered a few fundamental weaknesses. AJJ here is kinda more sport/competition based( barely), and obvi the Combatives is not at all. I'm thinking of staying at the AJJ for rolling and "advanced" instruction but taking Combatives at CTC for fundamentals , so.... do I start a naked belt at the CTC and keep the stripes for AJJ? Keep my original belt for both? Open to most input and ideas, thanks in advance!!!

Edit- forgot to include the question- is training at a CTC and AJJ(or the like) beneficial to overall progress?

I left my BJJ gym about 3 weeks before promotions, and honestly, I’m still kind of processing the whole thing. I was suppose to get my blue belt during this promotion ( confirmed ).

I had been there for almost 3.5 years. A lot of time, money, sweat, friendships, and memories went into that place. So leaving wasn’t an easy choice.

What really started everything was waking up one morning to a DM from the professor’s wife telling me that he had been unfaithful. That was a pretty crazy thing to wake up to.

More things started coming out…There were allegations about inappropriate conversations involving a minor, an incident involving what was described as an “accidental” slap to a female student’s butt, and constant comments and jokes that I personally found really inappropriate, including jokes about people’s religion, body shaming, and racist remarks. More than half the time people laugh or chuckle from feeling uncomfortable , no one finds it funny and he’s doing this in the middle of class. Asking a 15 year old boy in front of a class full of adults whether he’s seen a naked girl before or if he’s had sex already is just wrong and inappropriate.

I’m not saying I personally witnessed every allegation, so I’m not going to pretend I know every detail. I’m just explaining what I was told and what I saw happening around the gym, and why it eventually became too much for me.

Once the DM from the professors wife was confirmed received from multiple students at the academy and conversations were starting to happen …. Multiple students left, the kids’ coach left, and other coaches left. People who had been there for a long time were suddenly gone.

I WAS CHARGED A FREAKING EXIT FEE 😂 which I thought was comical …

Then promotions came around.I had been training for almost 3.5 years about 3x plus classes and open mat a week and was still a white belt.A student who had been training for around 6 months received his blue belt.What really made me question it was that this student had multiple kids enrolled at the academy. When we’d roll, I’d sub this guy minimum 2 times within a 5 minute round….My immediate thought was, *“Is there a financial reason this person is getting promoted?”*I’m not saying that’s definitely what happened because I obviously can’t prove that. But when you’re already questioning the leadership of the gym, it’s hard not to look at things like that differently.

I decided to attend the promotion that was set 3 weeks after my departure so I can support my former teammates. The whole promotion felt strange to me given everything that had been happening. With so many students and coaches leaving, it felt like a lifeline to keep people around and maybe reassure everyone that everything was still okay….
that’s just how it looked from my perspective.

The part that sucks is that I actually loved training there for a long time. I met some really good people. I had some great rounds. I learned a lot. There are people there who I genuinely care about and still consider friends.

That’s what makes this whole thing bittersweet.
I don’t regret the time I spent there. I just don’t think I could ignore everything that was happening and keep pretending I was comfortable with it.

I’ve started training at a new gym now, and honestly, it’s been refreshing. I can just show up, train, learn, and leave the drama at the door.

Everyone at the new gym always has a shocked face when I tell them I’m still a white belt after 3.5 years and that my skill set is definitely above a white belt. So it feels nice to have that reassurance .

I feel a little sad about the whole thing.

Almost 3 years is a long time to be somewhere, and walking away from something you’ve invested that much into isn’t easy.

So I guess I’m posting this because I need some confirmation from my fellow Reddittors 😂

Did I make the right choice by walking away?

Would love to hear what you guys think, especially anyone who’s been through something similar.

I’ve just started training BJJ. Been doing Muay Thai for a couple months (no injuries) and going to the gym to lift weights for years now.

After my second BJJ class (the first two were no gi), I felt a very big pain in a tendon around my elbow and the pain hasn’t gone away at 100% yet. Even though I don’t have pain if I don’t put any effort on it, it comes back if I do push ups. Yesterday I tried BJJ again (this time with gi) and I had the same pain again, same after going to the gym today (I worked chest and shoulders).

The pain goes away after putting ice on it, but that’s not the point. I’ll be seeing a doctor tomorrow to see what are the steps forward, but I had some questions for all the guys around here who have been training BJJ and lifting weights for years:

How to manage both things at the beginning? What I am going through is completely normal considering I always try to hit PR on weights? Should I stop lifting heavy weights in my first weeks doing BJJ? It would be awesome to hear some experiences regarding this so I can have a better feeling on how to manage my injury.

I just started and have background in wrestling an judo where being on your back is a no no. Never used closed guard and found myself struggling with locking my ankle. I’m short stocky and on the heavier side. Please drop your tips for working a better closed guard.

This is probably more of a rant than anything. I (46, m) had rotator cuff surgery on July 16th from an injury on June 8th. In the background, this has been a really tough year mentally and physically overall. I feel like I'm hitting some sort of wall that started around 45 that was a bit extra onto what I hit around 42. Before the injury, my schedule was lifting 3-5 days per week + BJJ 4 days per week. I'd also often go for walks. I also eat like a bit of an a**hole. I'm a guy that has been tired and done it anyway for a very long time until about late last year. Fast forward to now, recovering from rotator surgery.

Started PT about 2 weeks ago and not entirely comfortable with how weak I am and I can actually already see physical changes (not that I'm super fit or anything, but I at least kinda look I lift). I know I'm not going to start rolling again anytime soon but am looking to get back at BJJ in maybe 2-3 months, just doing warmups and light drilling as much as I'm able. Weights might be more of a battle but I'm pushing to start very light strength training through PT in a few weeks. ROM is progressing normally. Still feeling some pain, stiffness, and definitely weak AF. I'm aware the recovery time is roughly 9 months.

All that said, I feel like walking is just going to have to be my bread and butter for quite a few months until I can get back at it. I'm trying to use this time to calibrate how I view my overall fitness and focus on longevity so I'm healthy for a long time for my family. I'm also trying to lock in on nutrition while I don't have the same focus on exercise.

Not exactly sure how I'll keep my sanity for the long haul recovery. As I heal, I'm looking to just change my mindset on weight training away from sort of meathead-ish to just giving my body what it needs, incorporating yoga and just more movement in general. I feel like I'll need to build muscle back, but I also want to keep longevity in mind.

Right I feel awful about myself. I feel somewhat lazy and kind of embarrassed. I'm just really frustrated.

Rant over. . .

I like my current gym, but the schedule isn’t always conducive with work and home. There’s another gym not far with some more convenient times. Is it frowned upon to train at two gyms if they both have qualities I like and the schedule works?

I started BJJ at 38. I’m 40 now, a blue belt and father of two who train as well. Definitely wish I started sooner, but better late than never.

Anyone else start BJJ later in life?

Hi! I’ve been looking into BJJ because I’m thinking about giving it a try and getting started, but I’ve come across quite a few videos from people saying that BJJ seriously reduced their quality of life because of injuries.

It’s made me wonder: is this actually that common, or is it more often a case of not following the “tap early, tap often” mindset and pushing too hard in training, where the risk/reward simply isn’t worth it?

I go to the gym, enjoy running and other activities, and I’m wondering whether an average person can realistically train BJJ 3–4 times a week while still doing other activities and maintaining a good quality of life, without constantly accumulating injuries.

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have been training for several years. Is it possible to train consistently and stay relatively injury-free, or should I expect BJJ to take a toll eventually?

TL;DR: I’m interested in starting BJJ, but I keep seeing people say injuries from BJJ have seriously affected their quality of life. How common is that really? Can you train 3–4x/week alongside gym, running, and other activities while staying relatively healthy, or are injuries basically inevitable?

Is there a free app for BJJ techniques? I'm looking for an app that's completely free (I don't mind if it has ads) so I can see techniques, videos, explanations, etc. Does something like that exist? Thanks a lot.

I started BJJ at 38, and getting to train alongside my two boys has become one of my favorite parts of it.

We train, compete, and get to go through the whole journey together. Curious how many other parents here train with their kids. Did you get them into BJJ, or did they get you into it?

Hi everyone,

I want to start my daughter in Brazilian jiujitsu soon. She’s 7 and she’s around 4’5” but she’s weighs 128 lbs. I’m just afraid she will be placed in a weight class with kids much older than her due to her size even though she’s still a very small child personality wise. Does anyone know how these situations are handled? Thanks,

Hey all,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I’m a 4 stripe blue belt looking to get back into BJJ after about 10 years away. A lot of life changes have happened since then, and I now live far away from my original gym. I’m also in my late 30s, and honestly my main goal is just to get back into working out and have some fun. I don’t really have any major BJJ goals beyond that.

I’ve stayed a fan of the sport over the years, but I can tell a lot has changed. Even watching matches now, there are techniques and positions that I have a hard time following.

I’ll probably only be able to train once a week, so between the 10-year layoff, being out of shape, and how much the sport has changed, I’m thinking just showing up at a new gym as a white belt and not mentioning my old rank unless the instructors ask if I have some experience.

What do you all think?

Thank you in advance!

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