Continue Progressing Despite Being on the Sidelines

Show me a black belt who has never been injured and I will show you a fake black belt. Jiu-jitsu might be the “arte suave” — the gentle art — but it is still a contact sport. Yes, jiu-jitsu is much, much safer than, say muay-thai or boxing. We can spar with high intensity a few times a week, which is impossible in striking disciplines. Unfortunately, injuries are, nevertheless, inevitable.

I just had an unfortunate foot injury during sparring where my sparring partner simply fell on my foot, resulting in toe and ankle injury. It happened almost three weeks before a local ADCC, which threw a wrench in my preparation. I could not walk for three days, then limped for a few more. I am starting to slowly spar again, though not nearly at full capacity. While this is not my first injury, I want to share some thoughts and experiences on how to handle an injury and continue progressing.

Let’s start by acknowledging that injuries do not come only with negatives. An injury can be good, because:

•  •    It teaches you how to move better, more efficiently, and safely; or, if you prefer to think about it the other way around, it teaches you how not to move;
  
  
•  •    It teaches you to tap early and recognize high-risk positions;
  
  
•  •    It helps choose the right sparring partners because let’s face it, every gym has some people who are responsible for most injuries happening to teammates;
  
  
•  •    It forces you to rest if you are overtraining. Were you sleeping enough? Did you train too often and did not recover?
  
  
•  •    It forces you to diversify your game, for example, I cannot use my left foot to elevate the opponent in butterfly guard, so I had to start using cross-butterfly sweep a lot, using my right foot to elevate.

What should you do when an injury happens? I am not a medical expert. If clearly serious, seek medical help immediately. If it is something relatively light, like a sprain, give it a day to see if you feel you need medical attention or not. All I will say is, take the necessary time off. Don’t push it, don’t force it, don’t make it worse. You want to be back in full force, not to delay the recovery.

But. While you are recovering, do not completely check out. The frustration you may experience because you cannot spar or compete is understandable. It may be tempting to just take a complete break from jiu-jitsu, thinking you will be back in full force once you fully recover. If you do that, you will be in for a serious disappointment once back on the mats. You will not only NOT be at the same level, but you will have regressed.

Not to worry! There are a few things you can do to “stay in the game”.

You can take advantage of the time you have, now that you cannot do jiu-jitsu as you used to. If you did 4–5 sessions a week, for example, that is at least 8–10 hours, plus whatever time you spent commuting to and from the gym. THAT IS A LOT OF TIME. Make the best use of it. Here are a few things you can do:

1.     1.  Attend classes and observe the techniques and sparring. You will keep your finger on the pulse and not fall behind the rest of the team. Also, watching live sparring is very enjoyable and instructional. One thing is sparring with your teammates, another is observing them when they spar with someone else — you will pick up on details that you don’t normally notice when you spar with them. I like to observe our coach sparring with some of my teammates who give me trouble and see how he deals with the same problems. It is like unlocking a cheat code.
   
   
2.     2. Watch videos. YouTube can be a massive distraction and an obstacle on the way to our objectives. But for a jiu-jitsu aficionado, YouTube can also be a treasure. Thousands upon thousands of videos on all kinds of positions and techniques. I would suggest not just watching random videos, but being systematic about it. What positions do you struggle with? Is there a particular move your opponents make that gives you the most trouble? Do you struggle with particular escapes, or with finishing a specific submission? Perhaps you play a specific type of guard and would like to add some additional tools to your toolkit? Whatever you are looking for, you will find a dozen or more videos. Minimum. Watch, take notes, and then when back in the class, practice them. There are excellent channels, such as Chewjitsu, Knight jiu-jitsu, BJJ Globetrotters, the Grapplers Guide by Jason Scully, Tristar Gym, Wiltse brothers jiu-jitsu, Stephan Kesting, Gracie breakdowns, videos by Lachlan Giles, Mendes brothers, so many other top level athletes.
   
   
3.     3. Buy instructionals. BJJ Fanatics is currently the best online shop for jiu-jitsu instructionals. It also has a ton of instructionals on wrestling, judo, and striking. BJJ Fanatics features material from Jon Danaher, Gordon Ryan, Marcelo Garcia, and many, many other incredible athletes and coaches. One tip, watch for the sales and also make sure to use your BJJ Fanatics points for discounts. Otherwise, it is easy to spend a fortune on this website. There are other places where you can buy good instructionals, but BJJ Fanatics is by far the best. Video quality is typically excellent, and the quality of instruction is world-class.
   
   
4.     4. Watch jiu-jitsu competitions. If you are aiming at a particular competition with a specific ruleset, watching matches will give you a lot of information about not only techniques but also tactics and game plans. ADCC, IBJJF, AJP, EBI, whatever the ruleset is, there is an endless supply of videos online that you can study and improve your game, as well as learn the finer points of the rulesets. You can also find breakdowns of matches with professional analysts explaining what is happening, where athletes make mistakes, or what they do well.
   
   
5.     5. Strategize. Game plan. Systematize your jiu-jitsu. Stop thinking in terms of singular moves and just letting a scramble happen. Be strategic, take time to think about your game plan — in a standing position, when at the bottom, when on top. How do you tend to act in specific positions? What do you think your game is missing?
   
   
6.     6. Visualize. This goes with the previous point. As you are working on your game plan, visualize a fight. Try to imagine how a fight would go. How would you respond to different moves by an opponent? How do you react to different situations? Visualizing helps prepare for a fight, but also to identify gaps in your preparation. If you cannot think of a way to deal with a problem, you won’t be able to come up with a solution on the spot. I practice visualizations before tournaments and it has certainly been a boost to my preparation.
   
   
7.     7. Do some physical activity! Do not fall completely out of shape. You may not be able to do jiu-jitsu, but perhaps you can do something else. Weight training? Calisthenics? Cardio workouts? Jog, swim, or do yoga. Staying in shape will make the return and re-adjustment that much faster. If your foot is hurt, do push-ups or pull-ups. If your hand is injured, run or squat. Of course, do not go too hard. You are still recovering from an injury, but some minimal exercising has been proven to help with recovery.
   
   
8.     8. Rest! Don’t forget that! Most importantly, make sure you get good sleep. This will help you with recovery from the injury, and if you are overtrained and your body needs a bit of a break, there is nothing better than quality sleep to help your body get back in shape. I recommend reading Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep, here is an article I recently wrote about it.
   
   
9.     9. As you start rolling, pick your opponents carefully — avoid too big, too explosive partners. Pick patient opponents who are willing to work slowly, and let you work with the handicaps that you have. Practice what you can. If your foot is fine, practice footlocks. If you are hurt on your dominant side, perhaps you can practice your moves on the other side. Right now I have trouble being in top mount as my left foot still hurts, so instead, I stay in side control a lot and have tried to focus on improving my control from this position.
   
   
10.     10. Lessons learnt. Finally, when you are fully back, do not just move on and forget about the injury. Re-think your warm-ups and cooldowns. What do you need to do to avoid injuries in the future? Stretch more? Differently? Do mobility drills? Does your game make you vulnerable to certain kinds of injuries? What kind of adjustments you can make to be safer? Use your injury as a learning experience.
    
    

So do not overthink the injury. Don’t get demotivated or frustrated. Injuries are simply a part of the journey in jiu-jitsu. Follow the above suggestions and you won’t really lose that much of your progress. You might even come back stronger, surprising your teammates with a bunch of new tricks in your arsenal.

Good luck!