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I've been sidelined for weeks or months with serious injuries during my BJJ career including a dislocated shoulder, two rolled ankles, separated ribs, a strained lower back, and a severed ACL which required surgery... a couple of nasty bouts with vicious staph infections... and of course the minor bumps, bruises, and sprains I deal with on a daily or weekly basis. (They don't call it a contact sport for nothing.)
The good news is injuries like mine are NOT inevitable. In fact, if you avoid a three really dangerous positions - what I call "The Treacherous Three" - you can enjoy a long bjj career without any rides in an ambulance or dates with the surgeons knife.
THE C-SECTION
Last year one of the green belts at my school left class with a sore neck. Two days later when he was at the hospital where he works, he decided to get an MRI at the urging of a nurse friend. Midway through the exam... while he was telling a story... the nurse said, "Whatever you do, don't move."
It ended up that the green belt had a neck injury that was less than five millimeters away from severing his spine. The nurse on duty said if he sneezed too hard he could literally be paralyzed for life.
I can't count the number of neck injuries I've seen while grappling. The third degree black belt who couldn't turn his head. The purple belt who couldn't use his arm because of a bulging disc. The brown belt who couldn't sit down for more than 20 minutes without stretching his neck.
And more often than not, these injuries were caused by getting stacked in guard (or playing some type of inverted guard game).
Simply, your neck is FRAGILE. And any type of pressure on the back of it can do serious damage (why do you think they outlaw punches to the back of the neck in MMA?) Is it really worth a lifetime of pain or paralysis?
THE CURSE OF STRENGTH
At first big guys with tons of strength seem like they have a huge advantage. Pure bully power. The problem arises if they keep on using this strength as their ONLY tool. Case in point...
I come from a long line of farmers and strength is something I don't have to work on. I carry 195 pounds on a 5' 10" frame with about 12 percent body fat. I can bang out twenty pull-ups with ease (my record is 33). I used to be able to bench north of 300 lbs. I'm a strong dude.
Lucky me, right? Well, here's the rest of the story...
Over the last ten years I've relied on my inordinate back, shoulder, bicep, and grip strength in guard. The result? Most of my knuckles are misshapen (probably pre arthritic) and about once a year I pull a bicep, making it impossible to hammer curl even a 5 pound weight.
It's not just me either, one guy I know has ripped both of his biceps. And many of the married guys I know have a hard time putting on a wedding bang because of their banged up knuckles.
Being strong is a good thing... but a strength extended is a weakness. Relying on strength alone - especially over use of upper body strength - multiplies your chances of shoulder, arm and hand injury.
THE UNHAPPY TRIAD
Quick question: How many knee injuries have you seen because of BJJ?
Quick story: Back in 2007 I went for an outside trip and tore my ACL. This put me out of commission for six months... and would have put me $10,000 in debt if it wasn't for insurance.
The nature of my tear was one of the most common injuries in sports. It's called The Unhappy Triad. Here's what happens...
First, there is an impact to the outside of the knee. This puts pressure on the medial collateral ligaments (the MCl, they are on the inside of the knee). Everything is fine until these ligaments rip...and then all hell breaks lose.
The tibia and femur (the bottom and top bones) become like a pair of scissors, shearing the ACL in half until they bang into each other... usually causing ruptures in the meniscus. Three injuries in one. How nice.
Luckily for me I only tore the two ligaments. I simply had to go into surgery to get a new ACL (actually a Achilles tendon from a cadaver) and my MCL healed on its own.
The takedown game is brutal on your knees. Talk to any wrestler and he'll back me up on this. But your knees aren't safe once you hit the ground. Watch out for any position that puts pressure on the knee... namely half-guard and sometimes butterfly. And of course, tap early to heel hooks.
Those are the most common injuries in BJJ. Avoid "The Treacherous Three" and you'll spend less time in the hospital and more time on the mats.
Rob Gramer is a mechanical engineer and BJJ brown belt. For more BJJ articles with a scientific bent and a free report revealing the 33 Grips every grappler must know, visit www.backchoke.com
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