I have not been able to train for longer than I would like because I am shaking off a cold. Of course, I’m tempted to go train, but I won’t: training when feeling sick or ill is not just a breach of ettiquite, it’s a jerk thing to do.

Grappling isn’t like other sports or martial arts – it is very physical and “hands on”. It is very easy to spread sicknesses on the mat. If you train when you are sick it is only a matter of time before your fellow students and teachers catch what you have.

I’ve made a chart – as a public service – to help anyone who is feeling ill decide if they should train Jiu Jitsu.

About a week ago the toenail of my 4th toe – the one next to my pinky toe – was consideraly derailed during a sparring session. About a third of the toenail was missing but it didn’t really bother me at the time. When I stopped moving around I soon noticed something didn’t feel right.

I wasn’t used to the feeling of having this toenail torn; and at the time, it wasn’t obvious to me why my toe felt so odd. The toe felt sore rubbing against its “neighbor” toes and was a bit swollen. I was investigating the toe and someone asked me what I was doing; I explained, and he suggested my toe could possibly be broken. Another student suggested it was “mat toe.” It was later clear that it was only a missing toenail (thankfully).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/briangaid/ / CC NC-SA 2.0

Shortly after I didn’t think much of it.

The following week – a couple classes ago – another student was sparring. He stopped after a few moments and began favoring his toe. “What’s the problem?” someone asked; “I broke my toe” he responded.

His fourth toe – the same toe I had some issues with the week before – was jetting out at strange, akward angle. It was clear the toe had seen better days.

Taped Toes

I have always noticed some students taping their toes before class. Some do regularly, some never do. At first the vulnerability of toe injury wasn’t very obvious to me, but I’ve now spent enough time on the mat to know better.

I wonder if it’s about time I start taping my toes to prevent this type of injury – or at least seriously consider it.

It is hard to train over the holidays.

Class schedules may be different at your school, class attendance can be inconsistent (especially if you live a college town), and finding time to get yourself the the gym can be a challenge – especially when you have the misfortune of working some between Christmas and the New Year.

I was able to train some this holiday season (I’m defining “holiday season” as a few days before Christmas to New Year’s) but I wish I was able to train more. For reasons previously mentioned, however, it has been a bit tough.

Which is why today was such an epic day. My gym’s schedule is back to “normal” and I got a some great training in. Everyone is pumped to train and it will be much easier to train regularly once again.

The holidays can be a nice break, but some things you don’t always want a break from.

I would guess that headgears for martial arts have been around a long time; Wikipedia only had so much to say about the topic. Wikipedia did not have an extensive history of the martial-arts headgear. Yet.

I am often surprised by how many people don’t wear headgear when training Jiu Jitsu. I would think that the threat of cauliflower ear – being virtually incurable – would inspire heavy use of them. This is not really the case. In my experience headgears are often the exception rather than the norm. Other schools may be different, of course.

I own a headgear but I rarely wear it. I have been somewhat hesitant too: my particular headgear is a rather bulky piece of equipment. My headgear has a “hard” cup around the ears: when I wear it feel self-conscious that it will bump into the face and head of my opponent, making them uncomfortable. It also seems to run a touch large for me: even at its smallest setting, it still could be tighter.

There is another reason I don’t wear it very often – I don’t (didn’t) think it would happen to me. A Relson Gracie Colorado brown belt who often teaches has barely any cauliflower ear – and when I asked him about it he said it was mostly luck.

I generally don’t consider myself a lucky person, so I think it’s about time I start wearing my headgear when sparring once again. Cauliflower ear isn’t in an issue for everyone – not everyone gets it, and not everyone cares if they do get it – but for me, I’m going to try a little harder to stave it off.

I just need to grab a new, “softer”, less bulkier one. Hopefully Google will show me the way.

pic credit(s): http://www.flickr.com/photos/buildscharacter/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Last night, after some deliberation, I skipped class. I’ll make it up soon enough.

I attend class about 3 times a week, but I aim for 4. Sometimes it’s only 2. The number of classes I attend depend on the usual things: work, I how I physically feel, etc. No surprises there.

When I think about class attendance I remember I conversation I had with another student about five months ago. His point was that you should never “over do it” when I comes to attending class: you should go to class as you want to and when you feel like it. Not following his advice, it was argued, can lead to burnout or injury.

He gave multiple examples from his Jiu Jitsu career of people who would sign up, start training, and get pumped. Very pumped. These people attended class whenever they could (5 times a week or more) and usually advance quickly. But unfortunately, after their first belt, or even as soon as 8 months into training, they would begin to burn out, their attendance would decline, and most of them would quit. Exceptions abound, of course, but this was the pattern he observed.

He also discussed how Jiu Jitsu should be fun. When it stops being fun, you should take a look at yourself and your training. In even some of the highest levels of athleticism (the Olympics, for example), trainers often ensure their pupils are having fun and enjoying themselves because it can be a key factor to not only their happiness but their success in the sport. Jiu Jitsu should be no different.

I tend to strongly agree, and this philosophy largely guides my attendance decisions. Jiu Jitsu is too fun, interesting, and empowering for me to give up, and I plan on doing it for a long time. I follow these guidelines because I don’t want to get sick of, stop liking, or get burnt out on the martial art.

I was recently thinking about the different people I have rolled with at this point in my Jiu Jitsu career and the characteristics of a good rolling partner. On the one hand, the answer I came up with is “it depends” – it depends on (your) mood, what you and your partner are looking to get from the session, energy levels, etc.

On the other hand, there does seem to be some things common to good sparring partners.

Desire To Learn (Not Just About Winning)

Winning is always fun, but for rolling, it’s not always the goal. We all have fights with high intensity where both participants want to win – badly. These fights can be fun and invigorating. It is one of the things I love about the martial art.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

But there is a collection of moves that are good for winning but are more appropriate for tournaments or the street. Two examples of these kinds of moves are putting pressure on someone’s nose to set up a rear-naked choke and covering an opponent’s nose and mouth with an available hand to try to force someone to move.

I often enjoy myself the most when my sparring partner and I are both trying to learn or apply new moves, when trying to win at an agreed or implied intensity. In these sessions I often learn new techniques and improve the context of moves I already know. This is a huge part of my training: when I am complimented on my progress by other students, I’ll normally tell them it is greatly because of them – because of training, practicing, and rolling with them.

Being Relaxed

“Tweaking out” seems to be endemic to most people brand new to any type of grappling. I was guilty of this when I first started Jiu Jitsu. I have obviously moved on, but I think we have all experienced this in a sparring partner: you are rolling with a (likely new) Jiu Jitsu student, and he/she is wiry and excitable.

A good sparring partner is typically relaxed because they are comfortable. In contrast to “tweaking out”, their movements are under control, even though they may not know what to do next (should I try to escape? should I go for a kimura?), it is mostly intentional. Unintentional, spazmatic movements can be unsafe, which bring me to the next item that makes a good rolling partner.

An Appreciation Of Safety

While being a “spaz” certainly makes for less safe sparring session for both participants, so does trying specific holds or submissions without proper training. I am referring to moves such as ankle locks, knee bars, and wrist locks. The odds of injury are greater if you aren’t trained in them. At my school, people are usually cleared to do these moves at some point after white belt (typically blue, I believe).

Personally, I don’t mind when I am put into one of these positions by someone who knows what they are doing, such as a teacher or an advanced student. I do get concerned, however, when someone puts me in ankle lock without the context or training they should have before trying the move. It is not safe and probably not a good idea. Just like anyone else, I don’t want to get injured.