Tag Archives: Injuries
Grapplers are a tough bunch, and generally tend to ignore injuries unless broken bones are actually protruding from a wound. I want to temper this tendency by using the Grapplearts pulpit to discuss a very serious category of orthopedic injury: strains and sprains of the lowly foot. (more…)
How to Safely Practice Dangerous Leglocks
Q: Given that leglocks are dangerous, how do you train them safely and still have confidence that they will work in a ‘live’ setting.
A: Although ANY submission is potentially dangerous, cranking someone with a heel hook or toehold can not only end the match, it can end your opponent’s athletic career. (more…)
The 'Elders' Speak
My newsletter last week about grappling with an aging body generated a fair bit of feedback. Some respondents thanked me for the article (you’re welcome). Others called me a candy-ass and that I should work harder and complain less (they were joking, I think). (more…)
The following question was submitted by a subscriber of the Grapplearts newsletter.
Q: What are your views on the ‘aging grappler’ who tries to keep rolling into his thirties and forties? What are some limitations and injuries to watch out for? (more…)
The following question was submitted by a subscriber of the Grapplearts newsletter.
Q: For self defense would it be better to study the grappling arts or the striking arts? (more…)
There was lots of reader feedback about last week’s tip, and everyone who wrote in wanted to emphasize an additional reason for not training while sick: not making everyone else at the club sick too! (more…)
It’s said that lessons repeat themselves until learned. If this is true then there is one particular lesson that has been really hard for me to learn, and I have had to repeat it time after time after time. That lesson is: if you feel sick, don’t train. (more…)
Last week I listed the treatments used, and practitioners consulted, in my quest for a pain-free lower back. What I want to highlight this week are the actual treatments that made a difference. (more…)
I have met many people, both on and off the mats, who seem to take their injuries with resignation. They say things like: “I just have bad shoulders”, or “I’m going to have to live with this bad back for the rest of my life”, and are content to live a less rich life. (more…)
The MOST Important Training Gear
Over the last couple of months I have written about various pieces of training gear, ranging from wrestling shoes to mouthguards. Looking over these tips I realized I had left out the single most important, completely indispensable training gear of all: your partner! (more…)
An old judo coach once tried to help me with an injury by saying: “there are internal ligaments in the body, but there are also external ligaments that are available to you” as he handed me the roll of white athletic tape. (more…)
Shoulder Rehab for Grapplers
Shoulder injuries are fairly common in grappling. Most often they are the result of an overzealous Kimura (chicken wing) or Americana (V arm lock) attack, but shoulders can also get damaged by other techniques, such as throws and sweeps. (more…)
Wrestlers are no stranger to wearing shoes while training, but I think that shoes can also be useful for jiu-jitsu and submission grappling practitioners under certain circumstances.
Wrestling shoes have two major advantages: increased traction and injury prevention. (more…)
This week I am will continue talking about protective gear for grappling, moving on from mouthguards to earguards.
The vast majority of submission grapplers and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners do NOT wear earguards, and neither did I for a long time. (more…)
If I could only choose one piece of protective gear to wear on the mat it would be the humble mouthguard. Grappler’s faces are always getting banged up, even if they don’t practice mixed martial arts. (more…)
In twenty-four years of martial arts training I have had more than my share of injuries and surgeries. Recently, however, I had an interesting encounter with the medical establishment that I’d like to share with you. (more…)
Half Guard Evolution
This week I’d like to talk about the half guard. This position is one where you are lying on your back or side with one of your opponent’s legs between your own. In the last 10 years an increasing number of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission grappling matches (more…)
Recovery From Chokes & Strangles
As you may know already, I like leglocks a lot.I have applied hundreds upon hundreds of leglocks to training partners without injuring them.This week I am going to tell you about the ONLY person I have ever injured using a leglock. (more…)
The Most Under-Attacked Joint
Jiu-jitsu and submission grappling offer techniques to attack almost every major joint in the body. Attacks on the elbow, shoulder, neck, knees, feet, and ankles are all fairly common and have many high-percentage techniques associated with them. (more…)
Stretching Continued
I thought I was done with the topic “Isn’t Stretching Supposed to Prevent Injuries?” but I recently had an interesting conversation on the topic with Charles Brown. Not only has Charles been a fitness trainer and competitive endurance athlete for over 20 years, (more…)
Isn’t Stretching Supposed to Prevent Injuries?
Stretching has recently gotten some bad press.Various studies and articles looking at runners, army recruits and soccer players have come to light suggesting that stretching doesn’t actually prevent injuries. (more…)
I recently wrote about how the first part of training is actually sleeping. Even though I’m writing this in the middle of the night and have to get up early tomorrow, I’ll be a hypocrite and write a little bit more about the topic of sleep… (more…)
"The First Part of Training is the Sleeping"
I had a nagging sinus cold for most of December. Right after Christmas, and just in time to ruin New Years Eve, this sinus cold was replaced by a wicked little flu that totally knocked me out. (more…)
Grappling for Self Defense
It’s very easy to forget all about the self-defense aspects of what you are doing when you train grappling. There’s so much material to work on, and it’s so much fun to train, that self-defense considerations can get overlooked. (more…)
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