The other day we talked about career ending injuries. If you haven't read that post yet, check it out here first.
Today or should I say tonight we are going to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart, injury avoidance.
It's quite simple really, here at WhiteCollarBJJ we understand you've got a life off the mats. Most of my readers are fellow white collar professionals, Moms, Dads, people that work the 8-6 and understand that limping from meeting to meeting just doesn't cut it.
Yes, it's impossible to prevent all injuries, unless you stop rolling all together, and since we both know that's not going to happen then we need to focus on some simple rules of thumb to avoid the preventable ones.
So, let's get started.
Rule 1
Never roll with someone until you've watched them roll with someone else.
I can't tell you how many times this simple rule has saved my bacon. it's quite simple, you don't know if you are dealing with a poor soul afflicted with "lethal spastic flailing" or if you've got an opponent who is "tap def", and either way it's in your best interest to know BEFORE you consider rolling with them.
Rule 2
Wear a mouth guard.
I only have to put one link here, just go ask "chewy" about wearing a mouth guard. Honestly, if you don't like the boil and bite then suck it up and go to the Dentist and have one custom made. I did that early on and absolutely love it. Be sure to request the mold when you are done, that way if you ever lose your guard you can have a new one made up quickly.
Rule 3
Wear a cup.
Unless it's not allowed (ie competition) Need I really say more?
Rule 4
If you have a tendency to get "the ear" then get some ear guards.
We all know how unpleasant Cauliflower Ear is, it's truly nasty, don't take my word on it though, check out the nice summary at "Why We Not Hit Hard".
Rule 5
Final Rule, get some simple wrestling knee pads, because you only get one set of knees.
This one is a hazmat signature, I've been wearing knee pads since back in the Gi days. Early on in my game I found I could "create weight" with knee on belly, but conversely that meant I was shooting my knees all over the place. End result? Lots of bruises on my knees. Thankfully switching to a pair of wrestling knee pads has greatly reduced this problem. Be sure to try a few sizes on though, as when you get to rolling they'll start sliding on you very quickly if they aren't sized properly.
Well that's about it in a nutshell. So I'll close with Mrs Hazmat's favorite quote..
"Have fun and don't get hurt!"
-hz
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4 comments:
Nice article. The number of stupid injuries that could be prevented by following simple guidelines....
I'm always amazed when some dude gets his nuts smashed going for an armbar doesn't have the sense to wear a cup next time.
Of course, the nice thing about them is it's much easier to pass the guard to crossbody since they let you skip the half-guard.
I really like this post. Very simple but very true. Linked here through Why we not hit hard
Thanks guys, short of a few "one in a million" injuries these simple guidelines have helped me tremendously.
-hz
its a shame there is really no way to avoid shoulder pain. I work out a little to try to avoid it but still experience problems with shoulders.
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