Bulletproof For BJJ Podcast
Discussions on improving your BJJ, navigating mat-politics and all aspects of the jiu jitsu lifestyle. Multiple weekly episodes for grapplers of any level. Hosted by JT and Joey - Australian jiu jitsu black belts, strength coaches, and creators of Bulletproof For BJJ App. Based out of Sydney, Australia
Bulletproof For BJJ Podcast
We've Seen 1000s Of BJJ Injuries And These Are The 3 Main Causes
Ever wondered why you can't stay on the mats? We are telling you the three main causes of injury and how you need to fix them in yourself.
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A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready.
Speaker 2:Essentially, at this point, the fight is over.
Speaker 1:So you pretty much flow with the goal. Who is worthy to be trusted with the secret to limitless power? I'm ready. The three major causes of injury that you are not addressing, and it's me, you get messed up. And we got to talk about it because two might seem obvious, but the third one it's a killer and you're not thinking about it. Two might seem obvious, but the third one it's a killer and you're not thinking about it. Let's get into it. Joe Jiu-Jitsu, folks always get injured. Yep, this is just the name of the game. Yep, now we are going to talk about the controllables. You've got to control the controllables. Now, many people will attribute injury to a reckless training partner, and, yes, that can happen.
Speaker 2:People love that one. Oh, fucking guy. Oh, this chick did this to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and look, don't get me wrong. If you've got an inexperienced grappler who does something wild, that can result in an injury, or an experienced one.
Speaker 2:Yes, I mean anyone's capable of it. Right, We've all done it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but ultimately that is something you cannot control. We're going to talk about three things you can control. Number one lack of mobility, results in so much joint injury. It's hard to describe why am I talking about this? So, for example, jujitsu folks are often pretty good with hip external rotation. So you know getting guard, you know like even people are not that flexible. They're usually okay there. But where jujitsu folks suck is hip internal rotation. This is where they really lack, and a lack of mobility at the hip.
Speaker 1:It's not that, oh, you're going to get a hip injury. Nah, it's going to turn into ligament damage in the knee, like when you don't have that movement at the hip. The next major spot is the knee. So recently, um, uh, at the worlds on the weekend, there was a gentleman in the lightweight category doing like a a De La Riva position and he's trying to do the coyote lock it's like a foot lock but he ends up tearing the guy's uh medial ligament in his knee, like the guy just collapses like ah, taps, and the guy's like, yeah, I'm the champion, and it. And it's really because the guy's fighting against it and because his foot is fixed and he hasn't got the internal rotation at the hip. His ligament tears. So this is a classic example of where a lack of mobility is going to potentially lead to structural damage. Have you got any examples of this, joe, where you've seen somebody lacking a certain type of flexibility or mobility and it turns into damage?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, um, like to, to sort of explain it for folks, the like, what happens? Your, your body absorbs forces, right, like, let's say, um, let's say, let's take the arm bar as an example, someone, someone puts you in an arm bar and it's like you know you're fighting to like not let your elbow get extended, yeah, but let's say it does. So your elbow is getting extended, right, you've got pressure going through that, that elbow structure. So then you start pushing your shoulder and you start like almost extending your shoulder, right, it's not true shoulder extension, but but sure you're reaching.
Speaker 2:And so you're trying to spread that load somewhere across more structures, which, which is reducing the load in that specific area of the elbow right and um, whatever, sometimes that works great, sometimes not. But this idea of, of spreading load through the body is kind of a part and parcel of human movement, isn't it? Yeah, um, so any, you know, any, anything we're doing, right, you're shooting takedowns, you're sprawling, you're passing, you're fucking, you know, bridging, you are, you are incorporating multiple joints and you are spreading load throughout the whole body, whether it's to produce force or to absorb someone else's force.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And so when you have a joint that is severely underperforming, it's not capable of absorbing much load, so it's going to pass load into the neighboring structures, yeah Right. And so if you've got tight hips, you're probably going to pass it to the lower back or down to the knees, yeah Right, if you got um, if you got tight ankles, you're probably going to pass it or into your Achilles, or you're going to pass it up the knee, or you know or whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right, like it, and so it kind of just carries for the whole thing. So, um, while there is a and lack range of motion, if they're very strong as well, they can often be quite like, almost like, impenetrable like very defensive yeah. But, if you can like, if load is applied into a joint of that person, they have less bandwidth to absorb the forces someone's putting on them. So you know the flip on, that is when you roll with someone who is both flexible and strong.
Speaker 2:You know that, right, you're fucking cranking on shit and they're just finding space because they're just like a what's his fucking name that we always talk about, ari Tabak. Oh yeah, ari's a bit like yeah, all those sort of guard players.
Speaker 1:But I was going to say Jonas, oh yeah, Jonas.
Speaker 2:You know, like when you think about that archetype of like the flexible, strong sort of young guy or girl and it's like fuck, I just can't pin them down and I can't break any of their shit, no, right, and so yeah, so when you lack range of motion, you're at a greater risk of fucking up a structure, be it that one or the ones nearby, and I think this is why a lot of us get lower back pain.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:This is why a lot of us get lower back pain. Yes, this is why a lot of us get shoulder pain, knee yeah. A lot of us get get neck pain, like as grapplers, and it's it's because the structures around there often don't have adequate range of motion, which results in all of the force going to one specific spot.
Speaker 1:Definitely. I mean the. The example that comes to mind for me is like you're playing guard and someone like stack passes you and they throw your feet over your head. If you have never actually spent much time there, as in in a ultra flexed position, kind of balancing that weight on your neck and your spine being super rounded right, if you've never electively gone there and been able to relax there, how are you going to withstand someone forcing you there and then dropping their weight on you Like you've? You're not, and your inability to breathe, relax and also control that position can result in bulged discs and everything. But if you've built up your tolerance over time through controlled movement, you can actually weather that storm pretty well. Like you're saying, joe, we all know what it's like to roll with a really flexible person. You're like fuck, I can't, submit them, I can't. Their joints are rubber and it's like wouldn't you love to have that as well?
Speaker 2:Yeah, like a bit more of that is a real superpower.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it really helps you weather that storm. I think it's a Zen saying, but Bruce Lee said it which is about like not being the oak tree, being the reed, being the bamboo like the bamboo like, because in a storm the oak tree, even though it's stiff and strong, it'll, it'll break, snaps, yeah, but the bamboo goes with it and then kind of bounces back, yeah. So I you know, without getting too philosophical about it as much as you do, you know, strength is good. Having that mobility there really helps you avoid the joint injuries which we all end up getting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I mean, I guess what I, you know like, what I think is like as a frame for, for for folks it's like like it would be great to be at that sort of level where it is a bit of a superpower. But I think what a lot of people don't realize is that their lack of flexibility it is really detracting from their, from their resilience. Yes, right, and it's like you, you, you, you are, you are carrying like, you have extra risk factors every time you're rolling because you are underperforming, right, even if you know, if you never get like super flexible and become the the Ari kid, yeah, it's more like at least be somewhere that's like considered that we would consider appropriate for what you're doing with your body.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and if you think about it like suspension on your car, right, if you have really stiff or shitty suspension, every bump is creating damage to the chassis. But if you have really good suspension, bumps are like like it's nothing right, so it's so that you can ride out those bumps. You've got the suspension there now. Number two will not surprise you. It is a lack of stability, slash strength. Now let's talk about this in terms of joint integrity.
Speaker 1:This is the thing that we we probably don't talk about enough that tendon and ligament strength is built through time, under tension, through load. So if you want stronger joints because we're doing jujitsu, which is the art of breaking fucking joints, you've got to actually spend a bit of time under load and really, if you don't, once you do get injured or you do have the surgery, the physio and the surgeons, they're going to enforce that. You spend time building up that tendon and ligament strength again, and then you're going to enforce that. You spend time building up that tendon and ligament strength again and then you're going to have to fucking do the shit anyway. So it's like let's save you time, money, pain and bullshit, even if you are like I don't want to be a bodybuilder. I'm not really a gym bro, I'm none of that. You do have to reinforce your joints and your connective tissues. The best way you can do that is through doing some lifting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you've got like like a lot of folks probably never really really sort of thought about what their, what their joints are, but it's basically two bones coming together and you know they might fit kind of nicely or not. It could be like a ball and socket kind of thing, but that's not enough for it to like stay together. There's all of these tendons and ligaments that are holding that shit in place and uh, like it's fine, right, you have a, you have a basic amount of stability there, being a functional human that can walk on this earth. But like you need more than that.
Speaker 2:If you're gonna play a fucking sport like jujitsu like you it's and really most of us at it, like most of us humans, modern humans are at a deficit with this shit, cause we don't fucking do anything. You sit at a desk and work real hard on a computer and then we go home and sit on the couch and so it's like you've got to lift some fucking weights, you got to do some resistance, and this is not even talking about building your muscles. This is literally those fucking structures that are holding the joint together become thicker and stronger and denser, and that's the stability in your joint. That is a joint that is now fortified and ready, or more as ready as it can be for someone to try and fucking knee.
Speaker 1:Bar that shit A hundred percent and look even if we look at so, a friend of mine had to have shoulder surgery not a jujitsu guy. He got a shoulder injury many years ago as a trades person and never really did anything about it. Right, I don't respect that guy, fair, I love that man. You also love that man. I won't name him, but you've met him. You met him at my wedding. He's a good man. He didn't know any better.
Speaker 1:But what the surgeon said to him is before we get this surgery, you have to do prehab. You actually have to make the shoulder joint stronger before we do the surgery, because the surgery is going to be trauma. We're going to be cutting through and doing all this shit. So actually so that you bounce back quicker, he thought by leaving it alone. Oh, that's better because I won't make it worse. It's like nah, man Settle, yeah, yeah, but that's actually as far from the truth as possible. Surgeon's like nah, you've got to spend three months building this up so that when we do cut into it and you can't move it, that it's going to because it's going to atrophy and it's going to go backwards. So if you build it out, it's not going to go minus, it's going to probably atrophy and get you die back to like where you are now. So then you can build off that with the recovery and this is a very common thing when you have to have knee surgery, ankle surgery. If it's not so detrimental, it has to happen straight away it will be advocated that you build up the joint because stronger joints bounce back quicker and that comes from doing strength training Like this is. This is just the thing that you know and you know we, we, we've talked about it many times, but when we think about it from the perspective of you building armor around the joint, that's what you're doing, you know like you it's. It's hard to imagine because we have so many emotional stereotypical associations with what lifting weights looks like. Well, I don't want to look like Arnold. Well, I don't want to be that fucking fat power lifter. I don't want to. You know like, because gym culture itself isn't necessarily attractive to people. But I think, whether you like it or not, the benefits of strengthening your joints through doing resistance training is just kind of unmatched.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nothing kills the vibe of jiu-jitsu worse than a calf cramp. You're rolling, you're going hard, you got the calf cramp. You don't want to tap, but it is killing your jiu-jitsu. Why is that? You're dehydrated. You need a hydration solution and I got you. That solution is Sodi. Sodi is the perfect blend of electrolytes that taste amazing. That's going to keep the water in your muscles so you can roll hard and not get cramps. Go to Sodi S-O-D-I-Icomau. Use the code BULLETPROOF15. You get 15% off. No more cramps. Delicious hydration. Get some.
Speaker 2:How it helps to that point about the bouncing back from injury thing, that the same also applies if, even if you don't have surgery, yes, right, which most, most of you listening are never going to have to have surgery as a result of a jiu-jitsu injury most of you, we hope. But you are going to get injured and that is going to equal time off the mats and time off the mats is you losing muscle, it's you losing density and thickness in those supporting tissues? Um, it's, it's all of this stuff that builds up as a result of the hard work you do on the mats starts to go away over time. And this is what we know, right, if you don't, if you don't use it, you lose it. And so, yes, having that practice of regular strength training is what allows you to keep a surplus of um, of stability, but also tissue, there.
Speaker 2:If you think of it like gathering resources, right, it's like it's you building, you're like a prepper and you're building like a bomb shelter. You're ready. Yeah, you're like buying ammunition, shotguns, cans of baked beans. This is just joey's weekend diesel. I'm running through the checklist of what I need to do. China's coming, but, but you know, but it's, but it's you gathering that stuff and prepared really great if you never have to use it.
Speaker 2:I guarantee you are going to have to use it, but if you don't have to use it, then it's there for you on the mats to increase your performance. So it's just like a fucking multi-fold benefit. Today's sponsor is shelters at home sheltersafecom, they actually dig out a moat around your house. I read about this.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, apparently American companies that do like shelters have been going gangbusters For sure, particularly, I think, like maybe in the last few years For sure. And so there's one company that advised we would build a moat around this house and then they fill it with fuel and it ignites, and so it puts up like a wall of fire. I was like that's fucking sick I'm doing it Wow.
Speaker 1:I think you need you probably need to keep that petroleum to keep the generator going, but sure do what you like. Now, number three, this is important. Number three, this is the thing that no one is talking about and you need to know about. Your lack of recovery is resulting in fatigue that causes injuries. Tell me more Now. There is a famous saying within the fight game, which is fatigue makes cowards of us all. That's why boxing, muay Thai, mma like so much work is done on the endurance side, like so much work is done on the endurance side, but if you are not recovering, you cannot present with a good amount of energy to conduct yourself. Well Now, we all know, like first round, you know you're feeling good. That last round is so sloppy. You know you get tired, your technique falls down, You're just doing whatever you can. At that point, the risk of injury is so much higher because you don't have as much coordinated control over your body, and I think this is something that, joe, you actually touched on before this conversation. We're talking about coordination.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, coordination is a big part of it and, as we're talking about, it's kind of the proprioception coordination, call it body awareness. But yeah, as you were saying, if you're working on your strength and you're working on your flexibility and you're training your sport, this is actually building coordination and proprioceptive capacity. But yes, like, okay, here's the example for folks you have a shit night's sleep or you have a late night or whatever, and then you get up the next day and you fucking drop your keys. You got to put them on the table, like you always do, and you drop them or you walk into the doorframe.
Speaker 1:Oh, the fucking doorframe. I can't fucking speaking of this, I fucking axed myself, bro. I um open the cupboard to get coffee cup out and making all this coffee in the morning, I, I bend down, I'm making the coffee. I kind of forget that the cupboard is open above my head.
Speaker 2:And I fucking.
Speaker 1:I just stand up like nothing's there. I was like are you okay, I'm like I'm fine, nothing happened.
Speaker 2:Oh God.
Speaker 1:Like it happens right and that's I'm not even. I'm not even fighting anyone, I'm fighting the fucking kitchen cabinet at this point, the fuck coming out of nowhere.
Speaker 2:I'm fighting fatigue. When I do that, when I hit myself like that, misa always goes like ooh, like are you okay? And I'm like I'm fine, don't fucking say anything.
Speaker 1:I've had to eat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm just like let's move on. It never happens. It's more like I don't want to fucking talk about it. I don't acknowledge I'm good, you know, yeah, but when that happens, that is you being fatigued and that is a direct reflection of your lack of coordination. Yeah Right, you put your keys on that table every fucking day, Like you are very good at that. You are highly coordinated. That pathway in your brain is super well insulated with myelin Drilled. Now when you fuck it up, that's an indication oh, you're under-recovered today. Can't judge that right. I had this last Wednesday. I went to deadlift what I'd been deadlifting sort of recently and I just couldn't do it. I pulled it halfway and I was like I think something's going to snap and I stopped. It's because I had a shit sleep the night before.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So, yes, you know, if I had to push through on that deadlift, if I had to push through on that deadlift, I probably would have popped something Right. And this is you showing up at training Fuck it, you know adrenaline's high. I'm feeling pretty good. And this is you copping an injury because you're under recovered and look okay, we're not saying don't train if you're tired.
Speaker 1:We're not saying that. But what you need to understand is the lack of recovery is continually. It's a reflection. So I learned this from a guy way smarter than me and you know people are really into wearing their whoops right, whoop quantified self, knowing all their statistics. But people still fuck up and do dumb shit and really your performance is a direct reflection of recovery. If you go to the gym and you're not learning, like it's not settling in, you're kind of fucking up in roles, you're like tweaking things, this is a clear indicator. You are not recovered. Now. We're not saying you've got to now go ice bath and sauna and like that's not what we're saying. Like I think the problem is the word recovery has been hijacked by Ice baths and yeah, a bunch of shit.
Speaker 2:You know the yeah by like extra activities you have to add to your training week.
Speaker 1:Yeah, your recovery is like do nothing, like fucking Just go to sleep early, just go to sleep.
Speaker 2:Go to fucking bed and drink plenty of water and eat food.
Speaker 1:You know that meme. You know the guy like checking out the chick over his shoulder and the chick's like and it's got like. So the chick who's like is like ice bars, recovery and all this. And the guy's like you looking and it's got a wank and a nap. Is the hot chick he's checking out. And it's like there you go. You would be surprised what getting that bit more sleep, eating that bit more food, will do so that you can actually restore yourself, so you're not setting yourself up for a fucking injury.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, man, I, I, I, yeah, I really strongly. Sleep is the fucking one. Yep, sleep is the one that we're all doing a terrible job of, and it pushes the needle infinitely more than any of that other fancy shit that we see going viral on fucking Instagram. And it's free, yeah, and you do it every day.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So just do it a bit better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just do it a bit more and I look. The hardest thing is obviously. You know, doom scrolling and just all the stress of the day can hijack the ability to switch off of a nighttime. But even this, think this like your sleep regulates your hunger. So when you're tired you actually eat more than you should. You're hungrier than you need to be. You make poorer choices there.
Speaker 2:I find I just eat more sugar. Well, yeah, I don't you know like I actually I actively go after sugar. Yeah, on those, because I, because I don't have an appetite for like nourishing stuff, yeah, I just want that fast energy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I mean, look, yeah, fuck it For sure, when I'm tired I just eat more, because I'm just trying to make myself feel better, because I feel shitty for being tired, and the thing is we don't necessarily match fatigue with injury.
Speaker 1:But when you are tired you are less coordinated, you're not as strong, your joints don't have as good proprioception and really it leads to more mistakes, whether it's dropping your keys, banging your head or even making a mistake which means you're late to class, you miss warm-up, you're caffeinated, you jump in and that turns into an injury. You didn't even have to get as far as being at the end of class, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right the classic Mr Warm-up situation. So there it is, folks, the three major contributors lack of mobility, lack of strength and then lack of recovery. So if you can address these things, you are far less likely to get injured and you're in a much better position to succeed.
