Starting Jiu Jitsu | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Starting Jiu Jitsu

Discussion in 'Health & Fitness' started by ktr6, Jun 22, 2014.

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  1. JDZNate

    JDZNate Formula Junior

    May 14, 2007
    606
    Portland, OR
    Full Name:
    Nate
    That's great you're still at it. Most quite within the first 6 months.

    I've been putting in 3 to 4 days a week.
     
  2. ktr6

    ktr6 Formula Junior

    Mar 25, 2011
    947
    Knoxville, TN
    Full Name:
    Keith
    Excited, geting ready to open an Alliance facility!
     
  3. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 8, 2003
    7,540
    So. Cal
    Full Name:
    Armen
  4. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
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    Nov 8, 2003
    7,540
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    Armen
    Trained 2 times this week. pretty much for the first time in 9 years. A bit rusty but was very happy with my performance overall. Only tapped once with a Brown and didn't tap with a Black (6 minute rounds). Funny, The Black belt was a Blue Belt when I left 9 years ago. Tapped a few Purples also (none tapped me).
     
  5. JDZNate

    JDZNate Formula Junior

    May 14, 2007
    606
    Portland, OR
    Full Name:
    Nate
    I guess that's why they say it's a marathon.
    I'm still putting in 2 to 3 days a week. Not really going to classes, mostly just rolling rounds and trying not to get burned out. I'm 41 now and I've been training consistently for about 9 years now.
     
  6. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 8, 2003
    7,540
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    Armen
    So, I've ben back now 3 times. I find that I'm really not that into it anymore. I did well, but the game has changed SO MUCH!!!! I think from now on, ill pop my head in, roll here and there and get my fix. Funny how life and all around you changes!
     
  7. Hamflown

    Hamflown Rookie

    Jul 8, 2016
    8
    Plenty of guys take up jits older than that. Besides, it's terrific exercise and a great community in my experience.
     
  8. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
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    Nov 8, 2003
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    That's pretty much were I was. Trained 10 years and took 9 years of. It ain't easy coming back!
     
  9. JDZNate

    JDZNate Formula Junior

    May 14, 2007
    606
    Portland, OR
    Full Name:
    Nate
    I feel like I'm burning out at times. I love the gym I'm at now, great group of guys, mostly around my age. I've looked at transitioning into other physical activities like downhill mountain biking but I can't justify the greater risk of physical injury. I'm not married and don't have kids so I just keep going. Plus being a cop I teach seminars for departments and academies. It's the "in" thing in defensive tactics training right now so I'm ahead of the curve.

    BTW. I think AOJ is probably the nicest BJJ gyms I've seen.
     
  10. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
    33,571
    NJ
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    Rich
    I went back to weight training and it absolutely invigorated me. I'm blessed that at 48 years old, I'm still in great shape.

    The gym I go to is a mix of meathead and "beautiful" crowd. My wife goes and I'm more the meathead type, so it works. It's been a while since I've done hardcore weight training, and I was likely too energetic as I'm experiencing some tendinosis (I've had since my younger body building days).

    Luckily, I caught a cold and I'm taking this week off...my arm (where the tendon pain is) feels much better.

    Cross training is a great idea to keep from burn out.
     
  11. DonJuan348

    DonJuan348 F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Aug 5, 2008
    4,441
    Taxing Jersey
    JDZ

    Don't look at down hill like increased opportunity for injury rather as way to challenge yourself . I'm 50 and joined adult gymnastics . It's scary but I enjoy the challenge and will continue to challenge myself. Remember, the less you move the less you want to move.
     
  12. V-TWELVE

    V-TWELVE Formula 3

    Jan 1, 2007
    1,800
    Vancouver, BC
    Started training BJJ a couple of months ago and have become addicted to it. My kids do the youth system at a Gracie school and watching them everyday got me into it. I wish I had found this 20 years ago. I go 3 times a week and find I really need the recovery time between classes at my age. Cardio is getting better with every class. Nothing more fun than getting someone to tap. It is amazing how skilled the higher belts are, they seem to always work me into a trap and find my arm eventually. I have yet to tap to a white belt, of course now that I have said it, it will probably happen.
     
  13. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    26,288
    socal
    what is your perception of how the game has changed?
     
  14. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

    Nov 1, 2003
    35,532
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    HUBBSTER
    My son won his 1st JJ competition. He's an orange belt at 8. He kicks butt. I practice JJ & boxing w him at home. He likes boxing too. Next comes fencing or kendo :)
     
  15. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
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    Nov 8, 2003
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    Now that's a STUD!!!!
    My son is only a grey at 9 years old. He did tell me he is mad that I didn't start him when he was ALOT younger.
     
  16. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
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    Nov 8, 2003
    7,540
    So. Cal
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    Armen
    I'm a fan of side control and full mount. I love to use spider guard. I feel today the game is a lot more tight. It seems competitors are more into points. Very low center of gravity. I guess I like the MMA approach more.
     
  17. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    26,288
    socal
    Maybe consider training at an MMA place because the Bjj is there and IMO more realistic in evolution. What I mean by that is looking at 1st 10 UFC's everyone was basically clueless standup. Then there was evolution to BJJ technicians who could punch. We are going back to more stand up as the "anti-grappling" skills have just about peaked. People in 10-20 years might even forget how to be on the ground and the cycle will continue. In 1974 I was a student of Inosanto right after Bruce Lee's death. a group of us questioned Lee's amateurish grappling finale with Kareem. Why not just side kick the guy out the top of the pagoda? Inosanto told us martial arts has "fashion" like clothes. Now we are in "standup" we will evolve to grappling next. We looked at him with blank stares. In class as we advanced we did dumb looking ground fighting from filipino dumog and maya silate but we never "got it" until there was a fighting method from Frank Carl Gotch and then in the mid 80's gracie exploded on the SoCal martial arts scene and the rest is history. Gracie brought the Machado cousins and now there is McBJJ on every corner in SoCal. They exploded the number of BJJ black belts because of a superior Bruce Lee like training method free of what holds back most of martial arts learning.
     
  18. JDZNate

    JDZNate Formula Junior

    May 14, 2007
    606
    Portland, OR
    Full Name:
    Nate

    I completely agree with the BJJ McDojos. Like my old coach Matt Thornton always says you can't fake Brazilian Jiu Jitsu any more than you can fake knowing how to surf. The mat doesn't lie.

    About 3 years ago my girlfriend took a job in a college town about 2 hours from Portland, OR. I went down to visit and dropped into a Gracie BJJ school. I was a new purple at the time. The school had mostly blue belts as well as the two instructors. I'm only 5'8",160 lbs and was 38 at the time. I went easy on them and still completely dominated them. One blue belt stopped me mid roll and asked if we could reset because I had him in a butterfly guard and he was not familiar with how to defend. After my visit I called a friend who owns a Gracie BJJ school in the Washington DC area. I asked him what the deal was. He said the school I visited was only a Gracie Combatives School. The instructors and students are technical blue belts and not real BJJ blue belts. Sounds confusing but it seems to be the treand with McDojos paying to have the Gracie name without any of the mat experience.
     
  19. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
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    The only issue I would say with MMA focused tatames is they can be too hardcore.

    My place is MMA focused, and a premium is placed on competing. At 48 years old, I can't do that (I could, but the last time I trained hard for a competition, I ruptured my distal bicep tendon). A lot of injuries, and you become second fiddle if you don't compete.

    I want to learn the art, not compete. Personally, I'd prefer a 1:1 with a relaxed trainer rather than a class of LEOs or wrestlers that want to compete and go at it too hard.

    Flip side is, I cross trained Judo and Muay Thai, and that was really awesome. Especially the Muay Thai sparring, which I was pretty decent with.
     
  20. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
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    Nov 8, 2003
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    I'm in the same boat as you.
     
  21. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
    33,571
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    Rich
    I actually knew a teacher that would do 1:1, and he was awesome. Apparently, he had a hard time achieving his black belt, and his friends / peers made fun of him. Something my teacher openly acknowledged, but with pride as this teacher persevered.

    He was very patient, great at explaining and demonstrating the moves, and a nice all-around personality. Would love to find him, but last I recall, he's in Louisiana or something...
     
  22. JDZNate

    JDZNate Formula Junior

    May 14, 2007
    606
    Portland, OR
    Full Name:
    Nate
    Before settling on a place to train I would try a few places out before hand.
     
  23. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    26,288
    socal
    I'm older than you and understand what you say loud and clear. Long ago when there was UFC 1 I knew some of the principals and could have invested! Who knew what it would become. Boy did I miss that opportunity. I came from a place where when the classes got too big they upped the training intensity and the weak fish swam away. I figured there were not enough people who wanted to get hit but I was dead wrong. The sport has exploded. But there is always someone to train with and always way to train above you and below you. Inosanto always told us to experiment on our own. That was how you were going to figure out how to Bruce Lee paraphrase... "discard what is useless and keep what is useful" and gain the epiphany of how to manage the fighting continuum. That quote is a whole book in itself but the point is to do the sport at your level. Look around the class as you make friends and see who is amenable to a smaller group private setting where you guys are training at someone's house or at the dojo if your instructor is amenable. We always had access to the gym. Our monthly dues was class time and open gym time. There would be a class in one room and 4 or 5 guys doing something on their own somewhere else. Use equipment and modified training method to both your advantage. Say you are doing MuayThai and the other guy is a killer. The killer gets nothing if he justs beats you silly. If you have head gear maybe some shin pads and he doesn't you can take more hits to compensate for his skill. Or you can use all 4 limbs and he has to go just lead hand lead foot. Sometimes it takes less skill to do a round where you just try not to get hit working good mobility rather than evade "and" return fire where you are open when you attempt fire off attacks and then just get penalized for trying. So if you think about the last guy who overpowered you because you tried to match him think about how you could neutralize a superior opponent to a draw. People call BJJ a chess match. It is all a chess match.
     
  24. JDZNate

    JDZNate Formula Junior

    May 14, 2007
    606
    Portland, OR
    Full Name:
    Nate
    Who's still rolling? I tore the MCL in my right knee back in July. I'm all fixed up and have been back on the mat for the last 2 week. Going to be hitting it hard.
     
  25. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
    33,571
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    Rich
    I do from time to time, but it's been a while now. I'm looking to go back more seriously soon though.
     
    JDZNate likes this.

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