Many factors help you decide whether or not you should quit BJJ due to injury. Injuries are one of the most significant factors that come into play when making this decision.
They can range from minor annoyances that hinder training for a day or two to debilitating injuries that keep you sidelined for months, if not longer.
This blog post will explore some factors you should consider when deciding to quit BJJ due to an injury.
Table of Contents
Common Reasons Why People Quit BJJ
Before we dive into injuries, let’s place other reasons that make people leave the mats, temporary or permanent.
Time
Adjusting time in your daily routine to attend BJJ class can be pretty simple when you are young or have a consistent schedule.
You would need to find an academy in which the training sessions fit with your available time.
Of course, for some people, personal projects, work schedules, and other details are in constant change on their schedule. Those constant changes make it challenging to adjust regular and consistent BJJ classes daily.
Stagnation & Burnout
For other practitioners, it is not about being able to handle their time but perceiving a lack of progress in their Jiu-Jitsu.
It is easy to see improvement when you start in BJJ, as you are learning something new almost every day and then improving on little details whenever you are on the mats.
As time progresses, the improvement will reduce, as you are not learning as many new things, simply because you already have plenty of knowledge. You have to dive deeper to understand tiny details of the technique and its application.
Over time, sports stagnation can occur, and it is difficult not to be bothered by it.
The blue belt blues
You’ve probably heard in BJJ forums and social media about the “blue belt blues,” as the blue belt is the “easiest” belt to earn and, at the same time, the hardest one to get promoted from.
This causes blue belts to worry about being there for too long and even get burnt out from the constant grind and time investment. It is frustrating to put everything you have (or can) into BJJ and not see significant results.
However, this can happen at any point and is not exclusive to the blue belt.
Overcoming this frustration is one of the biggest challenges any BJJ practitioner finds along the way.
Constant Life Changes
We mentioned that time was one of the factors, as changes in schedules can affect your availability for BJJ, but what about switching directions in your life?
Some people have to move from one state to another, or even countries, and adjusting to a new town, new people, and a new schedule can be difficult.
Growing up also presents other challenges. Being young means having fewer responsibilities, but becoming an adult, falling in love, and having to pay bills can affect your ability to keep BJJ in your regular schedule.
But another question that we need to address would be, “Is it worth the struggle to keep BJJ in your schedule?” But you’re the only one that can answer that for yourself.
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Is BJJ Bad For Your Body?
Simple answer: No. It isn’t. Any sport or physical activity, in general, is excellent for your body.
We live and thrive through physical and mental adaptation. We push our bodies to go through them when we practice any activity that challenges us and forces us to improve progressively.
Of course, challenging the body doesn’t only mean that we will become better. It also means that we are risking the chance of hurting ourselves, but that is just a natural process.
The principles of muscle growth
The principle of muscle growth is just to cause stress to the ligaments, to the point of causing microfractures, as the body will heal them and make them better suited for the amount of stress they have been put through.
So to improve, we hurt ourselves willingly, looking to be prepared for that same physical stress next time.
Suppose we believe weight lifting is good for us. Why would we consider Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which works most of our muscle groups and our flexibility, conditioning, and mind at once, bad for the body?
Even when we are not feeling at 100% with our body, we can practice and improve in Jiu-Jitsu; it is just a matter of adjusting the training to what you can do.
Let’s dive into some of the most common injuries and how to deal with them.
Can I Do Jiu-Jitsu With A Bad Back?
Back pains are a normal thing to deal with when training BJJ, but to have a bad back is a whole other topic.
Some people train Jiu-Jitsu with herniated discs, sciatica, or scoliosis and can power through most training sessions.
If you know your body and how it is affected, you can adjust the training intensity and the stretching exercises before and post-training to feel better.
It would take some severe damage to put you out of the mats permanently.
Can I Do BJJ With A Bad Knee?
Here at MMAWhisperer, we have previously touched on the topic of training BJJ with knee issues, like a torn meniscus or even a knee replacement surgery. And the topic always goes back to the same point:
It would be best if you constantly analyzed the depth of the injury and maybe took some rest at first, but you can eventually find a way to train around it.
For most knee injuries, all you will require is to pause regular training and assess the situation. Once you understand your limitations, you can proceed to adapt to them and continue training at your own pace.
read more about doing bjj with a torn meniscus
The Decision To Quit BJJ – Dealing With The Mental Side Of Quitting BJJ
Deciding to quit BJJ can be a hard thing to deal with. It can be due to time availability or a sudden change in your life. Still, it is even more complicated to determine when an injury will permanently affect your training ability.
Keep your mind at ease by figuring out whether things are in or out of your control because it is never easy to stop doing something you love.
When you should quit BJJ due to injury
If time and rest don’t make the situation better, then it means that physical stress will likely aggravate the injury, so the best option is to stop for a while altogether.
Sometimes it takes weeks, months, or even years, so keep a calm head and check with professionals. Your health is more important than getting some extra mat time.
If you decide to push and continue in BJJ when injured, you have to make sure that doing so doesn’t risk the injury becoming worse and causing any severe long-term damage.
When you should push forward with BJJ training
As we mentioned before, some minor injuries only require some adaptations to your training schedule and intensity. Maybe if you have an important goal in mind, you will likely not be willing to stop your training entirely.
The proper adjustments could make it for you, but realizing when things are simply not going to work is essential, as you do not want to put your health at risk.
Moving On From BJJ (If There’s No Option)
If things turn out to be worse than you thought, and there is no way to continue your BJJ training, you do not have to feel so bad, as it is beyond your control. It doesn’t mean that you are quitting because you want to.
You can always be on the sidelines and watch BJJ training and competitions. You could even corner your teammates or other athletes, as being unable to practice doesn’t mean you have to be entirely away from the lifestyle.
However, if you want to part ways, you can find another physical activity that you can do or other hobbies to spend your time into, and things will be alright.
Quit BJJ Due To Injury – Final Ideas
The reasons that could slow, change or stop your BJJ path are multiple, but none of them are as problematic as the injury itself.
Multiple different issues could present themselves, but keep yourself in check and talk with specialists and health professionals to adjust your training to what you can handle.
If you are keeping things in check, the chance of an injury putting you off the mats permanently is pretty low, so do not be too worried about it at first.
If you found the information presented interesting, let us know in the comments, and make sure to share the article with friends and anyone you know that could find it helpful.
Keep investing time in the mats, and make sure to keep your health as a priority at all times, so that we can see you enjoying training and competition whenever possible.