# crostraining in BJJ



## Manny (Dec 9, 2014)

God evening to all the brasilian jujitsu students/senseis, this is a post where I want some feedback about BJJ. I've doing TKD for several years and I am planing doing crosstraining in other martial art and I am wondering myself it BJJ can be the one to do. I am a striker/kicker but I have some doubts about BJJ and hope you can assist me.

1.-I am a 47 years old guy and don't know if learning/practicing BJJ can be a little harsh, I mean I am not a young man anymore and a broekn arm/leg or ribs can take more time to heal.

2.-How efectiva can be BJJ is need it against more than one assailant becase as I know BJJ is on ground level and if the BG has company lying on the floor and somebody stomping on the head is not good.

3.-Does BJJ has stand up techs to use in a self defese scenario?

When I was a boy I trained some judo nothing big about it if I recall barely did a yellow belt test.

Manny


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## Hanzou (Dec 9, 2014)

A lot of your questions depends on the school you're training at. If its more competitive/sport leaning, you could possibly run into some problems that could potentially lead to an injury, but the same can be said about a more traditional/self defense leaning school. I've only been in Gracie JJ schools for any length of time, visiting sport schools only for a class or two, so my viewpoint is a bit skewed. Perhaps you could post the Bjj school you're looking to attend? That would help a bit. 

Given that, I'll try to answer some of your questions.

1.Bjj is very contact-heavy, while not as harsh on the body as Judo, its going to be rougher than TKD. You need to roll responsibly with responsible partners, or there is a very real chance of getting injured. Ask your instructor who you should roll with early on. At 47 I would avoid rolling with young (18-25) white belt or even lower level (1-2 stripe) blue belts unless you know they're going to be responsible rollers. Purple to Black belts are excellent to roll with. They'll be gentle with you, and help you correct mistakes.

Additionally, make sure you stretch before each class, and take it easy you first month or so. Your flexibility from TKD should be beneficial, especially when learning stuff like the Guard and the Triangle. Don't try to impress people with your limited skill set, or go out of your way to try to muscle out of a submission. Tap quickly and tap often, and you should be just fine.

2-3 depends completely on what type of Bjj school you're attending. Self defense-based Bjj is extremely practical, and it teaches you quite a bit of stand up, and responses to multiple opponents. However, that's my experience coming out of Relson and Rickson Gracie JJ academies. Not every Bjj school is like that. There's some Bjj schools that are completely sport-based and don't teach any stand up outside of guard pulls. 

Hope that helps.


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## jks9199 (Dec 9, 2014)

Manny said:


> God evening to all the brasilian jujitsu students/senseis, this is a post where I want some feedback about BJJ. I've doing TKD for several years and I am planing doing crosstraining in other martial art and I am wondering myself it BJJ can be the one to do. I am a striker/kicker but I have some doubts about BJJ and hope you can assist me.
> 
> 1.-I am a 47 years old guy and don't know if learning/practicing BJJ can be a little harsh, I mean I am not a young man anymore and a broekn arm/leg or ribs can take more time to heal.
> 
> ...



With regard to age... A friend of mine just got his black belt in BJJ.  I don't know exactly when he started -- but I'm pretty comfortable saying he started BJJ in his 40s.

Can or is BJJ effective?  It's very effective for what it's built/designed for.  Beyond that... that's been gone over and over again and again...and not been settled.


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## Tony Dismukes (Dec 9, 2014)

Hanzou covered it pretty well. A lot will depend on the gym you train at. You want a gym where they work to build up new students and don't just throw them to the sharks.

As far as age goes, I'm 50 and I train 4-5 days per week for 2-3 hours per day. On the other hand I've had some years to get used to it and I still take more ibuprofen than I should. We do have a new white belt who is 51 and he seems to be holding up okay so far.

The curriculum really can vary considerably from gym to gym. Some schools are all about specialized techniques for grappling competition, others have a strong self defense foundation, others are focused on MMA, and others may have a mix  of everything.

If you find a good gym that suits your needs then go and just relax, have fun, don't get too competitive, tap early and often. It can be a great complement to your TKD.


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## Hanzou (Dec 9, 2014)

Also please don't take my post as a knock against sport-based Bjj. Sport Bjj guys are incredible athletes who can hold their own against just about anyone. Not to mention no-Gi sport Bjj is something that every Bjj player should experience. If you wind up at a sport Bjj school, you'll be just fine.


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## Danny T (Dec 10, 2014)

Manny I agree with Hanzou and Tony, go in with a good attitude toward learning. Stay relaxed and tap early. Talk with anyone you work with, drilling and rolling, that you are about learning and not fighting. Slow, relaxed, and smooth. Something I do when the person I'm working with begins to go hard or get rough I just go limp and tap. Drives them crazy but slows the pace down and we can continue without all the strength and trying to force something to happen. You will learn quickly who to roll with and who to stay away from. You will enjoy it but be prepared to feel like a fish trying to swim on land for a while.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Dec 10, 2014)

I think it would be a great complement to what you have studied to this point Manny.

It can be harsh on the body but as mentioned above if it is a responsible school and you go slow then it can be a great experience.


Best advice I can give you is to try it out and see if you enjoy the training!


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## KydeX (Dec 11, 2014)

I've just started crosstraining in bjj myself, and I really enjoy it. My main art is Bujinkan and I have also trained karate for many years back in the days. Therfore I have experience from both striking and grappling. My main focus is self defense. I have been thinking for some time that I wanted to take bjj to enhance my ability to handle myself on the ground if I should ever end up there in a street situation. Since a new club was recently started in my neighborhood, I thought it was a good idea to try it out. Also, they have classes on different days than my Bujinkan training, and they also have kids beginners class at the same time. This is perfect for me, because then I can bring my 6 year old son as well. So no bad conscience for training so many days  

The club I have joined is affiliated with the Roger Gracie Academy and is very sports oriented, but It is great training. And with my previous training, I feel that I can easily pick what to use for self defense and what to use for competitions. 

I'm closing in on 40 years old and I initially felt that the bjj training was rough on my lower back and my neck. Also the finger tips and joints got really stiff and sore in the beginning. But now it is starting to go away. We also do a lot of sparring, but my instructor makes sure that we match up with someone with similar weight and skill level. 

Bottom line is, I will highly recommend it, as the training is very fun, you get a great workout, and I think bjj employs a set of very useful skills.


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## Hanzou (Dec 11, 2014)

Kydex, I've never been in a Roger Gracie affiliated academy. Since you say its sports-oriented, what are some of the moves you've been taught up to this point. I would be very interested in hearing what Roger's fundamental program consists of (if he has one).


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## KydeX (Dec 11, 2014)

I've only been there for three months so far. Usually a training session consists of warmup, then learning one technique, like the triangle choke. After practicing that, we do free sparring, usually the last 15-20 minutes. 

The next session we usually learn the escape from the previous technique we learnt. 

Everything is done very thoroughly. A lot of time is spent on how to manipulate the opponent into a technique, not only the technique itself. 

In the beginning we mostly trained how to maintain position, like side control, full mount, guard, etc. Then learned to escape from the same positions. After doing a lot of that, we started learning "submissions" and escapes to those. 

Same thing with takedowns.

It seems we are going through things in a very progressive manner, step by step. But instead of learning ten different chokes or armbars, we learn a little of everything so we are able to do freesparring. 

I guess we have learnt the most typical techniques so far, like "americana, kimura, triangle choke, collar choke, ezekiel choke, omoplata, juji gatame" etc. Together with some throws and takedowns

Those are the ones that come to my mind immediately and that I know the names of. 

The reason I say that it's sport oriented is that we don't train protection against punches etc. And there's a lot of talk about keeping position and transitioning to get more points. The instructor also talks a lot about competitions and is active himself. 

So far I am really enjoying it.


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## Hanzou (Dec 11, 2014)

KydeX said:


> I've only been there for three months so far. Usually a training session consists of warmup, then learning one technique, like the triangle choke. After practicing that, we do free sparring, usually the last 15-20 minutes.
> 
> The next session we usually learn the escape from the previous technique we learnt.
> 
> ...



Hmm this is interesting. So you guys never learned stuff like headlock defenses, or clinch takedowns? I spent my white belt and most of my blue belt years in a Relson Gracie school. Just about the entire fundamentals program revolved around self defense. However, we did deviate into Bjj vs Bjj stuff like Guard passes, and escapes from various positions.


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## KydeX (Dec 11, 2014)

Only bjj vs. bjj stuff so far. That's ok by me though, we have headlock defense etc. In my Ninjutsu training.


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