"l'll nap before I tap!"

I heard the statement above on a Youtube video in which Joe Rogan (the UFC commentator) was challenged to a jiu jitsu match by someone in the audience during some UFC promotional event. The statement got a laugh from Rogan and the rest of the crowd.

In jiu jitsu, tapping your opponent or the mat during a match indicates defeat, a silent "you got me." You can also verbally "submit" by saying or yelling the word "tap." Despite the tap signifying defeat during a roll or match, tapping is not a bad thing, and I haven't heard anyone explain this better than Keith Owen:

I'm new enough to jiu jitsu to clearly remember my mentality when I first started training. Every roll was a fight, everyone else on the mats an opponent, and if I was just able to make enough people tap then maybe the instructor would see how awesome I was and I'd get my black belt in no time.

One of the beauties of this art is that most people (there are exceptions of course) will quite quickly learn to put their ego's in check. The reason is, you can't really fool others in jiu jitsu. During a roll your weaknesses are quickly exposed, especially when rolling with more advanced people. Refusing to tap or tapping too late will cause you to get put to sleep or to get a dislocated elbow or shoulder.

As a new blue belt I can say I've lost my fear of tapping during training. It's part of the game. If you're all about tapping others then every roll becomes a fight, and who wants to fight every time you get on the mat? This increases the chance of injury for yourself and your training partners and takes the fun out of training.

I'll admit that I felt a certain anxiety during the first few months after I got my blue belt. Was I supposed to not tap to a white belt? Well, it didn't take long for that to happen, and I've actually tapped to several white belts in these last 10 months as a blue belt. But I had to re-evaluate my attitude. Why am I training? To feed my ego, or to become the best jiu jitsu practitioner I can become? If it's reason number 2, which it is for me, then tapping should be welcomed.

Someone that taps frequently more than likely has the following qualities:

1. They are not afraid to roll with more experienced practitioners.
2. They are not afraid to put themselves in dangerous situations in order to learn to survive them.
3. They are more fun to train with because not every roll becomes a fight, they keep it playful.
4. They are not as likely to get hurt, and not as likely to hurt others.

Here's a funny parody clip of an instructor that hasn't mastered the art of tapping, or the humility that comes with it:

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." - Confucius

Probably the most feared occurrence for any martial artist is suffering an injury that will prevent training for any length of time. As I find myself currently nursing a back injury, I’ve had time to reflect on several things.  Can we turn an injury into an opportunity for growth? Does training have to completely stop while we nurse ourselves back to health?

 

An opportunity for growth

An injury provides an opportunity to grow as a person and as a martial artist.

 

1. What can I do differently to insure I don’t get injured the same way again?

My current injury is a back sprain caused by working out without a proper warm up. I also exerted myself too much in my workout instead of slowly building up to the high paced sprints I was doing when the injury occurred.

 

 

2. What am I really training for?

As a white belt, the thought of missing training meant more time before my next promotion (or so I thought). As a blue belt, promotions don’t come by as often, but a small part of me still craves the recognition that comes with a promotion. Martial arts is ultimately not a race to the black belt, in its healthiest form martial arts is a lifestyle

 

3. How am I taking care of my body outside of training?

If I want to stay in shape I need to not only train, but also eat healthy. Injuries mean less working out, and it also means watching what I eat so that I don’t gain weight during my recovery. Being injured has caused me to re-evaluate my eating habits, and cut out more of the bad stuff.

 

Does training stop during an injury?

I attended a seminar by world champ Gianni Grippo earlier this year. After the seminar he made time for some Q and A and one of the questions posed to him was whether he ever took any time off. He said no, not really, he pretty much trains all year round. If and when he gets injured he suggested looking for other ways to train. I remember him saying, “if all you can do is pull ups, then do pull ups.”

 

Because my injury is only in my lower back, I’ve found that I’m able to do pull ups without any pain, and hanging on a bar (or tree branch in my case) actually feels good for my back as it gives it a nice stretch. I have also been able to do push-ups without any problem.  And so despite not hitting the mats in over a week I have been doing pull-ups and push-ups regularly.

 

I have also had more time to study jiu jitsu videos; YouTube is overflowing with good quality videos by some of the world’s best jiu jitsu practitioners. I have at least four techniques I’m eager to drill as soon as I hit the mat again. I’ve also been watching tournament matches and even mma fights to not only pick up techniques but to look for any flaws that I see.

 

So, despite injuries being a super bummer, they offer a special chance for reflection and maybe even improvement.

Introduction

Hello everyone,

I have been training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for almost three years (it'll be 3 years on October 10, 2013). I earned my blue belt from Master Carlos "Caique" Elias on November 10th, 2012, exactly 25 months after I first set foot on a mat.

I've had the idea of creating a jiu jitsu blog for some time now and due to a recent injury I've been forced to stay away from the mats and so I suppose this is as good a time as any to begin this project.

I suffered a back sprain a week ago and this morning I managed to aggravate it some more. I'll probably be away from training for another week.