Free Seminar (Fundraiser) at my gym. Gracie Humaita Austin. Paolo (owner) is a 6th degree blackbelt, so whomever is putting on the seminar must be good.

Casey is a friend of mine, actually from the same hometown, apparently having some health issues.

any Tap Out Cancer competitors here?

There are a few from my gym that are going to be in it. The Austin tourney.
Purple belt, a blue & a white belt. I'll probably go if I don't have anything else going on to support them.

lazuras_dc said:

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.... but also it would be cool to do some tournaments

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Day of the tournament you'll be like..."this isn't cool". During the match you'll be like, "this really isn't cool". But afterward you look back and think it was cool.

For kids I assume tourneys are broken up to belt/age ? Or size ?

How is it set up for adults?

lazuras_dc said:

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For kids I assume tourneys are broken up to belt/age ? Or size ?

How is it set up for adults?

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Kids and adults are largely the same. Belt/age/weight class, with the intent to match people up in similar ways.

For kids there are more restrictions regarding submissions, time limits, etc. but pretty much the same. Different organizations use different rules, but the IBJJF rule set is pretty standard and widely used.

Anyone have any back issues? I stood up about 3-1/2 weeks ago and had a sudden pain in my lower back.
It has persisted despite daily stretching & several deep tissue massages.... I'm thinking it could be more serious than a pulled muscle in my back. I don't have any shooting pains down my leg however.

Not training is killing me.... I've never had any sort of back issues before & it is very demoralizing.
Scheduling a Dr. appt. now. The "wait awhile & maybe it'll go away" isn't working fast enough.

Apache said:

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Anyone have any back issues? I stood up about 3-1/2 weeks ago and had a sudden pain in my lower back.
It has persisted despite daily stretching & several deep tissue massages.... I'm thinking it could be more serious than a pulled muscle in my back. I don't have any shooting pains down my leg however.

Not training is killing me.... I've never had any sort of back issues before & it is very demoralizing.
Scheduling a Dr. appt. now. The "wait awhile & maybe it'll go away" isn't working fast enough.

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I have had back issues here and there.

I will say one adjustment I have made is I just tap anytime I get stacked. I could get out of the position, but I will pay for it. Just not worth it to me.

Before I started BJJ I found out I had C5-L1 Disc Degredation. I try to stay on top of my weight lifting in order to keep my core/back strong to combat it. I believe keeping my core/back strong has kept me from back issues.

Apache said:

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Anyone have any back issues? I stood up about 3-1/2 weeks ago and had a sudden pain in my lower back.
It has persisted despite daily stretching & several deep tissue massages.... I'm thinking it could be more serious than a pulled muscle in my back. I don't have any shooting pains down my leg however.

Not training is killing me.... I've never had any sort of back issues before & it is very demoralizing.
Scheduling a Dr. appt. now. The "wait awhile & maybe it'll go away" isn't working fast enough.

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My recent back/hip issue went away with rest and daily stretching, I concentrated on stretching the hips which really helps with lower back tightness. I think it was almost two full weeks off from training but that did the trick for me. I had x-rays done and they were able to rule out disc issues and said it was just inflammation but steroids didn't do anything to help. I didn't lift weights or roll during that time which I hated because I don't like being sedentary, and exercise helps my stay sane. Fingers crossed it's nothing significant, since it's your back you're making the right decision getting it checked out.

Apache said:

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Not training is killing me.... I've never had any sort of back issues before & it is very demoralizing.
Scheduling a Dr. appt. now. The "wait awhile & maybe it'll go away" isn't working fast enough.

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Understand this, after trying for about 6 months to avoid surgery I finally decided to get my shoulder fixed. In the end it will be about 18 months of being off the mats, sucks. But it is either get it fixed or never do it again. About a month ago when I took my kids to class I asked one of the professors to roll with me about half speed to see how it felt, within 30 seconds there were several times with sharp pains so I called it quits.

I found mobility drills or yoga to help me but those were for sure muscle issues

I'm getting over my neck/shoulder issue, so am starting to get back into rolling and turning up the speed a bit. But it's a slow process.

So far it's just been a couple open mats, and it's been a mixed bag during live training. Doing some good stuff (sweeps and leg locks), and doing some dumb stuff (terrible guard passing). Feeling very rusty and out of shape overall.

Also, some of the 'stuff' people are throwing at me is not what I'm used to....berimbolo, K-guard entries, leg entanglements, heel hooks, etc.). So bad fitness, rusty technique, and just a general level of unfamiliarity with some of the styles is pretty frustrating at the moment.

Stiffness in my lower back that I do a lot of stretching & foam rolling for.

Upper back/neck to the point where my left arm tingles full time.

O.G. said:

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Stiffness in my lower back that I do a lot of stretching & foam rolling for.

Upper back/neck to the point where my left arm tingles full time.

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Get that checked out, hopefully just a pinched nerve or a stinger. One of our guys had something similar and ended up being a fractured vertebrae.

I have had issues with tingling/numbness for years and turns out I had a lot going on in my shoulder. PT helped it not come back as often but still does.

I don't know if lifting weights is stressed enough in bjj. Doing squats and deadlifts will strengthen the back and core and certainly translates to bjj. Often times guys in class tell me they don't lift, especially don't lift heavy, because they'll lose flexibility. That's ridiculous.

P.U.T.U said:

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O.G. said:

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Stiffness in my lower back that I do a lot of stretching & foam rolling for.

Upper back/neck to the point where my left arm tingles full time.

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Get that checked out, hopefully just a pinched nerve or a stinger. One of our guys had something similar and ended up being a fractured vertebrae.

I have had issues with tingling/numbness for years and turns out I had a lot going on in my shoulder. PT helped it not come back as often but still does.

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Yeah, I had a compression of the C6-C7 causing nerve issues (shoulder, arm, thumb/finger numbness) for months. Went to an orthopedic surgeon who referred me to a neck/spine PT, and he got me back to normal, but it took several months.

Looking back, it was probably all the time I spent trying to use flexibility and inversion rather than managing my position and opponents base more effectively. Getting stacked and staying there isn't good BJJ and it isn't good for the neck.

2girlsdad said:

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I don't know if lifting weights is stressed enough in bjj. Doing squats and deadlifts will strengthen the back and core and certainly translates to bjj. Often times guys in class tell me they don't lift, especially don't lift heavy, because they'll lose flexibility. That's ridiculous.

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There's about a 50/50 split at my gym in terms of who lifts and who doesn't. At the beginning I stopped lifting because I thought I was getting enough exercise just going to class but I figured out fairly quickly that I was getting weaker so I added weights back into the mix so I lift 3X a week and go to class 3X a week. I wish I could lift heavy but I just can't anymore because of how my joints feel at my age, but I try to hit all the major muscle groups every week so I can at least maintain. I've had to adjust a lot of my lifting due to pain specifically in my knees and shoulders. I will say that muscle mass does actually hurt some of the guys I roll with because they're too bulky and it impacts how they move, and they tend to use strength to compensate. I'm not strong but I'm a lot more fluid than some of those guys that are bigger and stronger and they also tend to get tired faster than I do too. I think it's about finding balance, I agree that eliminating strength training is counterproductive.

Anyone training BJJ should spend as much time on flexibility as they spend on cardio and lifting. Without flexibility, everything is much more difficult.