I've been a BJJ student for 6 months as of this week.

I’d say this is a pretty accurate reflection. The whole mantra that BJJ is a lifestyle not just a martial art is true, it changes a lot about you for the better. Keep rolling, if you’re ever around Washington D.C. drop a line and come roll.

BJJ is a truly addictive martial art. It is amazing how I had played sports growing up and even found one I thought I was going to be in for life in Fencing, but when I did BJJ for the first time I knew this was the activity I had been searching for my whole life.

When you find the right school you’ll be surrounded by fantastic people, the art will constantly interest you and challenge you.

oh and this is right on the button:

3) You will constantly be going for positions on your significant other.

4) Your holiday/birthday/whatever gift list will comprise entirely for GI’s from now on.

got a Vulkan Ultra Light for X-Mas and couldn’t be happier.

Have you looked into surgical options? I had a labrum that was 80% torn, couldn’t throw a punch or shoot a basketball without risking a dislocation, and bjj would have been completely out of the question.

I had surgery to repair it about 2.5 years ago, and 6 months later I was back to hitting heavy bags for hours a week. Even took up BJJ for a year with no problems.

Surgery was expensive as fuck, even with insurance, but one of the best decisions I ever made.

I had my rotator-cuff split and sown up in 2001. Things were fine for a long time but have begun to deteriorate again.I have had about 5 dislocations myself in the last 3 years. Have a doctors apt next wk to begin the process of scheduling surgery. I have been daydreaming about doing BJJ for the past three or four years but I have been kinda scared to do it for fear of having my arm ripped off/out of socket. I am wondering do they accommodate you, do they give you stuff to work on that would be low risk for re-injury? Is it OK to ask the guy your rolling with to avoid going for arm-bars and such on your bad side? Perhaps after my surgery and recovery I could take a stab at it. It sure would be nice to stop daydreaming about it…

What are the average training times for the different belts degrees? I.e. assuming you train 3-5 times a week consistently how long does it take to get blue, purpe, brown etc

For half guard escapes, I prefer slapping on a lockdown and whipping out to a gable grip from the side…..from there you are back in control. One of the best seminars I’ve ever been to was when we brought in Scott “Einstein” Epstein from 10th Planet West LA and we did a 3 hour seminar almost strictly on the lockdown and escaping from half guard. The whole thing was pure gold.

Just keep going to class bro no matter what. I know what you mean about not being able to quit. How often do you hear a bjj player say “oh, I’ll probably roll another year or two and then I’m gonna hang up the gi”? Never.

I really want to start doing BJJ. I’ve been putting it off since I had a severe accident invovling compound fracturing both bones in my left leg which resulted in a rod and screws, 2 more surgerys, being wheelchair bound for 6mo., gaining a sizeable amount of weight, etc… I’ve recently lost about 1/2 of the lbs I gained and I’ve been cleared for most activity so I think its time!
Anyways I had a point to this…. According to a recent MRI I have no visible damage to my ligaments and tendons in my affected leg but my ortho said they might still be weakened any idea how safe it will be for me to start?

But my wife nixes it.

BJJ is fun as hell.

Never done any jits, always Muay Thai, but BJJ sounds fun as hell. When I move to an area with better BJJ gyms I’ll definitely get into it. Absolutely.

And don’t feel bad about starting at 24. I started at 28 and I train with some badasses who started in their early 30s and later. We even have one guy who started at 60 (!) and he does well. Just be glad you stepped on the mat at all!

Does anybody have any suggestions for good habits or anything like that?

I’ve mostly just been trying to roll with the better guys and listen to what they tell me.

Work is my only impeding factor on being able to go regularly. Got my 6 year old son going as well. He got his first stripe last week and was so excited. Its awesome watching him.

I constantly straight armlock my girlfriend when she tries to snuggle with me on the couch (clearly, she’s trying to take my back) and I like to straight ankle lock and dish out toeholds as well when we’re laying around watching “The Wire.” She’s a good sport about it.

Per the belts/ranks: I think competitions are invaluable for helping you realize where you’re at and what your weak points are. I film a lot of my rolling and the actual competition matches, and from there I break down the good and the bad and then work on that stuff over the next few months, getting things cleaned up and then going into the next tournament with a better overall game. Anyway, I’ve found that a good local tournament usually fields a larger “delta” amongst the participants, in that the blue belts and the purple belts tend to really vary in skill level. At Pan Ams, everyone was tough. As many posters have pointed out, rank doesn’t necessary mean that “this guy’s tough, that guy’s not,” especially since every person’s game is a bit different. There are guys at my academy that I have no problem with that outrank me, and there are guys that are my same rank who chew my ass up at will. My humble suggestion is to learn to use your training partners to develop areas of your game you need to bolster when facing people with those skill sets. For example, when I’m looking to work triangle defenses, I roll with the best triangle guys in the gym: if the defense/escape works on their stuff, then it may be legit. If it doesn’t, I refine the technique or go looking for another one entirely.

I echo your assertion that folks should start NOW. I laugh that you envy the “young” – I started at 36 and often think to myself, “Gee, I wished I had known about this when I was in college/grad school/whatever.” The fact is that if you are dedicated, BJJ can offer the practitioner MANY benefits. Even for those folks that don’t choose to compete, the “mental chess” factor, the conditioning, the dealing with stress in a systematic and calm way, the comraderie at the academy … it’s all going to benefit your overall life in a majorly positive way.

So stop reading this shit, Google up your local academy, and get going.

This is awesome, and thanks for posting it. Congrats on making it through those first 6 months. I love the attitude you are obviously bringing to it, which is what will make you stronger.

I love me my Muay Thai training, but the one regret of it is that I simply don’t have time to do both MT and Jiu Jitsu, and I would love to try my hand at Jiu Jitsu at some point. Especially since there’s a Gracie Academy literally at the end of my block.

Hope you’ll keep posting some more on your experiences!