Fighter

When you get to a certain point in your career, you tend to forget a lot about those first few, extremely awkward and uncoordinated months of your jiu jitsu journey. For good reason. But this poses interesting challenges for a coach, or really any upper belt helping out a brand-spanking-new white belt, because you just can't assume he or she knows how to do certain things. For example, shrimping (aka doing a "hip escape"). Seriously now... when do we ever do anything remotely like it in our everyday life? The closest thing is Tyra Banks' "booty tooch" method for posing in pictures... which is still a stretch.

What doesn't immediately come to mind, yet is probably the most frustrating and awkward thing for a newbie to learn, is sparring. How do you do it? How do you start? What is your goal?

Fear not, young padawan. Here are a few things to keep in mind, in order to make your first sparring sessions as smooth as they can possible be. Read on... 

Your Starting Stance

Usually, your instructor will have you start on your knees. This is mostly to reduce the chances that you might get hurt when you are taken down, because like a wobbly little baby giraffe, you really aren't very agile yet. So you're on your knees... WRONG. On your butt? NOPE, leave that for the upper belts. My best advice is to get into combat base (one knee down, toes active, the other knee up and sitting down comfortably). Why? Because when you start on both knees, the very first thing you will do in order to go somewhere is: lift one knee off the mat. So why not just eliminate that step from the start?! That way you're in a much better position to move if your opponent makes a grab for you. If you do happen to start standing, 1) find a comfortable stance and be light on your toes, 2) when you move around, don't cross your feet (that creates a prime opportunity for takedowns), and 3) for the love of Bob, don't look at your opponent's feet. This last one not only limits your vision to just your opponent's feet, but also rounds your back and puts you in a terrible position to defend any kind of takedown or standing guillotine attack (actually one of my favorite things to do to fresh meat... muahaha).  

Your Grips

Even in no-gi, I can tell two seconds into a match if I'm facing a brand-new white belt by his/her hands. Baby white belts do this distinctive fisting of their hands until they go to grab something, and when they do grab, they don't usually grab and hold; they grab and release, even if it's really a decent grip. Then when their training partners grab them in turn, they don't do diddly-squat about that grip. To my dear white belts reading this: be conscious of your and your opponent's grips. Grips are everything in a fight. So... 1) Relax your fists. Shake them out if you have to. If you ball your hands into fists, what's the first thing you do when you try to grab your opponent? You relax them. So, just as with your combat base, eliminate that step and start with relaxed hands. 2) When you grab something, don't release it right away. Grab and hold. That usually makes your opponent redirect his/her focus, for the moment, toward breaking your grip, rather than executing whatever terrible torment he/she had planned for you. And 3) BREAK their grips, first and foremost. When a more experienced practitioner makes a grip on you, he/she usually has something in mind. Take that half second to at least attempt a grip break. You'll never regret it. 

Your Space

If you haven't already noticed, jiu jitsu is a very physical, close-contact sport. If you're a freak about personal space or a little shy about touching people... well, either you have to get over that - and fast - or jiu jitsu really isn't for you. Maybe try underwater knitting. In jiu jitsu, you will be getting into really close and intimate positions with your training partners... like, face-in-the-crotch-area kind of close. That's just the way it is. Now, assuming you're okay with all that, I have one really important rule of thumb for you to follow: when you're attacking, take space away; when you're defending, create space. For example, if you've somehow - by some stroke of luck or the kind generosity of your training partner - passed the guard, "smash him/her like a pancake" (as I say to my kiddos). You're attacking, so you can't give your opponent any space to escape. On the flip side, if your partner has passed your guard - with ridiculous ease, of course - don't proceed to hug him/her to you while you're on bottom. Frame up and shrimp like your life depends on it. Try to create enough space to get your legs between you and your opponent, and then keep them there. 

Your Goal

You're not going to have enough tools in your toolbox to do any submitting just yet, so let's just put that aside for a moment. Until you've drilled your basic submissions 100 times, at the very least, you'll be in no position to properly execute them in live sparring. And don't "just survive." I've heard many a white - and even blue belt - utter that phrase, and it's like fingernails on a chalk board to me. "Just surviving" automatically puts you in the wrong mindset to learn while you are sparring. My advice to you is: 1) Focus on getting to the positions you know - guard, side control, mount - and try to stay there. 2) If you're a few weeks into your journey, go ahead and try a couple techniques you've learned and drilled. Don't be afraid to try, even if it gets you into a bad position. And 3) Focus on what your opponent is doing to you. He/she is undoubtedly leagues ahead of you in technique, so you'll be able to pick up a few things here and there while you're sparring. Then after the roll - PLEASE DON'T DO IT DURING THE ROLL, because that's really annoying - don't be afraid to ask how he/she did something you really liked. 

I hope these few pointers will help you enjoy your first sparring sessions, and allow you to use them in a constructive manner. I can't stress enough: don't be afraid to try something. Don't be afraid to move. You're going to get your butt handed to you anyway, so why not maximize your potential for growth and learning? 

Train... and spar... on. Oss. 

Knees aren't the only things that take a real beating in jiu jitsu. Considering how much you use and rely on your arms in jiu jitsu - and how many attacks there are to this particular appendage - those puppies can be pretty vulnerable to a host of different injuries and afflictions. 

Read on to learn about the most common elbow injuries you might encounter and what you can, or will, have to do about it...

Bursitis 

Bursitis is the inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs, called bursae, that act as cushions at the joints, helping to decrease friction between moving tissues, such as bone, muscle, tendons, and skin. Bursitis is often caused by repetitive minor impacts - oh so common in many sports - but can also result from more serious trauma to the area. Symptoms include rapid swelling around the joint that is also warm and tender to the touch. Bursitis will usually clear up with rest, icing, elevation, and over-the-counter inflammatories, but more serious cases can be drained, or injected with corticosteroids. Some athletes are still able to train with it, but because it is so painful to the touch and jiu jitsu involves a lot of elbow-to-ground contact, the best option is to rest until it clears up.

Tendonitis

Similar to bursitis, tendonitis can also be caused by repetitive movements, can be accompanied by swelling (though not always), and is quite painful... at least until you warm up, when it fades to a dull ache. There are two types, depending on which tendon it afflicts: lateral epicondylitis, or "tennis elbow," and medial epicondylitis, or "golfer's elbow". Aside from rest, ice and pain killers, there's not too much else you can do on your own, and may in fact be all you need to do. However, for more serious cases, you can see a medical professional for a corticosteroid shot, Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment - in which they take a sample of your own blood, spin it really fast to separate the platelets and good stuff, then inject it back into the affected area - physical therapy, dry needling, or ultra-sonic treatment (to remove tendon scar tissue). If you have to resort to surgery, you probably have a more serious issue than just tendonitis. 

Pinched nerve

Pinched nerves at the elbow - also called "ulnar nerve entrapment" (oooo fancy) - are also relatively common in jiu jitsu and other sports in which the elbow moves repetitively and in unpredictable ways. In fact, the "most common place for compression of the nerve is behind the inside part of the elbow," according to WebMD. Common symptoms include: numbness and tingling in the ring finger and little finger and weakening of the grip. You can typically treat it pretty well with anti-inflammatories (corticosteroid shots are not suggested due to risk of nerve damage), bracing or splinting your elbow, and "nerve gliding exercises." 

Sprains and Strains

Oh yes... no guide on sports injuries is complete without mentioning sprains and strains. What's the difference? A sprain is the stretching or tearing of the ligaments (the bone-to-bone connectors), while a strain is the stretching or tearing of the muscles or tendons (the bone to muscle connectors). Spains and strains occur when a particular part of your body moves beyond its natural range of motion... armbars anyone? Both show very similar symptoms - pain, swelling, limited ability to move the afflicted area - but sprains are typically accompanied by a "pop" sound or feeling when the injury happens, and will include bruising, and strains are often accompanied by muscle spasms. Treatment for both is often just RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation), but see a medical professional if it feels pretty serious. 

Dislocation

Not quite as common as sprains and strains, but dislocations of the elbow can happen. And it's not just the result of a wicked armbar - that you may or may not have had too much ego to tap to - but also if you're getting swept or taken down hard and you plant your hand into the mat, instead of taking the fall. In technical terms, a dislocation happens when the "bone is pulled or pushed out of place." It can be a "partial" dislocation, or a "complete" dislocation, and can range from simple (no major bone injury), to complex (sever accompanying bone and ligament injury) or severe (where even the blood vessels and nerves have been compromised). Treatment? Go to the emergency room. And after they're done with you, take a break from the mats for a little while. Don't mess around with dislocations, especially if you want to have a long jiu jitsu career. 

Fractures

Last, but certainly not least: fractures. I must stress that jiu jitsu is not some kind of paddy-cake sport. Even in the most careful of situations, accidents happen. Elbow fractures can "result from a fall, a direct impact to the elbow, or a twisting injury to the arm," all of which are oh-so-common in the practice of jiu jitsu. Just as with sprains, fractures are accompanied by pain, swelling, bruising and stiffness around the elbow... so it'll be hard to tell at first that it's a fracture rather than a sprain, unless it's a full-on break or "open fracture" (when the bone is protruding from the skin). The best thing you can do is go to the ER and have a professional check it out. Yeah, it will cost a pretty penny - and they might order a CT scan to be sure, which will cost even more pretty pennies - but it's a small price to pay for ease of mind and/or appropriate treatment. 

Once again, don't just rely on your - or my - WebMD skills, no matter how ninja they might be, to diagnose elbow injuries from impact or falling. If in doubt, get it checked out by a licensed medical professional. The sooner you know for sure what the problem is, the faster you'll be able to fix it, and the sooner you'll be back on the mats. 

Train on... safely. Oss.

Let's face it: most jiu jitsu gis are pretty darn boring. Yeah, that's right... I said it. But seriously, almost every brand out there offers you the standard white, blue and black color options, with their logos or other minimal branding in the typical spots on the shoulders, lapel or thighs. 

Pretty basic. Pretty boring. And even if they do go out of their comfort zone and offer you an "illustrated" gi, they usually hide all that excitement inside the gi jacket... kind of like a dirty secret. 

Not Scramble. From the brand that revolutionized the NoGi apparel game with their iconic Rainbow Spats, Scramble appears to be attempting to do the same in the gi market. Enter the Scramble Sukajan Panther Jiu Jitsu Gi and the Scramble Sukajan Dragon Jiu Jitsu Gi. Scramble breaks all the rules with these puppies. 

Scramble's Sukajan gis are inspired by the Japanese Sukajan, or "souvenir jacket", the origins of which trace back to post-World War II, when American soldiers had Japanese seamstresses embroider intricate Japanese designs on their military jackets, as a souvenir of their time spent in the country. Scramble created their own play on that fascinating fusion of Japanese and American culture, collaborating with Singapore based tattoo artist, Feroze McLeod, to create a truly unique gi series. 

Not only do these gis featuring McLeod's awesome tattoo-style designs of a panther - on the white gi - and a dragon - on the black gi - embroidered boldly across the back of the jacket, they also showcase mirrored headpieces of the artwork on the front of the gi jacket (very non-traditional in the jiu jitsu world, but super traditional in the Sukajan world). Scramble has also taken the concept a step further, by constructing the gi jacket to resemble the classic baseball jacket that's most commonly used for Sukajan, with separately-constructed sleeves (rather than the entire jacket made from a single piece of fabric). Indeed, the black Sukajan Dragon gi features a dual-color look, with dark navy blue sleeves against a black jacket body. 

If you're the type of practitioner who likes to be a little bit different, these gis are right up your alley. 

Train on... in style. Oss.

Here at Fighters Market, we are passionate about gis and all things jiu jitsu. One of our favorite brands is Moya Brand, which has made channeling the modern - and vintage - cultural vibes of the jiu jitsu community into a veritable art form.

Based out of Whittier, California, Moya Brand draws inspiration not only from the laid-back Southern California beach lifestyle, but from... well... everywhere, offering an eclectic, yet always fresh, jiu jitsu style. 

For the most part, Moya uses the same tried-and-true competition style cut for all of their gis. So no matter what model you buy, you'll know it'll fit just as perfectly all those other Moya gis we know you have lined up in your closet (because Moya fans are dedicated). And no matter what Moya model you get, you can be assured it'll have a clean design, that's never cluttered with too much unnecessary crap. You know the brands we're talking about... the ones that make you look like a NASCAR driver even before you slap your own patches on it. 

What Moya really excels at is the details. Each of their gi models feature those special little design elements that make it unique... channeling that classic luxury fashion aesthetic you see in men's suits and women's LBDs; classy, simple and timeless, but with pops of color in the lining or interesting cutouts.

For example, check out the Moya Lost at Sea series, of which their Moya Lost at Sea Destroyer Gi is their latest - and last - edition. Inspired by the World War II era, the Lost at Sea Destroyer Gi features custom designed embroidered details that offer a subtle vintage naval look without being dated, such as the anchor, eagle, and bold red military ranking bars embroidered on one shoulder, and their signature Moya logo integrated into an anchor design on the other. WAY cool. 

But what's our favorite part about Moya? 

Their their willingness to pay it forward. Jiu jitsu gives us lot in life... it's only just that we give back to the community and pass on those good vibes. Moya has been a long-time supporter of the Mauli Ola Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Laguna Beach, California, dedicated to providing hope and confidence to individuals living with genetic diseases.

That deserves some serious "oss" right there. 

Train on. Oss.

Here at Fighters Market, we pride ourselves on being the best source for gis, gear and apparel in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu market. A large part of what makes us successful in doing that are the people behind the scenes who make all the magic happen. They know what BJJ customers like, need and want... because they ARE practitioners and athletes themselves!

We'd like to take a moment to recognize the main man behind it all - the guy whose vision brought Fighters Market from a small inventory of products run right out of his garage to the leading international e-commerce business it is today: Bruno Munduruca. 

Just recently, at the IBJJF World Master Championships in Las Vegas, Bruno was recognized as the number two ranked black belt athlete in the Master 2 division... that's number two in the WORLD! He already has his eyes set on the number one spot this coming year, but considering he received his black belt little more than a year ago... what a remarkable achievement! 

Few people in the sport can appreciate how difficult it is to balance being a businessman, a family man, and a high-level athlete all at the same time. For a long time, Bruno dedicated most of his time to the former, but now that he's built a strong business - arguably the best online market for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gis and gear in the industry - and gathered a solid team behind him, he's finally had more time to dedicate to his passion. 

And it's been paying off. In the last year, he's been consistently hitting the top of the podium in IBJJF tournaments around the globe, and has even racked up double gold wins at some of the biggest and most prestigious tournaments in the federation, including the European Championships.

Congratulations Bruno, and we look forward to seeing what the next year brings!