Recently, BJJ black belt Steven Grossi received a question from a 53-year-old purple belt. The purple belt said that he tends to avoid the guys who are “training for the UFC” because he often gets injured while rolling with them. However, he says that he feels like a “p**sy” for avoiding them.
Grossi strongly disagrees:
“When it comes to picking and choosing who you want to roll with, in my opinion, you have every right to do that,” Professor Steven told his viewers. “You don’t have to worry about what someone’s feeling, you don’t have to worry about any pressure about it. If you don’t want to roll with somebody, don’t roll with them.”
It isn’t only about rights for Grossi, either. Older grapplers also face different risks while rolling. For college students, getting hurt may simply mean having to take a few weeks off from jiu-jitsu. For grapplers in their thirties and forties, it could also mean the inability to pay bills.
“You might have a lot more to lose if you get hurt than maybe your 22-year-old teammates, or your 19-year-old teammates, or whatever it is,” Professor Grossi said. “You might have a job, a family. You know, if you get hurt — you break your arm, you break your leg, you blow out your knee, whatever it is — that can really hamper you from putting food on the table for your family, that can really affect your daily life.”
Check out all of Professor Steven Grossi’s video below, and don’t forget to subscribe to his page.
I´ve learned the hard way for not saying no, and i´ve been out for two months now recovering from a dislocated first rib along with collar bone fracture from an ugly take down.
Hello!
My perspective as a 46 year old purplebelt (since 3 years now) that I would like to add:
At least once per week do weightlifting: reduces the risk of injury a lot.
If you do more than 3-4 grappling sessions per week: try to do do both no gi and gi as they stress the body a little bit different.
Warm up properly.
Sincerily yours
Carl from Stockholm Sweden