jiu jitsu in redondo beach : Don’t Stop

This month marks the 19^th year of training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Last week I took 5 days off to visit my family and not train. It was the longest period of time that I have been away from the mats. Yes, this means every vacation, every trip and place I visited I found a jiu-jitsu academy to train! When I arrived back to Elite Training Center to train jiu jitsu in redondo beach this past Wednesday, there was not a pain in my body. After a full day of teaching and full night of training; however, by the morning on Thursday I felt more pain than before. Right now I sit here on Friday afternoon, after another training session, happy and strong. I guess I am back into my routine?

The expression you will hear from older professionals, athletes or in this case a professional jiu-jitsu instructor, “Don’t Stop!” Very often this phrase is expressed for the learning process when a student comes across challenges in life or when an aging jiu-jitsu student asks an older black belt how she does it? The idea is the aging student is expressing the experiences of the bumps and pain of training & sparring in Martial Arts.

Any student training jiu jitsu in redondo beach should know the trick to overcoming the pain and the bumps-of-training is to learn how to use: TAPE! Tape is the jiu-jitsu man’s best friend. There many taping styles for your fingers and toes. You can use braces and tape for your knees and elbows. I have even seen jiu-jitsu guys wrap their shoulder and hit the mats hard. The tape will support the join or the muscles in your body, but you need to listen to your body yet not stop training. It is okay to take time off if you have an injury, but if you have pain…work through it.

In 1994 I read an interview with Martial Art Legend and film star Chuck Norris. In the interview in the magazine Masters & Styles he said training and sparring for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:

The Brazilian style of Jiu-Jitsu has simple and effective techniques, and that’s the beauty of it. What I have experienced with them is real and works well in any situation. I truly believe in their method. And what’s best in my case is that I can work out really hard without the inconvenience of injuries and bruises. This is due to the fact that their techniques, which include but are not limited to chokes, joint locks and bars, can be simultaneously gentle and yet devastating.

This comment from Norris always stuck with me after the years of training and sparring jiu-jitsu. It is very true that because jiu-jitsu sparring sessions are on the ground with a mat surface and the techniques are based on leverage & control; two students can spar at different speeds or go very hard with less inconvenience of bruises and injuries compared to sparring in Boxing and Kickboxing for example. Also with protective gear, a jiu-jitsu sparring session can add strikes and the ground as Norris said, “Techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are not limited to chokes and other submission holds.”

The message I am expressing is that Martial Arts training and sparring needs to be viewed as a learning experience. Sparring is a form of a drill. It is not a fight or real self-defense situation. Be careful in how you spar and with whom. When the bumps and bruises happened, break out the tape, use it and don’t stop training. If you become injured in the academy, listen to your body and take some time off from the sparring sessions; however, the academy is always there for you to take notes, watch class or be there when you return! Don’t Stop!!!

My best,

Prof. Tony Pacenski
2nd Degree Black Belt
BJJ Revolution Team