Necks and Backs

Some Jiu-Jitsu techniques terrify me. The funny thing is that being on the receiving end isn’t the problem, it’s being the guy who performs the move.

Let’s say that your partner is supposed to do something to you, and as the good guy, your response is to back-roll out of the situation. I really don’t like that.

The move will look cool, and work, and not even be particularly difficult. For most people there is no risk at giving it a shot.

The worst thing that can happen is that during the back roll your weight doesn’t rest fully on your shoulder, and your head takes part of it. That means that your neck will get scrunched to one side under some measure of pressure.

For everybody else around here this is no big deal. If it happens to me, my neck is instantly hooped, and will be so for a long time.

I can do the move, and perform it without injury probably 19 times out of 20. The problem is that the value in the technique is less than the chance of significantly compromising my neck.

I either modify the danger out of a neck-threatening technique, or I don’t do it.

Luckily such things are quite rare, and therefore no big deal.

However, there is another large category of technique that is much harder to avoid.

They make up a significant proportion of all throwing techniques.

My back used to cause me grief fairly often. I would be barely able to move for at least a week, and this would be followed by a month of restricted activity.

It no longer does this, but the threat is never all that far from the surface.

Out of the entire menu of throws, only a few carry risk, but for me it’s very real.

A good example of the danger in throws happened to me during my first visit to the Gracie University headquarters school.

It was a very large group that day, with several instructors who all just happened to be in their 20s.

The technique was demonstrated, and very well explained. In it, the opponent gets lifted, but, “don’t worry. Just keep your back straight and it is all just a lift with your legs.” You know, like doing a properly-aligned squat, except it wasn’t.

The opponent’s weight was being held by the good guy with arms somewhat uneven in height. This meant that even with the lifter’s back being kept perfectly straight there was a rotational action happening. It was not obvious.

After a couple of attempts, my back was seriously warning me. I told my partner I was done, and happily played victim for him. He got double reps, and my back got a vacation.

After class it was time to roll, but I wasn’t about to with a half-sprung back, and I noticed something interesting. About a third of the class were above the age of 40, but during the rolling they had all vanished. Normally the proportion participating is about the same as it is during class time.

Every single one of the old guys had hit the change room and left. That’s a lot of wrecked backs to happen in a single class. At first I couldn’t believe it, so I stayed and watched the rolling. Not even one older guy remained.

This taught me that I have to take full responsibility for self-injurious techniques, and not to trust an instructor who says it will be OK.

There are a couple of throws I have to get really good at for an upcoming exam. I am super lucky that the list of throws included has been curtailed greatly, but there are still a couple of nasty ones.

Two spring to mind.

I’ve been studying the online videos very carefully, looking for ways to limit the risk. It’s a conundrum; to get good enough for the test, I have to practice, and by practicing I put my back in danger. Hurting my back means cutting back or eliminating all practice which will hurt my performance overall.

The first of the questionable techniques involves a weird, lifting, twisted-hip-thrusting, back-bending movement. Doing it with light-weight training partners might be OK.

The second technique looks nasty if done the way it is normally presented. However, in the last few moments of the video lesson, there is an alternative version presented, almost as an afterthought. It isn’t a throw at all, but rather a trip. My relief upon seeing that version was palpable. This is the version I will be drilling and performing on test day.

There may be other nasty techniques that I haven’t really identified yet. 

You’d think I’d be worried about getting hurt during the rolling on test day, but I’m not. I never use self-injurious moves when fighting. If I’m going to get wrecked, it will be the other guy’s fault.

It is the techniques that must be presented that I cannot avoid. They will need just as much practice as all of the lovely safe ones.

I don’t even mind getting hurt on test day itself, as I’d likely still be able to bull on through, and recover later. The totally crippling reaction to back injury never happens to me immediately.

It is more the injuries during practice. Having my back go boing in the week before the test would mean no exam at all.

Maybe it should be a written exam.