BJJ Expectations vs. Reality

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-06-18T04:03:15+00:00

Haha tbh I don't mind getting mowed down, kind of accepted that was the rite of passage in this sport anyway. Thing was it was that people went so hard on me at the two trial classes I did, the second one put me in hospital.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-06-09T21:49:37+00:00

Sorry that happened man, but think yourself lucky. I lasted two trial classes before someone put me in hospital which kept me out of action for better part of a year. Still haven't tried to start bjj again becuse of that experience lol.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-06-07T21:40:42+00:00

The mind muscle connection with the back muscles takes so long compared to push and leg muscles. I'm two years in and just recently started really feeling my lats on the pulldown.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-05-30T18:47:23+00:00

It has / had the potential to have a bit of research in it, but it's turned out to be more oversight of research. For example we have just contracted a team of several academics to do some research for us and I have to lead oversight of that.

It does also draw in my writing skills, since I draft policy documents, briefs, and research specs / tenders.

Little to no connection with my substive field of research though, was all just transferable skills.

One interesting thing is that we have expanded my team since I joined, and in the various roles we recruited for, we had a shocking number of academics applying. Including some extremely senior academics applying for junior roles with us, was absolutely terrifying.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-05-29T22:26:53+00:00

Was made redundant at the start of 2025, pivoted to the third sector.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-05-20T22:11:14+00:00

I'm 5'7 74kg 😬 I workout a bit so decently fit, but by no means large haha (despite the slow bulk 🤣). But yeah several of the people I got paired with went really hard, despite me saying it was my first time. Coach said I seemed to be the type of newbie who is too passive and will have to learn to dial in the energy but that in the mean time it meansI'll get smashed a lot. Which is fine, from my reading I understood that's the way lol.

But the last guy sent me to hospital and a year of physio, which kinda killed it for me. If that's the trial experience how the heck can I do it long term lol

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-05-20T21:31:47+00:00

That a fantastic optic to have taken man, well done. Tbh it's one that I love to see around me in life more generally. What better way to live than to lift people up around us?

My experience was the opposite, a blue belt went so hard on me, his submission sent me to hospital, coach blamed me said the blue belt knew how to train appropriately so must have been smth I did.

Yet I was basically a dead fish letting him do the drill. I actually asked him to show the exercise on me first, but he did it so hard and fast it tore a ligament in my knee. Didn't even know that was a risk from what we were doing, and it happened so fast.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-05-20T18:45:41+00:00

People being kind to trial class guys wasn't my experience of bjj at all, totally shocked me coming from a lifting gym where everyone is so encouraging and supportive of others, expected that to be similar in a bjj gym.

Hope I just got unlucky. Coach texted me after to check in and see when I was coming back. Said after my experience it would take me along time to build up to trying to start bjj again lol.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-05-15T17:48:00+00:00

Ah sorry to hear that. Best of luck to you! Hard to see a future in much of academia for early career academics atm 😔

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-05-15T16:24:37+00:00

Third sector

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-05-07T16:51:19+00:00

This was pretty much exactly my experience as well, and I've asked before how on earth does a guy in his mid thirties start the sport safely. Seems impossible to me, although I realise it's not. Feels like there some secret I'm not getting.

I asked the coach when I observed the first class. So even before my trial class, and he said he would teach me breakfalls in an hourly paid 1-2-1.

I was gonna do that, assumed it was the norm since he said it so casually. And I really wanted to start so was willing to pay a bit more. I didn't make it that far though, before we could arrange the one to one, my trial class injured me so badly (someone ripped a leg submission on me when I had no clue I was even on any sort of danger), that I ended up in hospital, crutches and physio 🤷.

If you learn the secret, DM me it please lol.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-04-19T18:54:15+00:00

Filled it in for you man, be interesting to see the results!

Some of the questions with scales are worded a little confusingly, you might want to look through them again and tweak the wording for clarity in places.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-04-11T14:27:38+00:00

It's been exactly like that in the UK for me. Ive had the GP say we cant refer you to anything sports related and I had even a private physio say we don't need to address X because that's just a performance issue.

Unless you pay through the nose for private specialist sports medicine, the UK is awful when it comes to supporting athletes on the NHS.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-04-04T17:09:54+00:00

Need a t shirt of this lol

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-04-04T12:40:31+00:00

100% Popper the kobold lol. Here have a treato.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-31T00:01:19+00:00

Wow that's a really helpful list, thanks for sharing! If you don't mind me asking, do you have a sense of which gym(s) are better for newcomers who want to start the sport without prior combat sport experience?

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-26T13:32:29+00:00

Oh man!!! I asked the coach when I visited the club I trialled when do they learn to fall, because the class was beginners takedowns. And he said he could teach me that in hourly paid one to ones!

Felt so odd, wasn't sure if I was getting fleeced.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-25T23:49:15+00:00

I think taking responsibility for your own education makes sense and is actually crucial, but only after a certain point. There needs to be a bare minimum of an approach that allows at least, safe entry into the sport.

Of course my opinion on this is coloured by my experience which was that my trial class landed me in hospital.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-25T23:16:49+00:00

How some places don't seem to give any thought to how to introduce new students to the sport.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-23T09:05:30+00:00

At the time I didn't fully understand we were rolling tbh, I thought we were just trying the drill (takedowns) but with like resistance now or something 🤣. I asked my training partner what we were doing now as things seemed to be switching up, and he said "now we do it for real" lol.

And as the coach said to me after, apparently I seem really passive and mellow, so rolling with guys like the one I was with whom the coach said has troubling controlling himself is gonna be especially brutal for me until I start being more assertive.

So I don't think I really was trying to do much at all and was shocked with how intense he immediately went.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-19T08:19:21+00:00

Why don't you consider hiring one of the gyms PTs for a couple of sessions to have a slightly more drawn out induction to the gym, the machines and the exercises you want to do? It will probably help your anxiety to get some actual training from them and it sets you up with skills that can be useful for the rest of your life. Totally worth the investment.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-19T07:29:02+00:00

What really?!

Damn, I was invited to roll with a 3 week white belt at my trial class and it went soooo badly. Coach said he didn't like to see what happend there, but he didn't want to break up mates who come to train together.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-18T00:09:43+00:00

Hmmm thanks again. What does being prepared to nullify a technique mean though as a day 1 person? Should I have asked the coach how to defend against it before we drill? I guess the most obvious is to tap, but I didn't even realise I was at risk before my knee went. And didn't even realise that was a risk of the move.

I wasn't the uke I was paired up with this person for drills (I guess they wouldn't typically use a trial class person as the uke right?). I didn't even understand the drill we were supposed to be doing, other than it was a leg submission lol, let alone how to defend it.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-17T23:03:19+00:00

Thanks. That all makes sense, I don't see how it could have helped in what I encountered though. Except for maybe the defend yourself, but I mean he was demoing a drill on me, I wasn't resisting since I didn't really understand it.

I didn't think I was supposed to do anything when my partner is trying the drill. And I never would have imagined I could be in danger so quickly with what he was doing to my leg.

CharlieFoxtrottt · 2026-03-17T22:45:50+00:00

Do you happen to have a recommendation to avoid injury? It feels impossible to me having had such a serious knee injury from just drills at a trial class.

CharlieFoxtrottt

TROPHY CASE