In this video I answer a question from Rob, a 55 year-old surfer who tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) when he was 17, and never got it repaired. He wanted to learn self-defense and wanted to know if he would be able to do BJJ at his age and with his injury.

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Core stability for back pain
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Here are examples of core stability exercises that I use for patients who present with low back pain.
1️⃣Bird dog
2️⃣Side plank
3️⃣McGill Curl up
4️⃣RKC plank. I often will replace the curl up for the plank as I find it is easier for patients to perform without cueing / compensatory spinal movements.
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Generally these are performed for 10 seconds with 4-6 repetitions on each side. Once you can perform 8-9 sets without compensations I would progress to more advanced exercises. Generally the advanced exercises include upper and/or lower limb movement while remaining stable. Athletically you are never in a perfect spine position, but if you cannot maintain an isolated spinal position how can you expect to maintain a braced spine in a dynamic movement?
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Unfortunately on social media people will post exercises without an explanation of WHY they are chosen. Why do I use these exercises?
1️⃣Patients with lumbopelvic deficits respond well to volitional core stabilization.
2️⃣Core musculature are designed to resist movement, therefore should be INITIALLY trained isometrically.
3️⃣Combined these 3 exercises hit anterior, lateral and posterior core musculture.
4️⃣Dr. Stu McGill, @backfitpro , expert of spinal biomechanics, studied a variety of core stability exercises. The McGILL big 3 exercises provided maximum core muscle activation with minimal spinal shear forces. The sit-up is an example of having high rectus abdominis activation but moderate lumbar shear, therefore may not be the best exercise for a patient with back pain.
5️⃣Easy to do at home and does not require equipment.
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Since I have back pain, should I do these exercises? MAYBE. Not all patients with low back pain will benefit from these exercises. These are examples of exercises that I would use if a patient presented with lumbopelvic stability deficits and what I believed was the cause for their symptoms. I do not give ALL patients with low back pain these exercises. I would encourage you to see a healthcare provider to give you a better understanding of your symptoms.
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Reference:
McGill, S. M. (2015). Low Back Disorders, 3E. Human Kinetics.

Biomechanics of inverting for jiu jitsu
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The concept of inverting often used in sport jiu jitsu as a way to preserve guard, sweep and/or attack an opponent’s leg. While it is a useful movement for competitors is it safe?
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1️⃣Mobility requirements: The key to reducing injury is having sufficient spinal mobility. The goal is to roll over the shoulders which requires thoracic and cervical flexion. The neck needs to bend enough so there is minimal contact. .
2️⃣Injury risk: Insufficient spine mobility, either neck or upper body will cause unnecessary stress on the cervical spine. Too much time spent in the inverted position leads to an increased likelihood of injury. If you are going to invert quickly transition to the next position.
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Basic drill: Granby roll. This is an old school wrestling drill. Focus on rolling over the shoulder blades.
Intermediate drill: Sit-up guard. Control one leg and invert/roll to the other leg as demonstrated by one of my professors Gustavo Gasperin @mmaleech. .
Do you need to invert for competition? Absolutely not, but the ability to invert opens up sweeps, position maintenance and leg attacks. As a healthcare professional I may recommend avoiding this position with a pre-existing neck injury.

Trigger points, knots, and painful muscles are an annoying and consistent part of BJJ. Using the theracane has helped me substantially to not only reduce painful trigger points in my muscles, but help with muscle recovery, decrease tension, and improve motion in the joints that are effected by the muscles.
Theracane link: https://www.amazon.com/Thera-Cane-No-Model-Massager/dp/B00NH0XG7E/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1519076700&sr=1-2&keywords=theracane&th=1

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How to have less injuries in BJJ class, and how to recover better between training sessions. I think this is really important stuff!

If you’re interested in this topic then also check out:

A Basic Weightlifting Workout for BJJ and Martial Arts

Can You Train BJJ with a Bad Neck?

Steps for Coming Back from an Injury

Rib Injuries in BJJ and Grappling

How and Why to Tape Your Fingers in BJJ

How to Train BJJ with an Injured Arm

The AC Joint of the shoulder, better known as the Acromio-clavicular joint is where the bones of the acromion of the scapula (shoulder blade) and the Clavicle (collar bone) meet. This joint helps with movement of the shoulder and can be injured by landing on your shoulder or even if you run into a knee or hip with the top of the shoulder. This joint can get irritated and painful which will restrict shoulder function. Try this technique using Kinesiotape to reduce tension and assist with pain relief to the area.

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Balance and striking ••••••••••••••••••••••
When you are balanced you can move forward, backward, be aggressive or be defensive. When your center of mass moves outside of your base of support you are unbalanced. The next response has to be one that allows you to regain your balance or you will fall down. If you are unbalanced you cannot move or counterattack effectively.
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Regarding striking often people will say you have to move your head, however head movement should not come at the expense of your base. If head movement is used to evade a strike but you are now unbalanced you have no effective counter to the second strike.
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An example of this was Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero @ufc 221. Rockhold demonstrated this technical defensive mistake which cost him the fight. Rockhold kept his lead hand low so he had to rely on distance and head movement to avoid strikes. Yoel Romero rushed forward with a flurry. Rockhold’s first response was to lean away, which made him unbalanced. At this point he lost the ability to use intelligent footwork to angle away from the follow up strike. He had to stumble backwards to try to avoid the barrage of strikes. When he was too unbalanced and close to the cage his feet no longer could move effectively. His last resort was to lean his head away. Romero showed he was too fast and long and still managed to find his mark.
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Don’t make this mistake: keep your feet underneath you, maintain balance and you will not limit your future defensive options.

Kinesiology of the upa
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The upa or the bridging mount escape is a crucial jiu jitsu movement that often gets ignored. Being mounted against a skilled opponent can be terrifying, especially when strikes are involved. When in bad positions often people will resort to ineffective / energy inefficient movements to attempt to escape. The intention for all jiu jitsu techniques is minimal effort for maximum effect. .
The goal of the upa is to explosively thrust your hips up to unbalance your opponent. The movement needs to be powerful enough to unbalance them while also taking steps to prevent them from rebalancing (posting with foot or arm). Nothing is more demoralizing than repetitively attempting inadequate escapes.
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Key points for the upa
1️⃣Ankle and hip range of motion: by plantarflexing the ankle and extending the hips you can ensure the opponent moves enough to be off balanced. Less movement = less unbalancing.
2️⃣Keep your opponent directly under your hips for maximum hip thrust explosive force. If they move their knees to a high mount the hip thrust will have considerable less effect.
3️⃣Tilt the head for the proper angle. When people explode to the side the force becomes significantly weaker.
4️⃣Trap the foot / arm: This prevents the opponent from either stepping or posting to avoid losing position.
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When the upa is performed correctly it should be effortless. Once the movement is mastered additional elements, such as strikes can be added.
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@jamesdriskill @bretcontreras1 @ricksongraciejj

Undefeated amateur kickboxer and @dynamixmma fighter returns to training following labrum repair on his right shoulder. His current complaint is stiffness and weakness with his jab from the southpaw stance.
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The proper punch mechanics in the Dynamix striking system is thoracic rotation, scapular protraction and shoulder internal rotation for maximum distance and power. While he is primarily an orthodox fighter Coach Antoni encourages all of his fighters to be ambidextrous.
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Due to inadequate shoulder internal rotation his humeral head translates forward which puts unnecessary stress on the joint capsule. .
Treatment included FR work to the posterior capsule and latissimus dorsi, kimura stretch with Level 2 PAILs, general glenohumeral CARs and axial CARs.
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@antoni_hardonk @drandreospina @functionalrangeconditioning @functionalrangerelease

Kinesiology of jiu jitsu: proper posture in the closed guard
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When you are sitting in someone’s closed guard you have one objective: Clear the legs while not getting swept of submitted.
This is more easily accomplished while maintaining balance and proper posture.
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What is proper posture for jiu jitsu? In jiu jitsu when you are sitting in someone’s closed guard you are mainly resisting a forward pull from the guard player. ✳️Physics of balance: To remain balanced you have to keep your center of mass between your base of support. If the guard player manages to pull your center of mass outside your base of support you will be unbalanced.
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❌Faulty posture: Active toes. When you are on your toes your weight is shifted too far forward.
❌Faulty posture: Neutral spine alignment. While this seems correct it is inefficient. If you have neutral spinal alignment and they pull then your center of mass will be much closer to the edge of your base of support. Therefore the force they will need to unbalance you is considerably less.
✅Proper posture: Posterior pelvic tilt. Tuck your tailbone underneath you. When your pelvis tilts posteriorly it shifts your center of mass back. The spinal and pelvic alignment puts you in a mechanical advantage to resist the guard player’s anterior pulling force without having to use a lot of energy.
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Your arms can be used to open the legs and prevent them from sitting up.
✳️The most stable alignment is a neutral spinal with abdominal bracing, however if there is slight flexion it will not significantly decrease your stability.
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When the opponent’s pull increases or if they try a hip heist sweep to unbalance you can “engage your hips” meaning extending / activating your glutes and slightly lifting your hips up to meet their increased force.

Here are some of my go-to techniques and stretches after training to relax and get a great stretch. This will help with soreness and improve recovery so that you can keep training hard!
If you hate waking up the morning after training with sore and stiff muscles, then try these techniques after class to help.

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Brazilian Jiu jitsu is notoriously hard on joints because many of the attacks involve forceful joint locks. It is not surprising that many black belts will have injuries that lead to the development of dysfunctional joints.
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@jamesdriskill, @ricksongraciejj black belt, realized after years of jiu jitsu training he needed to address his mobility deficits to minimize his injuries. We determined his mid thoracic limitation was his primary deficit.
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Here I use a FRC concept called hinge training to improve his active thoracic segmentation. He has structural limitations that need to be addressed but I wanted to give him some homework before he headed back north. Good thing he is in close to proximity to @deweynielsen and @bryanmarugg to continue his mobility work.
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@drandreospina @functionalrangeconditioning @functionalrangerelease

These simple bridging exercises can be used for a hip and leg BJJ warm-up, can help build muscle muscular balance and symmetry in the hips, and fight that bent over BJJ posture. Super easy and very beneficial for health and injury-prevention.

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Yoga for BJJ by Josh Stockman

Download Bernardo Faria’s FREE Ebook
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