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Training the body

A collection of articles on how to condition the body for high impact training, such as combative art forms, to make performance training safer. Offering practical advice for fighters on how to use their body in a sustainable way, with a special focus on grappling arts and the increased pressure they put on their bodies.

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Most common injuries in grappling arts and contact sports

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Despite their numerous health advantages, all sports run the risk of overusing certain parts of the body, resulting in injuries. Due to their close contact nature, contact sports are notoriously high risk activities when it comes to injuries. Grappling arts, that involve or focus on controlling the opponent by grabs and weight tend to show a regular pattern of damage. To receive the right care...

Water break – Is only drinking when told so really good for training?

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In most clubs I’ve trained at, there were strict drinking restrictions during the class. We were offered a water break, which if someone missed they weren’t allowed to drink. Sometimes this break was topped up with a series of ‘life lessons’ on how we build character and toughness by withstanding thirst, or even, how spoiled we still are, because the coach wasn’t allowed to drink during...

5 taping methods for finger joint protection

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Finger, hand, and wrist injuries are common in grappling arts such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo due to the nature of the sport, which involves intensive gripping and holding. Why taping? Taping the fingers is often done to support and protect the joints, tendons, muscles, and the skin against the repetitive gripping and twisting motions used in these combative art forms. Taping the fingers can...

Sit ups and back pain – how to make the core workout safe

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“Why do I have back pain when I can do so many sit-ups?” – A question that comes back regularly, so worth a little dive into the core mechanics. As we know now, back pain (especially lower back pain) commonly derives from weak abdominal muscles. So, working out the opposite muscles to your back sounds like the right answer to your problem. But is it really? Well, the fact is...

How to prepare for a BJJ competition

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Competition preparation is a hard beast to conquer: it’s like preparing for a high-stake blind date. It cannot be compared to any regular conditioning neither in terms of physical nor mental preparation. The preparation work starts when the thought of enrolling to a competition has matured into action. Even by browsing event calendars and their intro pages, you’ve already stepped into a different...

The principles of body mechanics and their significance in grappling arts

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Certain movements come naturally to human beings, for instance, walking, running, sitting and lifting. Yet, a large proportion of the population complains about having various pains in their backs and joints. It is estimated that globally, about 577 million people experience low back pain at a certain point in life (IASP, 2021), resulting from those movements being performed improperly. The...

The ‘pressure-pain-danger’ scale (in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)

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Grappling arts have a specific weapon in their arsenal that other martial arts don’t – the pressure of the fighter’s own body. When fine-tuned, it becomes most grapplers’ best tool. Pressure and causing pain are commonly used techniques in tournaments. Regular trainers know well that causing and taking pain are arts in themselves if one aims to do them mindfully and purposefully...

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