Hello this is Sa again and I’m back and excited to share with you a recap of my 2nd month of taking upon myself to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I started out a complete beginner in grappling and getting choked left and right on the sweaty battle fields of the mat the first month but by the second month I have notice a lot of growth and changes so let’s go!

Table of Contents

1. A. Learning Curve in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
   • Organizing information
   • Building on Knowledge
2. Adapting to Obstacles in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
   • Bicep and Neck Soreness
   • Ear and Mouth Injuries
3. Attainment of a Relaxed Mental Coolness in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
   • Confidence
   • Perspective-Taking

Learning Curve in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Two key takeaways from helping me understand BJJ are labeling and organization of information as well as continue to build on acquired knowledge.

Labeling and Organization of Information

First and foremost, I can remember being the guy who just didn’t have a clue on a lot of things. I didn’t know the terminologies used like; “Get in the the guard!” There were some techniques with no names to them. Also, I’d get a total brain fart when it’s turn to drill in the technique taught as to how to go about executing the move. There’s actually a lot of details involve in BJJ. The beginning stages was not fun whatsoever. Even when some blue belts were giving me some tips on a technique, I’d just nod my head but didn’t get a full grasp of the idea (no pun intended). I heard from a blue belt to just keep going to class everyday like I have been (5 days a week) and I’ll eventually pick it up. Learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu requires patience like any other skill.

What I find that helped me was asking questions in class. I’d asked; “What is that called?” to find out the name of the positions or chokes. It definitely helps to hear coach using layman terms such as “turtle,” “push the pedal,” or “shave his neck” when explaining. In addition, after class I tried to visualize the moves that was taught. And another tip that helped me most was to write down what I had learn and how to execute the move as if I was teaching it with paper and pen, keeping a record in a journal. I would organize what I learn under categories such as chokes, positions, escapes, sweeps, takedowns, etc.

I started to realize that BJJ is a full body art of fighting with intricate details to make some chokes or techniques work. Unlike striking which consists of simply punching or kicking that BJJ required manipulation of a combination of my limbs with minute detail placement. It teaches body and spatial awareness.

Continue to Build on Acquired Knowledge

Because I started to organize BJJ information it made it a lot easier to build upon the knowledge. Every class I would try to come away with a nugget or tip not only learning from Coach but from my sparing partners. It’s definitely a cool community as everyone is giving each other tips even though we are rolling or “fighting” against one another on the mat.

It’s like organizing a puzzle to make a big picture. Once I learn what the name of the positions are I can add upon them to make the pieces fit together. With any subject the foundations are important. In BJJ what I would consider your basic foundations are the terminology which includes different positions then knowing which positions are dominate or not. Follow by how to go from one position to another. Then once you know the different positions you also learn about which chokes you can do in each position. After that you learn how to escape from each position. To build on knowledge be consistent going to class to acquire more knowledge, ask good questions, and roll on the mat for experience.

With the acquired knowledge, building on top of it helped me follow in class instructions easily – I can now see a technique and replicate it in detail.

Adapting to Obstacles in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Soreness and injuries can takeout a BJJ practitioner from practicing the art for the long haul that is why these obstacles need to be in check.

Bicep and Neck Soreness

During my first month of BJJ/Muy Thai there were days where my biceps were so sore yet I stayed back for Muy Thai. I’m talking about biceps being so sored that they felt like deadweight and I couldn’t even keep my hands up for Muy Thai. I learn that my soreness came from me using all my upper body strength because I didn’t know techniques. Imagine being crushed under an elephant and trying to push it off. Even a 12-year-old girl was pinning on top of me and I didn’t know how to get off. Using my full upper body strength not only did not work to get her off me but added to the soreness. But that also goes to show how effective BJJ is on the ground if a 12-year-old can pin me down (I weight about 145lbs).

The solution to bicep soreness is to learn how to “escape” or get out of locks and tough positions. Another tip is to only spar against your weight class.

On top of the bicep soreness was soreness around the neck. It got so sore I sought out a massage therapist. The reason for this soreness is because a lot of the times we are on our back on the ground defending or trying to get on top to a better position. It’s like doing sit-ups constantly without knowing that you are doing sit-ups. Plus, your sparring partner would likely try to choke your neck with the rear naked choke or the guillotine. Since I was a newbie in the first month, I didn’t know that I could simply defend by blocking my neck and tucking in my chin therefore I kept getting my neck squeezed.

Now I only get sore around my neck occasionally and when I do, I don’t force it by staying back for Muy Thai or continue going to class. The bicep soreness stopped because I apply techniques rather than pushing off with muscles. I rest and recover when the neck soreness gets out of hand. Also, during the first month Coach would allow us to pair up with any weight division – this was always an uphill battle for me as one of the few a welter weights amongst a handful of heavy weights. Now he suggests we pair up with our own weight class which makes a big difference in sparing too. This is how I overcome the obstacle dealing with bicep and neck soreness.

Ear and Mouth Injuries

The main injury I received was a hematoma to the ear or cauliflower ear from rolling daily the first month but what really did it was getting a lot into headlocks, triangles, and then face planting ear first onto the mat one day. I will not go into great detail about here but you can read about it in my cauliflower treatment post. In short, I bought materials to drain my cauliflower ear, Caulibuds, and Roar ear guard.

The second injury were incisions to the mouth since I got braces the second month. This was solved with a mouth piece designed for braces. In generally I would highly recommend wearing a mouth piece during sparing because I have had bit my tongue when a partner headbutted me to where I was bleeding. It was painful to eat anything after that and you know you need to be well nourished before any type of exercise… Talking was also excruciatin. A decent mouth guard will also protect your teeth from grinding top to bottom.

Attainment of a Relaxed Mental Coolness in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Last but definitely not least is the attainment of this wonderful state of mind which I called the state of relaxed mental coolness. Maybe the right term could be Zen but what I mean is this sense of calmness under high pressure such as sparing with an aggressive opponent. You know the calmness before the storm like Storm Shadow 😊? In this state I feel relaxed and cool perhaps because I am confident to deal with anything an opponent has to pull out in his arsenal of chokes on the mat. I became aware of my calm and coolness state after rolling with some newcomers who visited the gym.

New Sense of Confidence

I got this new sense of confidence because I have grown so much from the first couple of weeks I came to class. Having been able to apply the techniques learned successfully in class keeps me wanting to learn more and boost my confidence when I can choke my sparring partner or escape from his/her chokes.

It’s the ability to know that I can defend myself with my striking background as well as handle ground fighting by pinning someone down someone if push comes to shove.

It’s the vibe that a fighter gives off as he moves slowly, yet deliberately from one room to the other with head held high and a relaxed shoulder. He has great situational awareness, spatial awareness, and is in full control of his body.

Perspective-Taking

It was not until I started seeing newcomers and sparing with them that I noticed how much they reminded me of myself. They were very frantic like a crazy cockroach trying to make headway to the shadows when lights turn on. They didn’t know how to choke or what to do to get to a dominant position.

I drilled some techniques with someone on his second day compared to myself who have been training for two months and also saw how he behaved like myself in the beginning, missing minute details in executing techniques.

Generally, the newcomers are not used to the high pressure when rolling on the mat. I was like this – I had never done BJJ before and would be very gentle whereas my more experienced training partners would be very aggressive and pretty much man-handled me.  But throughout I started to acquire the sense of aggression and dominance gained by sparing with the more experienced partners. Also, they were very calm and cool dominating top positions and switching positions with ease.

So now when I roll with a blue belt or any belt I smile, breath, flow, and have fun in my relaxed mental coolness state of mind knowing that “everything will be alright” as Bob Marley would say.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed the recap of the growth that I have attained through training BJJ for two months. As you can see, I love to learn and grow on this journey. It’s definitely a beautiful process from trying something new and then looking back to see how far I have grown.

Do you remember your first time trying out BJJ and then how was that compared to when things started to click?

The post 2nd Month of Learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Growth Recap appeared first on .

What is Cauliflower Ear?

Discretion* Note that what I am sharing is merely my experience with cauliflower ear in the following paragraphs and not medical advice. Please seek medical attention if you choose to do so.

I’m glad you asked! No it’s not some nasty infection of the ear or something edible.

It was what I referred to as “BJJ ear” because I couldn’t remember the proper term. In medical term it’s called a hematoma of the ear or swelling of the ear where blood is rushed into the area that received cartilage damage. The blood is what fills up the damage area making it look swollen looking like a cauliflower. You can see this deformity of the ear commonly on MMA fighters or BJJ practitioners. Some boxers or wrestlers also have cauliflower ears.

How Does it Occur and What are the Symptoms?

You can get it through repetitive irritation to it often in contact sports such as boxing, MMA, wrestling, or BJJ through direct force. Common ways of getting it in BJJ is through rolling with your classmates. When you roll you could be landing face plant diving ear first onto the mat HARD like I did – my hands and legs locked by my partner to brace myself. Someone could also accidently knock your ear with their dangling knee. Another common occurrence is when you try to pull your head out of a guillotine or headlock. Also during takedowns I would rub my ears against my partner which added to the damage.

After a couple of classes, both my ears turned red but in particular, my right ear became swollen.  I didn’t know any better at the time and even took a nap on it and when I woke up it hurt! It was ringing and even something as common as putting on a shirt or taking off a shirt was a painful ordeal. Any type of pressure to it like just pinching it caused it to ache tremendously.

I Searched the Internet for Cauliflower Ear Pain Relief Treatment

So the next thing I did was direly look up information about treating it because I didn’t even want to bring it up in class fearing that people will judge me and think that I am weak and crying like a baby. So I scoured all the YouTube videos I could find on it.

What I found was that there were many videos showing how to drain the cauliflower ear but few talked about compressing it properly. There was one and only one video in particular that demonstrated the use of magnets so then I created my own how to video. Others had mentioned using a hair pin or small chips clip.

There were also recommendations for products sold on Amazon but quite few far in between as this is apparently a new market; products to treat cauliflower ear. Another product recommended was to wear ear guards.

Another video recommends seeing a specialist such as an ENT Doctor but at the same time I hear many horrors story of going to one because of the costs and time but also that people’s ears were worst off because the Doctor would make incisions to it than if they were to drain it. And even if the Dr. does drain it couldn’t you just do this yourself and save the time and money?

The consensus was to drain the swollen ear 2-3 times a day which was ridiculous to me but colleagues have also suggested this and done this themselves but again, most videos don’t talk about compression which is key to keeping the ears from swelling up again and again.

The Method of Cauliflower Ear Treatment I Tried

I didn’t know it at the time but I took action after a couple of days of research. I even broke the news to a couple of blue belts to get their opinion and they said the same thing to drain it and that they can offer to drain it for me or you can DIY.

So after gathering the essential tools from Walgreens and Walmart I drained it for the very first time and there was a huge sense of pain relief because I saw the cauliflower ear had deflated drastically while the pain went away. Since I was still going to class and doing heavy cardio it would swell up again. This one video also suggests taking about a week or two off from BJJ class but I didn’t listen because I didn’t want to miss class.

I noticed how the fluid would keep coming back – it’s just how it is when you get a hematoma. Your body wants to fill in the gap but since no video really emphasized the need to compress it, many BJJ practitioners who get it drain it repeatedly more than they need to if only they compressed their ear.

Even in the comments section of YouTube videos when people figure they need to compress it no one knew how long to compress it. Also which tool is the proper way to compress the ear? Should you use magnets, a hair pin, or chip bag? Compression keeps the front and back skin of the ear together.

Out of desperation, I tried the magnet method of putting two magnets between my ears and then taping it around leaving it on for two days straight (48 hours) while waiting for my order of Caulibuds and ear guard from Amazon. Not only did the magnets not work but it gave me a cut!

My Recommendation for Cauliflower Ear Treatment & Prevention

After draining this one hematoma of the right ear for about 17 times 3 weeks in with no success, my right cauliflower ear started to hardened; I could no longer could I drain any excess blood from it. It still looked puffy but not as bad.

There’s a time limit of 3 weeks before the cauliflower hardens so as soon as you get cauliflower ear order what you need ASAP online and hit the drug store for the right tools for treatment.

It was already too late when my Caulibuds and ear guard came in the mail, although I still tried the Caulibuds on to savage what I could of my cauliflower ear hoping it would lessen the damage. The difference between regular magnets compared to CauliBuds is that CauliBuds are covered in silicone so it doesn’t cut your ear when left on for a long duration. Also they come in two sizes to fit your needs.

Check out my review of Caulibuds here.

Save on 15% when you use discount code: “BJJEARS”

The solution was clear after my trial:

1. Drain the ear
2. Compress it (with Caulibuds) for at least two days or when it heals
3. STOP going to class (avoid any strenuous heavy cardio)!
4. Wear ear guards

If you decide to go to BJJ class anyway, put on the compression magnets underneath your ear guards.

Personally, I would add to recommendation to wear ear guards all the time when rolling despite being what others think. Just own up to it. There are more benefits to protecting your ears than to get it looking jacked up.

So there you have it – my process and a clear guide to cauliflower ear treatment without any missing information from my honest first-hand experience. This is a comprehensive guide I wish I had found when I was in frantic about the whole grappler’s dilemma.

Ossu!

The post A Solution to Cauliflower Ear, a Grappler’s Dilemma appeared first on .