As a martial artist, you never really appreciate what true pain is until you see someone dislocate a shoulder or pop a knee in the middle of a class. I’ve had the unfortunate opportunity to hear that loud “pop” followed by a blood-curdling scream twice in my martial arts career and neither of them has discouraged me from going back.
Pain and risk of injury go with the territory in any kind of contact sport so if you’re going to participate you should learn to expect and overcome pain if you want to be successful.
Later on I would learn that there are actually 5 ways to overcome pain in martial arts and they can be applied in any contact sport…
Relaxation
You should always relax your body as soon as possible when you injure yourself until you determine the extent of how badly you are hurt. If you are in the middle of an activity you should disengage quickly and move away from the contact area. If this is not feasible right away then try not to use the affected part of your body. You will often see fighters switch their stance or even go to an opposite approach in the middle of a round. This is almost always due to the pain of an injury.
Meditation
Meditation is relaxation taken to the next level. Those who are experienced with meditation claim that they can shut off the pain entirely by relaxing the mind and body and simply channeling the feeling of pain away. This may seem far-fetched to some but the brain controls all messages to the body, including the nerve pulses that tell you that you are in pain. If you can block those with the control that comes from regular disciplined meditation then you can overcome the pain.
Blocking Out
Ignoring or blocking out pain is a sign of either tremendous toughness or extreme stupidity. Pain is your body’s way of telling you to stop whatever you are doing so you don’t injure yourself. In martial arts we use tapping out as a universally understood signal that we are at the extent of our pain threshold. You can ignore pain to a certain extent and keep fighting but you need to know what your limitations are. Weightlifters often say “no pain, no gain” and it’s true to some extent. You do need to feel the pain to build muscle, but pushing beyond your capabilities will result in strains, tears, and chronic injuries in your neck and back if you’re not careful!
Understanding
Acceptance
Accepting pain is for those who suffer from chronic conditions yet still want to participate in contact sports. Everyone has a certain tolerance level when it comes to pain: for some it is higher than others. For those in chronic pain it is reality of life that they have to deal with. Learning to accept that certain activities are just going to hurt but doing them anyway is the ultimate test for a true athlete. There are those who play just because they love the game, no matter how much pain they are in during or after the game, match, or contest. Think about that the next time you think you’re in pain.
Related Blogs
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Hello i wana learn Ju jistu japenese are there any ju jistu places in reading
if there is can you tell me so i may know and can you tell me the name of street and that
Nolan, the best thing you can do is check Google or even your local community centre for a Jujitsu dojo! Best of luck.
dude ima tall 6 foot 2 inches
and im kinda big, is jujitsu a good choice for me??
I’ve never met anyone who couldn’t benefit from Jujitsu. Your weakness with being so tall will probably be your legs (watch your knees as they’ll be a prime target) and that your centre of gravity is quite high – which means it’s relatively easier to throw you.
However, your advantage will be your range: if you can prevent people from getting too close to you, then the fight is yours!
Give it a shot at your local dojo… you’ve got nothing to lose
I appreciate your website, and your attitude toward the Martial arts. My question is whether you know of how to acquire a comprehensive Ju-Jitsu History text. I have searched Amazon and a few others but seem only to turn up Gracie conjecture, or local gladiatorial opinion.
It doesn’t really exist, as Jujitsu was never a defined discipline until much later in history and the emergence of schools. It was, essentially, military unarmed training and differed quite a bit. So what you’re really looking for is a Feudal Japanese Unarmed Combat History (if that makes sense!). To avoid the Gracie stuff, you need to avoid Brazilian references.
Good luck!
I’ve found meditation, or at least the breathing element taught by shitu ryu karate to be helpful in overcoming pain.
On another note, I just tried mailing you, but the picture designed to block spam wouldn’t appear… Mind mailing me an address I can contact you on?
Thanks for flagging this up. I’ll get someone to take a look at it!
I have a shoulder peck injury during a naked rear head lock restraining a drunk
customer confrontation, I went through acupunc, massages,healing etc.. you name it, but Ive used mindcontrol to overcome the pain! in what I love doing.
Im waiting for a otho surgeons appt and take it from there! I want to achieve My goals cause were not here on this earth forever!
Hi, I have come to juijitsu late in life .just in my 40s I totally love it.I wasn’t as agile as the younger and much faster people in my class .it took a couple of months and effort on my part but I now I can totally feel the benefit of the training. I would highly recommend it to anyone.