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Learning About Cauliflower Ears

first-ear-injury

I haven’t been wearing ear protection when I roll or practice.  I haven’t up to this point got any thing more then a sore ear now and then.  Last week that changed with the "black beauty" you see in the picture.  It is in a shadow in the picture but it is still black enough to stand out.  I don’t know how I got it.  I know my ears got mauled at practice but nothing out of the ordinary.  I’m not vain but I don’t want cauliflower ears.  I wondered if I was going to have to do something like Georgette talks about in her post "How to Drain Your Cauliflowering Ear".  I asked around at practice the next chance I got.  After everyone getting a good look at it and pinching it to see if it was ballooning the consensus was it would be fine.  A few of the guys had experience with cauliflower ears that were much worse.  I was relieved.  I’ll have the black dot for a few months before it heals up.  My ear doesn’t hurt and there isn’t a bubble where the injury is.  I hope this helps my readers diagnose their own ear injuries.  I think its time to get some head gear.  So stay tuned for the review.

Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu

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That Hurt! So Why Am I Laughing?!

Tonight we practiced some Judo throws.  I’ve got them on video and I’ll post them after I get the names documented correctly.  We practiced falling properly and went right into it.  After a while it goes without saying you hurt.  Throw to the left, throw to the right, stand up, throw down, until you get it right.  So why did I find myself laughing each time I hurt?  Its true I didn’t get injured.  I’m sure if I had cracked a rib or ripped some muscle I wouldn’t have laughed but minor pain had me giggling like a school girl.  I’m going to have some nice bruises on my shins from having my legs swept.  I still laughed when I got my shin kicked.  I was having fun.  I was enjoying BJJ.  But that doesn’t mean I like pain.  So tell me there is a psychological reason for it or at least tell me I’m not alone.  My practice partner come to think of it was laughing too but not as much as I was.  I’m not feeling like I’m a masochist but since when was laughing from pain natural?  I can’t saying any other sport has had such an affect on me.

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The Pain and Agony of Jiu-Jitsu

Last night I had a great time at class.  I lost a lot of rolls but got in some good sweeps.  It was the first time I did a Balloon Sweep.  I ended up stopping about 15 minutes shy of the full hour and a half because of a injury.  I don’t even know how I did it.  All of the sudden I couldn’t raise my left leg into a 90 degree position without a huge amount of pain at the top of my thigh.  I felt that I may have pulled it at the beginning of class but hadn’t noticed any pain until the end.

I love Jiu-Jitsu and I’ve decided I must love pain.  I keep getting hurt and I keep going back for more.  I try to heal fast enough to be ready for the next injury, be it a bruise, muscle pull, or sprain.  But in most cases they stack up until I have to stop and rest.

I tried some Badger Balm last night to help my sore muscle and some ibuprofen.  It didn’t do anything of significance.  I avoid aspirin knowing it only makes bruises worse.  What does the rest of the BJJ community use to help speed healing of muscle injuries?  Please share with me.  Any tips or tricks to help speed healing would be greatly appreciated.

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Jiu-Jitsu and Aspirin Don’t Mix

I’m covered in bruises from Jiu-Jitsu.  They go from my ankles to my shoulders.  I have bruises on my bruises.  At first I thought it was just my poor BJJ technique.  But over time I notices bruises on my wrists.  How could that be poor technique?  I found out aspirin was the culprit.  I am talking aspirin for my niacin therapy.  It helps stop the flushing.  I was taking 325mg (one regular pill) each night.  Aspirin helps stop clotting.  That is why I was getting such huge and nasty bruises.  I’ve stopped taking it this week.  Tonight is the first night without it.  It should be interesting if I bruise.  A friend has told me it might be a blood disorder and I should get tested if I keep bruising after dropping the aspirin.  He had a similar case in his school or dojo.

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Jiu-Jitsu Shin Guards – Stopping the Bruises – Part 1

I’m a white belt.  I’m new to Jiu-Jitsu.  My guard is passed often as I learn while rolling.  As a result I have bruises up and down my legs.  The majority are from some one pinning my leg down as they pass.  From my knees down I look like a leopard, black, blue, and yellow.  I can’t heal as fast as I am getting new bruises.  I had to find a way to stop accumulating new ones until my technique improves.  I looked at the typical MMA shin guards but didn’t want something with the instep.  I also wanted coverage on the knee and farther around the leg then just the shin.  I was surprised to find that Softball Sliding Shin Guards (like these at Amazon.com) did the trick for me.  They didn’t hamper my movement.  I had to adjust them after each roll but the most important part is they gave my legs time to heal.

I picked up a few other kinds of shin guard that I am going to try in my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class.  I will review them as I try them out.

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A Rash Guard, I wouldn’t do Jiu-Jitsu without it

What’s a rash guard? It is a shirt or leggings that are made of a spandex type of slick material.  They are used to reduce skin abrasion and bruises in grappling.  I started like most beginners in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (a.k.a. BJJ) with just a t-shirt and sweats.  I came home each time bruised like a Dalmatian.  I soon got my Gi, the traditional uniform in most martial arts.  As anyone who works with their hands knows a good pair of work gloves keeps you from getting blisters.  When it come to BJJ, a Gi is the equivalent of work gloves.  But I found I was still getting  some bruises.  I noticed that some of the others had shinny shirts.  That is how I found out about Rash Guards.  When you wear a rash guard it gives you added protection by decreasing the friction between you and what ever comes in contact with you.  With my new rash guard I stopped being bruised.  Yes, some of the bruising was due to inexperience in grappling but after I got the Gi and rash guard my bruises all but went away.  It also helps protect you again the dreaded ring worm that come from grappling the “unclean”.  A rash guard in my opinion is a must.

What brand of rash guard is best?  I stared with Under Armour.  Their Heat Gear line is what is sold all over the web in MMA, Mixed Martial Art, sites.  I use a compression long sleeve top.  I understand that a loser fitting shirt can be better as the compression tops tend to roll up in grappling.  I am waiting on a lose fitting long sleeve top from Sprawl to see if it works any better.  I also have ordered a pair of their shorts to see if their claims at being the best are true.