Tips And Tricks 2

Jewellery In BJJ - Why It Doesn't Work

I remember once upon a time, my ears were pierced. I had three, one in each lobe and the third was high on the ear. 

Unfortunately they didn't last very long as they were pretty much ripped out through training. I accepted that it was my fault as I didn't allow them to heal and I thought I was smarter than my coach at the time.

So lets look at jewellery and why you don't want to wear them at training.

Irrespective of your cultural heritage, religious beliefs or expressing yourself with your jewellery it's about looking after your teammates.

Wearing jewellery increases the chances of injuring them by way of cuts, abrasions even puncture wounds. If you injure your teammates, are you prepared to pay their mat fees whilst they are having the time off as well as your own? 

Earing's - Hoops collapse and studs can pierce either your teammate or yourself.
Just imaging playing someone and they are applying pressure through the 'cross face' or you are in a triangle. Your ear is pretty much being squashed into your head.

Maybe your Gi has been pulled up high and its over your ear when a choke is being applied, when the gi gets pulled back into position and you're wearing studs the chances of them getting caught are pretty high. If you're wearing studs the back might come off and you'll lose the earing, worse you end up having a nice puncture wound in the side of the head.

Athletes that have the 'fleshy' earrings take them out and tape up the holes just in case they get caught!

Watches - Sometimes we forget we are wearing one and it's something that will hurt your teammate, gouge or even tear the mats surface. The worst part about wearing a watch in some respects is the small embarrassment when you are reminded to take it off. Just make sure you have a joke about time ready to go.

Necklaces - Like the watch, we forget we wear one most occasions. Hopefully your coach or teammate will help identify that you are wearing one before you start drilling. Although, I dare say you'd identify it pretty quickly when you are in the warm up as it jiggles with your body movement.

Bangles and anklets - Yeah, naaa, these have to be removed, no questions asked. Even if they are made of cotton. The potential for these to hurt your teammate are way too high, plus they can almost be used as a weapon.

Fingers and toes have the potential to either get caught in them or fingernails can get torn by them.

Body piercings - Although they may be hidden under a rashie or gi, you are taking a risk in having one. Some athletes even tape them up so that the friction of the material doesn't catch on the jewellery and tear the skin.

If you hurt yourself, that's on you. But when you hurt your teammate, that's when you really need to review what it means to wear your jewellery on the mat. It's no fashion parade, it's a grappling based sport and there is too much at stake.

So what do you do if you see someone wearing something?

Ask them to remove it, if they don't, don't partner up with them and tell your coach.

At the end of the day, ​you can't compete wearing jewellery so why train with it on?

To save you the heart ache of losing your jewellery or injuring someone, it's best to just to remove them altogether. Just don't get shitty if your teammate or coach asks you to remove them otherwise you might just not get to train that day.