This Month's Expert:
RAFAEL REBELLO
TECHNIQUE OF THE WEEK
‪Rafael Rebello continues this week from the turtle position. His opponent tries to defend and Rafael exploits his defense creating an opportunity for submission. This is a slick triangle setup and you need to make sure you secure the position before going on the attack....
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ROLLING REFLECTIONS WITH
RALEK GRACIE
This Rolling Reflections took place March 2012. Pete rolls with Ralek Gracie in a nice fast paced flow roll. There is a lot of things happening in this roll and many techniques being applied but don't blink because you may miss something. Watch it without audio first and see if you can pick up the positions, then watch it again with the audio.....
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The Jiu-Jitsu Junkie's Guide to Withdrawal Symptoms
I remember a while back reading a Rickson Gracie quote where he said that “Once jiu-jitsu is in your blood, you would rather die that go one day without it”. At the time this really hit home for me. It was true. Not having jiu jitsu in my life would be dreadful. For most of you reading this you have probably gone through a period in your training where you have become ultra-obsessive about BJJ, where you spend the time when you are not training thinking about training, when the thought of not training is too awful to even consider. There are so many positives virtues from training and what I this article will be about is looking at the negatives of not being able to train. What I do want to discuss is the emotional impact when you can’t do the thing you love.

I am currently suffering from a knee injury that has kept me out of action for a couple of months now. I would say this is the 2nd most serious injury I have suffered, the 1st being a shoulder injury that kept me from training regularly for about 1 year. Having had two so long lay offs I think has given me a perspective on why I want (maybe even need) to train.

For me the physical pain was something I could cope with. The withdrawal from my drug of choice was what was far less tolerable

Post-Acute Withdrawal symptoms
The withdrawal stage can last a pretty long time. From personal experience it can last anywhere from 2 weeks to two months. Typical symptoms including:

1) BJJ cravings. Nothing can replace the high of training. .
2) Anxiety. Injured Jitsuka are often plagued with the thought “Damn it what cool techniques are my team mates mastering while I’m an invalid?” This anxiety can often lead to paranoia about returning to training.   
3) Melancholy. This typically includes feelings of worthlessness and listening to Hurt by Jonny Cash and Yesterday by the Beetles on loop while crying into a bowl of Mississippi Mud Cake pondering the cruelty of being laid low.  
4) Disinterest or low enthusiasm in all things not jiu-jitsu related. For example if a jitsuka suffering from Post acute...READ NOW >