Recently retired from playing rugby and fancy trying some different sports. I’m hoping it won’t be full of “cage fighter” types.

Anyone have experience

The first rule of Jiu Jitsu club is you don’t talk about Jiu Jitsu club.

what type of ju-jutsu?

I have trained in Atemi-jutsu for 3 years and I love it!

Depends on the club really though – where are you off to?

As for dying, I wouldn’t have thought so. We go easy on the fresh meat so that they come back the next week 😉

“The most devastating form of martial art with the least amount of effort” is how my old ju-jitsu teacher described it, I don’t think he was too far wrong either.

Its Kamon Brazilian style..if that means anything. Its on the Isle of Wight, only 1 club.

Hoping they will go easy as I’m not very bendy!

They should ease you into it gently, otherwise like another poster said they won’t get much repeat business.

Getting bendy will come with time!

Best advice would be to try and relax, not to panic as that is where mistakes will come in.

Brazilian style eh?….does that mean a severe waxing first.

You will die in a hail of punches, kicks and double jointed locks. You will be hit so many times you’ll think your surrounded. You’ll have a face like a well skelped arse.

Some or none of the above may happen 😉

Thanks bigbloke, just spat coffee on my keyboard!

My 15 year old lad is coming to watch as he wants to see me get “owned”

I did it for 3 years while at Uni. Got to Blue/white belt under the world Ju Jitsu Federation. It was good and the fitness side of things was excellent, but you need to do it at least twice a week to keep the tech stuff fresh as some of the moves can be complex. The classes I did lasted an hour and a half with the first half hour being fitness and warm up as you have to be ready for moves which may leave those unflexible a little sore the day after! Some of the stuff you learn though is a lot of what is used in action type films so once you learn the basics you start feeling really good (think Wesley Snipes in Blade type moves!). Give it a few sessions to see if you like it as it takes a while to get to the “good stuff!” One good side for biking is it teaches you how to take a fall from many directions!!

I guess I am going to have to send a review on Thursday morning (assuming I can walk)

Man up and stop thinking about it, you should feel it like a finger pointing to the moon,and for god’s sake don’t concentrate on the bloody finger or you will miss all the heavenly glory.

and rememebr to shout YARRRRR very loudly after every move or you will get your ass kicked in the showers

Thanks Mantastic! I will do Exactlty as you have suggested!

It worked for bruce so could work for you

I’m assuming you mean it’s a class under the Kamon Wing Chun federation, the founder of that federation, Kevin Chan is a Brazilian Ju Jitsu black belt under Gracie BJJ.

BJJ is a grappling and ground fighting martial art and has been popularised due to it’s use in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), i.e. UFC etc. They won’t teach you to punch or kick, you’ll do a warm up, some techniques, then they’ll do sparring but you’ll probably watch that in your first class.

Even if you’re fit you’ll ache the next day…you use all sorts of muscles you didn’t know you had.

If the place you’re going to has a shower, bring a towel…you’ll be covered with other mens sweat.

Just googled the club you are going to and it’s under the Gracie barra camp. Same as me, good choice 😉 To begin with I would imagine that they will teach you the fundamentals as in breakfalls, rolls, “shrimping” and some basic self defence. Also they will show you some of the basic ” finishing” moves as in armbar, kimora, omaplatta and rear naked choke. If it’s like the place I go to beginners are not allowed to roll until they reach a certain standard ( for us it’s not untill you get a couple of strips on your white belt.)As for advice, just go in there and enjoy it. I used to think I was pretty fit from all the mtbing, gym work and doing 4 years of traditional jappanese jui jitsu but bjj is an whole new world.

@bjj.andy.w- read that as ‘they will teach you the fundamentals as in breakfast rolls’.
Sounded pretty good to me.

Doh ! 😆

Thanks for all the good advice, I will update this thread on Thursday morning!

Sorry to disappoint but it may well be full of ‘cage fighter types’….after a few years of kickboxing i decided i wanted to try MMA (mixed martial arts-AKA cage fighting) and contacted the local BJJ club which also ran a once weekly MMA class….their response was matter of fact, no MMA until i had attended the BJJ classes first.
BJJ was proven effective by the Gracies in UFC some years ago and is now the foundation of virtually every fighter’s ground skills….occasionally somebody with a wrestling background will make it in MMA but BJJ is the ‘go to’ skill set these days.

Depends on the club i suppose and whether they have any links to MMA clubs or hold their own MMA classes as to whether their will be cage fighter types around….i’ve always found these guys to be sound anyway, usually good banter at clubs like that.
The only problem i ever had was when i briefly tried boxing and was a total novice and was asked to spar with a lad who was significantly better than me and he didnt hold back, the instructor watching didnt intervene either as i took a hiding for the longest 3 minutes of my life….i didnt go back.

As others have said, they’ll go easy on you or you wont come back again.

Thanks Deviant. I only have the 1 club to choose from on the Island so either its ok or not….

Had a few hidings over the years, so I guess another won’t hurt!

You’ll be fine.

I doubt Kamon BJJ is full of cage figher chaps…the umbrella organisation is a wing chun school.

I train in muay thai (and occasionally BJJ) at a muay thai gym in London…there are a few ‘cage fighter’ types – they might look a bit scary but they’re good blokes usually. Egos tend to get left at the door at good clubs.

I once went to a seminar with Wanderlei Silva…

Scary looking when you see him fight, but he was a really nice guy.

Don’t worry about it…you’ll enjoy it.

If you’ve played rugby a while you should be strong which will help with sparring…until you spar with someone who’s good.

Besides…if you play rugby I’m sure you’ve encountered your fair share of scary people who are actually nice.

It’s well known that BJJ clubs will use anyone new to demonstrate moves on. When they are injured for 6 weeks, it’s no real loss to thier learning curve or to the club overall. If you go back, yuo’re keen and they might only inflict and overnight hospital stay on you.

Or they might greet you (it’ll be a bit odd as all the other will know each other and be bantering away – stick with it and wait till the instructors are free and they’l find you), see how you are, see what you want to get out of it, and then move on from there with a few simple moves to let you get the bug.

One of the above will happen.

First time at Jiu Jitsu tomorrow – will I die?

You might.
Some big, clumsy noob might get you in a choke and not know to let go when you tap. Or you might forget to tap. Or you may get choked so quickly, you don’t get the chance to tap. Or you may get thrown onto your head and break your neck…etc..etc..etc

You may need to MTFU.
Even better, MTFU and go try Judo, but having just checked out the Isle of Wight’s Judo club’s website, maybe don’t bother.

[/quote]It’s well known that BJJ clubs will use anyone new to demonstrate moves on. When they are injured for 6 weeks, it’s no real loss to thier learning curve or to the club overall. If you go back, yuo’re keen and they might only inflict and overnight hospital stay on you.

I do hope you are joking because that would never happen at our club. When the instructor needs a ” bitch” to demonstrate a move he always uses the person next down in belt order who is there. To use a newbie to “smash up” as you imply is no good to anyone. The chances are he wouldn’t come back and more than likely tell other people not to go there aswell.

I do hope you are joking because that would never happen at our club.

had irony beaten out of you then….

I have had a look through the clubs website photos and they don’t look like a bunch of crazed monsters….

Oh, and I used to play at judo a bit, they are better than the website suggests!

I do hope you are joking because that would never happen at our club.
had irony beaten out of you then….

Grrrr 😀

Of course I’m bloody joking!

Seriously, I’ve never been more nervouse than when starting a new class, TKD, Kickboxking, Karate or Judo. Even when I was a blackbelt TKD and new Kickboxer, I had ‘the nerves’ Each time I was made to feel welcome and in no way threatened. You’ll be fine. My second paragraph in the previous post is what’ll happen.

As part of the first grading I hear they make you compete in Rio Heroes…

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAY7yBQwP3c[/video]

transapp – Member
Of course I’m bloody joking!
Seriously, I’ve never been more nervouse than when starting a new class, TKD, Kickboxking, Karate or Judo. Even when I was a blackbelt TKD and new Kickboxer, I had ‘the nerves’ Each time I was made to feel welcome and in no way threatened. You’ll be fine. My second paragraph in the previous post is what’ll happen.
POSTED 30 SECONDS AGO # REPORT-POST

Sorry, my bad sometimes I jump in without thinking. Thats why I end up tapping out a lot at training. 😳

Update- update!

It was actually really good, all very friendly and helpful.

Even managed to still do my cycle commute today, will be going back for sure.

Thanks to all the posted advice!

Its on the Isle of Wight, only 1 club.

Whereabouts? Moving to the island in November.

Hi, if you type in IOWBJJ you will find it ok. 1 night in Newport, 2 days in Shanklin. Its Martin Dell and hes a nice guy!

Done it. Ta!

Glad you enjoyed it. Be warned though, it’s very addictive 8)

Be warned though, missing the last letter off of that suggested google search will get you something entirely different 😉