When should we not train?

Jiu Jitsu is addictive, and that’s what keeps us on the mat. We love the feeling of living in the now and a state of no mind.

But when should we not train?

A few days ago I had hit a nerve in my forearm and was assured that in 48 hours the pain would pass, I just needed to rest it. That’s fine, I was missing the next evenings training anyway, so by 48 hours time or there about, it should be pretty much healed. Or so I thought!

My grips were very weak and I wasn’t training my best. I was conscious about hurting my arm again, then BAM, I took an accidental knee to my forearm, and BAM, I took one again but this time it was more intense and I had to stop training. A few minutes passed and so had the pain, so I went back and finished with a few rounds of sparring.

By the next day, my arm felt fine and I went about my day.

After the stress of this year and my life being significantly better than it was, my main stress today was not being able to change two out of three ceiling lights in my flat, and blowing a fuse at the mains. So this evening has resulted in me not having any lights, apart from lamps and candles.

The fact that my simple job didn’t get finished due to my lack of knowledge with electrics annoyed me. I was mad that I started what should have been a simple job, but didn’t finish it.

I needed to get out, so I went training. My head wasn’t in it. I lost concentration a thousand times and was that person who didn’t know how to do a simple technique. I had my lower belt training partner showing me what to do. Thanks Nic, she has off days too and I’m just glad today wasn’t one of them.

I sparred with a friend who has her second competition coming up, a white belt who is pretty amazing. My energy was low and I actually felt as though I had to try really hard to stop her guard passes and submission attempts. After three rounds, I moved on to another training partner, a white belt of about 95kg. I have some great sparring matches with him, as he moves so well for big guy, but tonight I was struggling and losing concentration.

I moved on to another friend, a purple belt and told him of my injury. I wasn’t feeling the rounds. I was lazy, staying on my back, not attempting sweeps or escapes. I stared to lose concentration and my focus went on what happened in my day, the negative things. So I called it a day after my 6th round of sparring.

Should we train if we are injured, or feeling like we’ve had a bad day? When should we rest and for how long?

The answer is simple: only you can decide that. Bad days often turn in to good days when you have a jiu jitsu class to finish off your day with. Injuries can still be ok to train with if you take extra care and make sure you tell your training partners.

Bad days sometimes need a bath and an early night. A tired weak body where the mind can’t focus properly needs a rest and an early night. Training with a fatigued body can do you a lot of harm. So going training, but just sitting out to watch is always a good option.

I wished that I had stayed home tonight, but I’m also glad that I went. I would have spent the evening watching TV or catching up with some work, but instead I spent it with a room full of my friends and training partners.

#Istilltrained #unstopabblegirl