Is BJJ dangerous? A look at the statistics.
Every week I get the question is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) dangerous?
Because BJJ seems unsafe to an outsider.
This is to be expected when one hears clamping and choking.
It sounds scary and unpleasant. In this article, we take a closer look at it.
The most common injuries in Brazilian jiu jitsu
According to a recent study based on 2511 BJJ matches in Hawaii.
has found that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu had the fewest injuries in competition.
The comparison was made between BJJ, wrestling, Judo, MMA and Taekwondo.
The study shows that only 46 injuries came out of 5022 total matches.
The most common injuries in these competitions were sprains.
Injuries resulting from BJJ training over the years have had different outcomes.
Injuries include shoulders, knees, skin, hands and fingers, feet and toes, rib cage, arms and elbows.
Read on to see the most common injuries in BJJ.
The techniques that cause injuries the most and tips to reduce injuries.
Article content:
Injuries BJJ competition statistics
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu injury statistics in training
General training injuries
The big question is what causes more injuries: training or competition?
Which techniques cause the most injuries in BJJ?
BJJ injuries compared to other martial arts: which martial art has the most?
Is BJJ tough on your knees?
Tips for minimizing injuries in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
A number of studies have examined the most common injuries in BJJ training and competition.
In BJJ competitions, the aforementioned study by Scoggin et al. found that the most common injuries were orthopedic injuries, namely injuries to bones, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments.
According to this study, out of 5022 competitions, there were 46 injuries. Of those 46, the most common injuries were:
Injuries BJJ competition statistics
Elbow: 14
Knie: 7
Rib or costochondral fractures: 7
Foot and ankle:5
Hand: 5
Shoulder:4
Lacerations requiring medical care:3
Hip: 1
Cervical:1
Source(translated)
Note: whole hooks were not allowed in these leagues.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu injury statistics in training
BJJ athletes and hobbyists are generally more likely to spar in the dojo than they are to do so in competitions.
So it is worth investigating the injury rate.
We look at injuries sustained in training or injuries sustained over an extended period of time also called overuse injuries.
Many of these studies are based on questionnaires given to martial artists.
Er zijn drie interessante onderzoeken die zijn onderzocht over het behandelen van blessures bij BJJ tijdens de training.
Alle drie hadden verschillende uitkomsten.
This 2019 study shows that the top three injury areas were the knees, shoulders and rib cage.
From this 2018 study found that shoulder and knee injuries were the most common injuries among 180 beginner and advanced BJJ athletes.
From this 2017 study found that the three most common injuries were hands, feet, toes, arm and elbow. The outcome of this study is that the most common injuries are skin infections, knee, foot and toe.
2017 study Prevalence of injuries during Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training by McDonald et al. can be viewed below:
General training injuries
Foto is gemaakt met iPhone.
De tabel via mijn Pages Macbook kon niet gekopieerd worden!
Source (translated)
De 2019 studie hierboven door Moriarty et al. ontdekte dat 59,2% van de ondervraagde atleten destijds in zes maanden ten minste één blessure hadden opgelopen.
Het bleek ook dat degenen die zwaarder waren met meer ervaring minder blessures hadden.(Eindelijk is zwaar zijn een voordeel)
Degene die meer lessen volgde of een instructeur was had een verhoogd risico op blessures.
De grote vraag wat veroorzaakt nou meer blessures: training of competitie?
De 2018 studie hierboven keek naar blessures bij beginnende en gevorderde atleten. Het bleek dat blessures bij training iets hoger waren dan bij wedstrijden voor beginners.
Gevorderde atleten het tegenovergestelde:
Niveau Training Competitie
Beginner atleten (blessure %). 54.5% 45.5%
Gevorderde atleten (blessure %) 33.9% 66.1%
Which techniques cause the most injuries in BJJ?
According to this study by Scoggin et al.
based on more than 2,500 matches in Hawaii, most injuries are caused by the arm clamp, followed by takedowns.
De armklem veroorzaakte 10 van de 14 keer in het onderzoek elleboogblessures vanwege de krachtige hyperextensie.
Uit de studie bleek dat elleboogblessures door armklemmen over het algemeen werden veroorzaakt wanneer de deelnemer weerstand bood door niet snel genoeg af te tikken. (niet slim)
Arm clamps caused the most damage in the elbows of match fighters. Throws and takedowns come in second place for most injuries.
BJJ injuries compared to other martial arts: which martial art has the most?
According to this 2014 study of statewide BJJ competitions in Hawaii 2005 to 2011, BJJ has fewer injuries compared to Judo, MMA, Taekwondo and Wrestling.
The study compared injuries per 1,000 athletes in competitions to see which combat sport has the highest injury rate.
The study found that BJJ had the lowest injury rate per 1,000 athletes:
Vecht sport Blessure percentage per 1000 atleten
Braziliaans jiu jitsu (BJJ). 9.2
Worstelen 9.0 – 30.7
Taekwondo 20.5 – 139.5
Judo 25.3 – 130.6
Mixed martial arts (MMA) 236 – 286
Source(translated)
Is BJJ tough on your knees?
Knee injuries are more common in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
I myself suffered a knee injury in the early stages of my BJJ training.
I was out of action for a few weeks but was able to train through it just fine with certain restrictions.
Technique training and drill is usually a good option if you are injured, consult with your teacher!
According to this study on 2014 Hawaiian BJJ competitions, most injuries in competition were sustained to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) the same type of sprain. The MCL runs along the inside of the knee and the LCL runs along the outside of the knee.
Een foto met de LCL en MCL van de knie.
Deze knie blessures werden veroorzaakt door verschillende bewegingen zoals takedowns en sweeps om er maar een paar te noemen.
Tips for minimizing injuries in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Every sport has injuries; so does Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Here are a few tips to prevent them:
Tap off on time. in one of the studies, it was mentioned that the injury caused by the arm clip came from NOT tapping off on time.
Know the dangerous positions. In my BJJ school we have a policy where very hooks are not allowed in the white belters you give someone time to tap out.
If you injure the person it is YOUR responsibility. Learn the mechanics and risks of heel hooks. Personally I think the Kimura is more dangerous than a heel hook for white belters.Wees je bewust van veelvoorkomende blessures en huidinfecties.
Het kennen van de meest voorkomende huidinfecties kan nuttig zijn om deze in de toekomst te voorkomen. Dit zou de verspreiding moeten verminderen.Choose the right training partners.
This is a statement you hear in BJJ schools around the world.
I am not a fan of this.
The atmosphere in your school is determined by the teacher.
ANYONE should have control over their body and accountability for their partner as described in point two.Avoid overtraining. Thisstudy on BJJ athletes showed that overtraining is the biggest cause of injury (66%) in beginners.