Training BJJ & MMA with one arm

Well, not really training with the injured arm but more about training around it. Rest is important when recovering from an injury but once that period has passed and you’re in the rehab stages it’s quite important to do your exercises if you want to get the full use of your limbs back.

It can be pretty hard to keep motivated to do your rehab exercises but for me I know how important it is in the fight game to have the full use of your arms. You never realise how much you need your limbs until you’ve injured them and they are put out of action for a while. Keeping motivated wasn’t too hard for me. All I did was print out a picture of the X-ray of my dislocated elbow and kept it on my desk at work. This acted as a very good reminder of how serious the injury looked, how lucky I was nothing was broken and… to do my damn exercises!

There's a good reminder to do my exercises

X-ray after it was put back in place. Looking brand new and my bicep looks huge haha!

Get the all clear from the physio
First things first. Before commencing any training I got the all clear from the physio who set my limitations and gave me a range of rehab exercises to build back strength and the full range of motion. I also asked her all the usual questions on expected recovery time and other martial arts related exercises and drills that I could do.

This is the general guideline I was given and the exercises I was allowed to do:

• Light weights (>1.5kg) – bicep curls and triceps extension
• Stretching to get full range of motion back in the joint – arm straight holding a 500g weight and arm bent pushing back trying to touch my shoulder (pain threshold should not exceed 4-5 out of 10)
• Cardio (just nothing that puts strain on the arm) – jogging, cycling, sprints etc.
• Legs – everything allowed
• Abs; and
• Neck OR any other body part I can think of exercises for besides the injured one

Cardio
Running or cycling using a stationary bike, or even better: Aerodyne cycle.

Interval training. Can’t praise it enough (and can’t curse enough while doing it). The aerodyne is my favourite piece of cardio equipment and one I sometimes dread doing but it’s the shiznit. You can really feel the burn in your legs and lungs.

Try doing 3x 3.5min rounds of 20 sec sprints and 10 sec “rest” (cycling at a slow pace).

Legs
There’s a wide variety of leg exercises to choose from but my main ones were Hindu squats, lunges or alternating lunges and calf raises. Sometimes I would just use my bodyweight but most times I liked wearing a weighted vest for extra resistance, which is excellent to use because I don’t have to hold weights and put stress on the arms.

I also mix it up by including explosive things like box jumps, or step ups these can be done for a number of sets and reps or as part of a small circuit.

Abs
All your normal ab work: sits ups, crunches, V sit-ups, bicycles etc. and also varying it by using a swiss ball.

Neck
50 chin to chest, 25 ‘No’, 25 ear to shoulder and 10 circles in each direction

Footwork
Probably the most overlooked factor in fighting and at least in striking. You can’t hit somebody if you’re standing far away from them (unless you’re Jon Jones). You have to use your feet to get you in to where you want to land your punches or kicks. The same can be said for your defense: using your footwork to keep you out of your opponents range.

I worked a lot of just moving around. Moving aggressively for attacking and on the back foot defensively. I practiced cutting angles moving forward and back, moving in and out against a bag while hitting combos, slipping under a rope for head movement and pretty much anything I could think of under the sun.

Bag work
My left strong arm was the one injured so when I hit the bags I’ve only been working combos with my front hand and legs. Obviously boxing combos would be VERY limited haha so supplement them with footwork and head movement, hitting and moving like you would in a real fight. These are some of the combos I’ve been working to get up a sweat.

Boxing combos
All your single punches: Jabs, hooks, uppercuts, body shots
Doubling up: Double jabs, hooks etc. or double jabs into your other punches
Jab – hook/uppercut – body shot
Body shot – hook/uppercut – jab out
Jab – slip – hook/body shot
Jab – fake cross – hook/body shot/uppercut

After combos I’ll always move my head like I was evading punches or angle off.

Muay Thai combos
Push kicks
Knees
Elbows of the front (slicing, cross, upperwards, downwards, spinning)
Low, mid & high roundhouses
Jab – roundhouse/leg kick
Hook – roundhouse/leg kick
Jab – fake cross – roundhouse/leg kick
Jab – body shot – mid/high roundhouse

Progress

I did those exercises for about 2-3 weeks and upon my next visit to the physio she recommended I keep on with the current exercises but I could add in wall push ups and normal push ups but starting on the knees so there’s not too much weight on the arm. Same limits applied when stretching and exercising, not to exceed a pain threshold over 5 out of 10. I never thought I’d be so glad to get back into push ups and my chest and shoulders had that nice aching feeling the next day.

I’ve also just started getting back into some light boxing/Muay Thai sparring and flow rolling with technical people and those around my own weight. At the moment it’s more a feeling out process of my arms abilities so far, and I definitely don’t want to push the limits and risk re-injury. I always tell my partners that we’ll just go light and remind them of my bad arm even though most of them know already. I’m real cautious of my bad arm, when punching I don’t put any power into the punches and I tend to use my lead hand a lot more. When flow rolling I keep it in closeand only use it when necessary.

I hope this won’t affect my game much in the long run but I know once my arm gets stronger and the full range of motion is back, it will be back to business as usual. I’ll definitely be fighting again next year it’s just a matter of when.

Also check out Matt Klein’s post on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Drills with One Arm by clicking the link or copy/pasting the URL below.

http://karate-kids.com.au/brazilian-jiu-jitsu-drills-with-one-arm/