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This is one of the first really important lessons you learn in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Everyone walks in, day one, and is dumping adrenaline everywhere they look.

• maxioatic 2y ago
  Same thing with Olympic weightlifting. This is a very common phrase in my gym. Snatching has got to be the most humbling barbell movement ever. Dudes who can easily bench over 100 kg (220 lbs) would never get to close snatching that. (Myself included, but hopefully one day)
  • borski 2y ago
    I know nothing about Olympic weightlifting! What makes snatching so unique and humbling? Aside: you don’t have to, but a one sentence definition of it would be awesome too - my lifting has been limited to the classic stuff, no fancy Olympic “bend and snap” stuff ;)
    • voisin 2y ago
      You pull the barbell up from the ground (like a deadlift) while dropping into a squat, and then get it up over your head while standing up. It is much more explosive than either the deadlift or squat separately.
      • borski 2y ago
        Just watched a video[0] and yeah, why? I’ve dislocated my shoulder far too many times to have any interest whatsoever in this lmao But - it being explosive makes perfect sense, but what does it work that deadlift or squats alone don’t? Or is the point the explosiveness? [0] https://youtu.be/UBc5N_-xdqo https://youtu.be/UBc5N_-xdqo
        • msy 2y ago
          The point is to use the explosive power of your legs to optimally throw & catch a very heavy thing over your head. It’s not designed specifically to work any particular muscle but test your overall capability. That said it’s much, much harder on core & shoulder stability in particular than either deadlifts or back squat. Or front squat for that matter.
        • alexchantavy 2y ago
          Oly lifts are humbling in that being able to squat or press a lot of weight doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to snatch a lot of weight because there’s so much technique training required. The explosiveness and the sense of timing is very hard to learn.
          • borski 2y ago
            Got it. Fascinating!
        • timacles 2y ago
          The point is to get a weight from the ground to above your head. There are no other physically possible ways to accomplish that except olympic lifts
• evantbyrne 2y ago
  Not that I disagree with your point, but... throwing your fight against the much smaller woman at the dojo is contractual. Weight classes exist for a reason.
  • ceejayoz 2y ago
    Weight classes matter between two trained opponents. Quite a bit less when one’s a newbie and the other an expert.
    • 10u152 2y ago
      Yes, but the description above has to be hyperbole. A 6.2 built athlete vs small woman...
      • wild_egg 2y ago
        Have you tried it? It may be one of those "you have to see it to believe it" things but I can assure you that was not hyperbole
        • paulryanrogers 2y ago
          Training exercise is not the same as life-or-death conflict. It may also be the bigger person is holding back because they don't want a manslaughter charge.
      • dallasmed 2y ago
        [dead]
      • borski 2y ago
        I've seen it more than once, and the most recent time was my buddy who showed up specifically trying to prove a point. He was untrained. She was very trained. He didn't succeed at making his point. He signed up for the gym a month later.
      • ceejayoz 2y ago
• beau_g 2y ago
  Jiu Jitsu practitioners have incredible conditioning from repeating that exact same story of {guy who thought he was tough} being defeated by {unlikely protagonist} in any scenario they can shoehorn it into, with extreme enthusiasm
  • borski 2y ago
    Fair point, but it's because when you've seen it firsthand it almost looks fake, except that you know exactly why it happens. It's a lesson that many of us learn and then take into other aspects of life, because it's really humbling.
  • maximus-decimus 2y ago
    It was Judo and I was a scrawny teenager, but a black belt used to hold me to the floor by doing head stands on me so... you hear those stories a lot because they're true. Hell, it's even in Asterix and Obelix https://www.facebook.com/judoclubsaintaubindaubigne/videos/ast%C3%A9rix-et-ob%C3%A9lix-au-judohttpswwwyoutubecomwatchve2csmtko8q0/1133075843696510/ https://www.facebook.com/judoclubsaintaubindaubigne/videos/a...
  • 0cf8612b2e1e 2y ago
    Pretty sure every martial art has a version of this tale. Either the old wizened master or a petite practitioner taking down the muscle bound action hero.
    • rasz 2y ago
      and most of it has a name - Bullshido.
  • abhiyerra 2y ago
    As that cocky beginner who went in to Jiujitsu and ran out of breath after 30 seconds in a 6 minute roll and had to tap out 15 times in the next 5 and a half minutes against a smaller opponent, it is repeated because it is true. A huge part of beginner training is basically slow down and getting yourself into positions where you can perform the moves.
• risenshinetech 2y ago
  They're not "practicing murder". They're not "practicing killing you". Stop with this hyperbolic nonsense. The military practices murder, not you and your mates in your local BJJ class. Do you say these things to make yourself feel cooler/tougher when you inevitably tell someone you practice BJJ? And I'm sure they didn't ask, you just worked it into the conversation (much like this post) because you can't wait to tell everyone you practice murder.
  • borski 2y ago
    No, not even a little bit; perhaps you might consider lightening up a little. The point I was trying to make is that when you're on the mats against an actively resisting opponent who is, yes, attempting to break your joints (which is what happens if you don't tap) or choke you out (which is what happens if you don't tap), you don't have a choice but to focus on only the thing in front of you. Your brain and body simply won't let you focus on anything else. "Practicing murder" or "practicing killing you" is simply a cute way (and obviously exaggerated for effect, since nobody's literal goal there is killing anyone) of describing that last paragraph without having to use all of the words in that last paragraph. I never said I was Deadpool; relax. It's a self-defense focused martial art which, in real life, you would use to prevent someone from causing you harm. So no, I really don't think your comment or this one were necessary. It's pretty cynical to go from 'exaggerating for effect,' which is the obviously charitable reading, to 'mak[ing] yourself feel cooler/tougher,' which is the cynical reading. I haven't been on the mats in over four years, because I had surgery and haven't gone back yet; I miss it. I definitely don't work it into "every conversation," because I am not the one-dimensional NPC your brain decided I was when it read my comment. :)
  • localfirst 2y ago
    [dead]
    • dang 2y ago
      We've banned this account for posting way too many flamewar comments. Not cool. Please don't create accounts to break HN's rules with. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
• adamtaylor_13 2y ago
  I’ve been training jiu jitsu for over 6 years now. The myth of the 130 lb woman doing anything to the <insert any weight above 180 lbs> is overused and not true; unless the man is being a gentleman. I routinely get beaten by small women because I’m not a spazoid and I want my training partners to enjoy training with me. But if my life was on the line, there’s no way they could tap me. Not even a chance.
  • meroes 2y ago
    I learned this lesson explicitly Karate when I was younger. I was the spazoid. Had to be told, no, we don’t go even 75% capacity in most exercises, let your opponent carry out the routine when it’s their turn.
  • w3gS34k354K7978 2y ago
    I can tell you it’s a real thing because it happened to me. 6’3” and at that time (19 or 20) was probably right around that 180lbs - no one would have described me as muscular back then though, just skinny more like it. Anyways, first day of training, the first thing the instructor did was assume I needed humble pie. Told me he wanted to see my baseline, said get in the cage, and called over the only female in the class. She was ~5’6” ~140lbs from memory. Not chubby, just stalky and solid. Rest of the class came over to watch with cheeky smiles too. Later found out it was kind of her thing to break in the new guys. She had me in a rear naked tapping out in under 30s. I didn’t know what it signified at the time, but she was a brown belt and regularly took home hardware from regional amateur tournaments. I had ~6 mo striking experience (Muay Thai), but had never rolled, never wrestled in high school. Best and only entry on my grappling resume was growing up with a brother. So it does happen, as I can attest, but I do understand your skepticism if you haven’t seen it, especially because of additional hidden context like this: - I had never directly encountered, and was extremely uncomfortable with, the idea of physically overpowering a female. It was the most unnatural thing, and I was psychologically paralyzed by this until it was way too late. - She had zero chill. Probably read my obvious body language, and knew her play was to blitz. - I didn’t know how rolling was supposed work with any opponent, let alone a female. I didn’t know rolling etiquette, conventions, nothing at all. Not that it would have mattered because she had no intention of offering me the usual respects anyways. If she had attacked me on the street with murder in her eyes, and I reacted with full force, would she still have gotten the best of me? I’d like to tell myself I would’ve bested her in a life or death scenario, but truth is I’m deeply uncertain of the outcome in that hypothetical.
• deleted 2y ago
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• abhijat 2y ago
  Being relaxed is important in boxing too, if you don't stay loose and relaxed (other than snapping explosively when throwing a punch), it is easy to get fatigued quickly and also harder to slip or roll.
  • borski 2y ago
    Yeah - I imagine that’s true for a ton of sports, but especially for any combat sport. I mean, even in shooting pistol (I shot sport pistol in college), breathing is the main thing you can control, and the main thing that will screw you.
    • bravetraveler 2y ago
      It's true for standing still. Do it long enough and loose/easy is obviously the way. There's no grand insights here, this thread is insane.
      • abhijat 2y ago
        The point is that staying relaxed in boxing during sparring or working the heavy bag feels counter-intuitive in the beginning. It seems like tensing up the core and arms would help punch harder, but you quickly learn that conserving stamina is more important than hitting as hard as you can (especially when starting) because otherwise you run out of gas pretty quickly.
• rasz 2y ago
  >130lb woman who just wipes the floor with him in the dojo. IRL on the street adrenaline matters and fights end in first 5 seconds. You get stabbed or pushed/thrown/kicked in the face before you realize there was a fight about to happen. What good is grappling with an opponent when his friend will just curb stomp you the second you both go to the ground?
  • borski 2y ago
    This is the most common thing everyone loves to say whenever anyone says they study any martial art, and they use it as an excuse to study no martial arts, because "what's the point" I never suggested that BJJ was going to be the only thing you should learn or know if you wanted to defend yourself in a fight. Cross training with some striking (muay thai, boxing, something) and/or weapons training? Sounds great, go for it. To be clear: I have been in my fair share of fights, IRL. I've been stabbed twice. I grew up in Brooklyn and spent a lot of time in, well, less reputable bars and clubs. Most fights do not end in the first five seconds, and you should GTFO if you can, at all. Not fighting is the best way to win. If your opponent has friends with them, GTFO at any cost; that goes without saying. Most fights go to the ground, relatively quickly. When they do, taking their back and getting your hooks in is far better than mounting them, since you can absolutely control them from that position while someone else calls 911 and/or finds help to break up the fight you definitely didn't start, because starting fights is the fastest way to lose them. As for "adrenaline matters" - this is explicitly why you train. It absolutely matters. But someone untrained will just spaz. Maybe they get lucky, maybe they don't; but they usually don't. Someone trained may not remember every single thing they know; but so much of it becomes instinctual that even with the adrenaline dump they are definitely not on their best game, but are still far more capable than the untrained individual. Furthermore, competing helps a lot with desensitizing yourself to the adrenaline dumps. Also, "before you realize there was a fight about to happen" is not a thing. I have never been 'caught off guard,' because that is not how fights start. Yes, sometimes an idiot will throw a punch at a random person on the street; but that is absolutely not how most fights start. Well before a fight starts, you have already tried defusing the situation and de-escalating, because engaging is a last resort. But sure, maybe their "friend will just curb stomp you" so you may as well just never try.
  • 2y ago