Anxiety before BJJ class? Anyone else

I’ve been training pretty consistently but I often, still battle major anxiety before class…for example I think, will I gas out, puke during warmups? what if I duck out of a roll to avoid getting tapped?, basically things that can go wrong, etc. Thoughts that sometimes build up so bad before class that I skip going all together. Any advice?? anyone else experience this type of anxiety too?

I think that's more widespread than you might imagine.  

Kudos to you for facing this and continuing to do it.  Don't beat yourself up too badly when you skip out, but I think you'll find over time it will become more manageable.  

You might find it worthwhile to develop some internal self-coaching.  "I'm doing the warmup and it's hard, but that's OK. I'll do the best I can."  

If I can speak on behalf of your instructor and the senior students, they don't harbor any expectations of perfection or anything like that.  They are here to support you and they are proud of you. 

I've had students puke, experience panic attacks, cry, leave before the session starts, and a bajillion other unexpected things.  (And don't forget, we were all at the beginning once ourselves! I've done most of the things on that list too!) I omitted "gas out" because literally every single BJJ pracitioners has done that a thousand times. Not once have I ever seen any of those things happen and thought less of my student. In many cases, I was MORE impressed because I saw them encounter adversity, struggle, and persist!  

BJJ is physically, mentally, and emotionally hard. What matters each day is not whether your performance meets a certain standard, but that you showed up and put in the work. Good job working through your anxiety to do this!  

2 Likes
twinkletoesCT - 

I think that's more widespread than you might imagine.  

Kudos to you for facing this and continuing to do it.  Don't beat yourself up too badly when you skip out, but I think you'll find over time it will become more manageable.  

You might find it worthwhile to develop some internal self-coaching.  "I'm doing the warmup and it's hard, but that's OK. I'll do the best I can."  

If I can speak on behalf of your instructor and the senior students, they don't harbor any expectations of perfection or anything like that.  They are here to support you and they are proud of you. 

I've had students puke, experience panic attacks, cry, leave before the session starts, and a bajillion other unexpected things.  (And don't forget, we were all at the beginning once ourselves! I've done most of the things on that list too!) I omitted "gas out" because literally every single BJJ pracitioners has done that a thousand times. Not once have I ever seen any of those things happen and thought less of my student. In many cases, I was MORE impressed because I saw them encounter adversity, struggle, and persist!  

BJJ is physically, mentally, and emotionally hard. What matters each day is not whether your performance meets a certain standard, but that you showed up and put in the work. Good job working through your anxiety to do this!  

Thanks for the thoughtful reply and advice…I really appreciate it!

Yes I used to until I heard Randy Couture say that he turns his nervousness into excitement because they're very close.

And now that's what I do.  It was just a matter of perspective.

1 Like

I'm a paranoid person in general so I have anxiety and fears regarding many things including bjj. I'll tell myself things like "this is the feeling of me preparing to better myself, the feeling of knowing that I'm truly alive, that I'm not dead" and I go out and have a good session or whatever it is that I'm doing. I've been surfing since I was about 7yo and I still get knots in my stomach paddling out on a small day, usually before I even leave the house. 

Just take some deep breaths and say a quick prayer such as "universe, allow me to do my best" and you'll be fine

1 Like

Really common and I believe a HUGE factor in why so many people quit.

There’s usually no stress in most TMA classes. You just do the stuff & go home. I got a BB in traditional JJ without a moment’s stress in 5 years of training. But in BJJ you are going to roll at the end of class and all kinds of people have all kinds of issues --big & small-- surrounding that.

1 Like

I used to get anxiety before judo because every day it could be the day you get tossed on your head and get paralyzed for life.  But I figured I wanted to learn it, and had to take the risk to do so, so I went and did my best.

But anxiety before BJJ?  Good lord man, just pull guard if you don't want to get thrown and tap out if you're in trouble.  If your ego can't handle that, go do something else. 

1 Like

People get stressed before tournaments and too because they are afraid of losing, but there is no pressure to win.  It’s not like a fight to save your life or family. Just have fun.

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate it…if anyone has anymore please post.

You are far from alone in this. Just try to keep training consistently and each week. It will get better over time if you keep on showing up as you adjust to the training. If you feel a need to take a break during then do so. 80% is just showing up. Once you’re in then you just do whatever the instructor tells you to do. 

bfhou - I’ve been training pretty consistently but I often, still battle major anxiety before class...for example I think, will I gas out, puke during warmups? what if I duck out of a roll to avoid getting tapped?, basically things that can go wrong, etc. Thoughts that sometimes build up so bad before class that I skip going all together. Any advice?? anyone else experience this type of anxiety too?

More than ten years later I still get that way rolling at an open mat or new school. 

1 Like

Here’s my experience - when I started, I would get an overload of thoughts and would convince myself that I should probably “rest or I should listen to my body” as soon as I parked. These are true notions, but when you’re actually injured. I would rationalise excuses because I was sore.

This happened frequently. I only actually drove away once. That feeling actually never went away necessarily. Sometimes I would pull up as an X belt and if I know X or Y was there, I knew I was in for a war. The ego+fear of the unknown is a crazy thing. Those times I never drove away, though. Oh, and the rolls were almost never as “worst case” as I had in my head.

Now a black belt, I have none of these fears - I get to skip warmups, skip technique+rolling, and just point at lower belts that they’re doing the move wrong (joke)

I never knew this was a thing.  

Of course, "butterflies" before a tournament is norma; BUT before c lass Seems weird.

If your club has rules, and people follow them, I shouldn’t be too stressful for you.  I trained with some crazy people in some crazy clubs so that was stressful because the chance of injury was there.  If that’s the case, talk to your coach and say you don’t want to roll with whoever because they are a spaz.  That is a favour to everyone. I am not a fan of open mats because there is no concensus on what is allowed and apporpriate.  And there are no refs to keep people in check.  At least tournaments have rules and refs, and clubs have a team vibe etc. to keep you safe.

bfhou - I’ve been training pretty consistently but I often, still battle major anxiety before class...for example I think, will I gas out, puke during warmups? what if I duck out of a roll to avoid getting tapped?, basically things that can go wrong, etc. Thoughts that sometimes build up so bad before class that I skip going all together. Any advice?? anyone else experience this type of anxiety too?

I used to get this when I was a white belt. I'd sit in my car in the parking lot and think about driving away because I felt so uncomfortable.  

Something to keep in mind is that the gym is a judgment free zone and everyone is there to make each other better. Hopefully you get more comfortable as you train more. If you're in New England you're more than welcome to come train at our place. 

wombat - 

If your club has rules, and people follow them, I shouldn’t be too stressful for you.  I trained with some crazy people in some crazy clubs so that was stressful because the chance of injury was there.  If that’s the case, talk to your coach and say you don’t want to roll with whoever because they are a spaz.  That is a favour to everyone. I am not a fan of open mats because there is no concensus on what is allowed and apporpriate.  And there are no refs to keep people in check.  At least tournaments have rules and refs, and clubs have a team vibe etc. to keep you safe.

This^

And if your Coach has any idea about the personalities of each of his students he will recognize those students who roll like its the mundials and those who train to stay in shape.

He or she should try and keep those types together for the first few rounds or until they tire themselves out a bit.

Most of us cant afford to get hurt and that can add to your anxiety levels as well.

I would recommend being straight up with your partners by letting them know that you do not want to get injured too.

This will take some of the edge off of the that competitive vibe and allow you to feel more comfortable with each class.

I only ever felt like that if I felt like I didn't truly put out the night before. It was like I was embarrassed to walk back in there or something. Once that stuff starts it runs rampant.... you don't belong with guys at this level, you are just wasting your time, you could use a night off, they are all getting better and your just getting older.... Crap like that. It would be significantly worse if I was sleep deprived.

Didn't happen very often and I hadn't really thought about it until this thread. I think it's probably pretty normal and I think that we forget that it's supposed to be fun not work. We put too much pressure on tangible progression and miss out on why we are really there. That reason is different for everyone but if you are just chasing belts and keeping track of wins and losses in the gym it tends to suck the fun right out of it.

Feels like it’s the fear of the unknown man, I use to get it before any sport I played even basketball where there is no contact really, and I noticed it went away when I stop playing sports but when I would go to the skate park it take me like 45 min to get warmed and willing to do shit cause of the anxiety 

Just try and have fun with it. Don't take it so seriously. 

Did I accidentally wander into the GirlGround?

1 Like