Jiu Jitsu Destroyed My Leg For Life

An illegal BJJ move was done on me which injured me with consequences for life. This is what happened...

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Welcome to the Martial Arts Journey YouTube channel!

My name is Rokas. I'm a Lithuanian guy who trained Aikido for 14 years, 7 of them running a professional Aikido Dojo until eventually I realized that Aikido does not live up to what it promises.

Lead by this realization I decided to make a daring step to close my Aikido Dojo and move to Portland, Oregon for six months to start training MMA at the famous Straight Blast Gym Headquarters under head coach Matt Thornton.

After six months intensive training I had my first amateur MMA fight after which I moved back to Lithuania. During all of this time I am documenting my experience through my YouTube channel called "Martial Arts Journey".

Now I am slowly setting up plans to continue training MMA under quality guidance and getting ready for my next MMA fight as I further document and share my journey and discoveries.

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Check the video "Aikido vs MMA" which started this whole Martial Arts Journey:

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#BJJ

[MartialArtsJourney]

Quick update: it's called a scissor takedown, not a standing scissor sweep. My bad. Also, it's doesn't seem to be 'illegal' everywhere, but it seems to be banned in many gyms and some competitions.

Update #2: I really liked this comment explaining their protocol for injury in the gym.

"I know out here, at any of the classes of any style, if an injury like that happened, we:
1. Stop everything and get the injured help, up to and including an ambulance call.
2. Find out how the injury happened.
3. Use the moment as a teaching moment.
4. Potentially punish the one who injured his partner if it was a situation where they knew better.

That should be the base-line for injury protocol."

Otherwise the show is coming out on YouTube September 8!

[-whackd]

Join combat sports so that you never get hurt in a street fight.

Result: Never have a street fight and get injured repeatedly in training.

[ArtemisIsHereU]

God I hate people sparring too hard.
You spar with 10 people but the one guy using too much force can ruin the whole mood

[rudimerm]

Sad to see you in a gym like this. 17-18 years ago, I used to train at Reno Gracie in NYC Herald Square area. I tore my MCL and the instructor, Igor Gracie, came to my attention right away. An assistant instructor (purple belt by the name of Gino) gave me muscle relaxers. Later in the evening, Igor personally called me to see if I was okay. Those were good people.

[jsbcody]

The fact that your friend was injured too in the same session and NO ONE helped you but your injured friend says a lot about that school. Unfortunately, this is quite common at BJJ schools. The couple schools I tried, both had more advanced students coming to the basic/beginning classes so they can get an ego boost from dominating beginners. I was done and gone. Doing Aikido and taking a bi-weekly private lessons in Japanese Jui Jutsu.

[mamikgibar]

No one checking on a screaming student—who was on the receiving end of a forbidden technique—is a huge red flag. Awful. So sorry you had to deal with this.

[Cigarbawz]

Bro that’s *SHITTY* behaviour from all your classmates and everybody at open mat. If you were really screaming and rolling around *and* still nobody came.. find another club. That’s made my blood boil.

Hope you have a speedy recovery man and get back to whatever is next 🙏

[jaysmith]

Honestly this kind of thing keeps me away from BJJ. As a middle age father/husband, I don’t want to risk crossing paths with some overly competitive psychopath and ending up with some lifelong injury that prevents me from taking care of my responsibilities to my dependents.

I’m sure most gyms are not like this and there is probably a great sense of community, etc… but I can just as easily stay in shape by exercising in a gym or riding a bicycle. Sure there are risks with any activity, but at least I can mitigate them by not doing something stupid, I’m in control and not in the hands of some asshole who may be having a bad day looking to take it out on a stranger

[darrenstettner]

I tell every partner I roll with that I only roll super light and if they want a competitive roll they should choose a different partner. I was starting to feel like that routine was being a bit overboard with safety. Your story just affirmed my routine. I’m gonna continue emphasizing that I’m a wussy before each new partner I roll with.

[wattlebough]

“Everybody kept rolling… including the instructors.” INEXCUSABLE!! Disgusting!! Never train there again, even if you fully recover.

[theseeker]

Holy shit, that dude should be sued.

Scissor takedowns are forbidden for a reason, doing it against an (unknowing) opponent in sparring is a scummy thing to do

[rickymcdaniel]

I'm an old, and I really mean old Kyokushinkai. I haven't been to a dojo in a few decades, though I still practice on my own a bit. for the past 25 years my passion has been whitewater kayaking. There are some danger and risks involved. You want to make sure that the people that you are boating with have had swiftwater rescue training and more importantly, will actually act when needed. I've been on class IV rivers on a few occasions when someone was in trouble and far too many people were just sitting there watching. My core group of paddle buddies includes people who know what to do and will act when needed. Choosing a crew to paddle with may be a bit easier than knowing how a random person who shows up at a dojo will act during an emergency. My point is, it seems that only a small percentage of people are going to help. Wishing you a speedy recovery Rokas, I have very much enjoyed watching your Martial Arts Journey!

[ashlandwest]

I'm sorry to hear about your injury. That's terrible and I hope you have a swift recovery.
You have been an inspiration to me and so many others since the start of your channel. That said, please make whatever choices are best for you and your own life considering continuing your training. You have given so much to the martial arts community and we appreciate every moment, but you don't owe us anything. Thank you so much for what you do and everything you have done. I wish you a speedy and successful recovery.

[Handles_AreStupid]

You know you have a problem when you're waking up in the middle of a surgery to say "like and subscribe"...

[rodrigozombie]

The fact that nobody stopped tells me that's a dangerous gym, buddy. I'm really sorry this happened to you. This guy that hurt you is a horrible person, too. 😢

[TurtleLover]

Bro, you should call out that gym name as a warning to anyone who's thinking about going there. This is awful.

I decided to try BJJ a couple years ago and went to a gym where they were teaching way too advanced moves on the first day and paired me with a guy who seemed to enjoy beating up newbies. Also, the coach bragged that he could teach us 46 ways to kill someone. I remembered what I learned from watching Karate Kid and decided I didn't want to learn from a disciple of Cobra Kai.

[tookurjaerbs]

37-year-old blue belt here.

I partially tore the ACL and meniscus in my left knee while rolling back in 2019. It was a freak accident and, honestly, more my fault than that of my training partner IMO. He had my leg in lockdown and for some stupid reason, I contorted my body to try and get out of it. I immediately heard a loud POP and had to stop the roll. I sat down at the side of the mats and one of the black belts in class came to check on me. I was telling him, "I think I'm fine, it's probably nothing", but when I stood up it felt like my left leg was Jell-O and I had next to no stability.

I ended up going through a looong rehabilitation process because the pandemic kicked off not too long after this incident, and it wasn't easy to see a specialist during that time. Extremely long wait times.

I followed my orthopedic doctor's advice and opted for arthroscopic surgery to "clean things up" inside my knee as opposed to getting full ACL replacement surgery. My doctor told me I have about 10-20% of the ACL still attached. Luckily, I have been able to rehab and strengthen the leg to the point where it doesn't give me any problems, I even went back to training BJJ after taking a few years off.
However, my knee feels like it will never be the same and I have to be mindful not to move in certain ways that could tear the remaining ligament. My passion and interest in BJJ has waned in the intervening years and I haven't been signed up at a dojo for the past 4 months, though I have gone to a handful of open mat sessions.

I love martial arts and I don't think I will give up on training altogether, but I definitely have mixed feelings towards BJJ at this point. BJJ has allowed me to meet some amazing people (and some weirdos lol), forge friendships, increase my confidence, and feel part of a special community. On the other hand, I often question if I have a future in the sport. I have trained on and off for 10 years-ish and not once in that time have I had to use BJJ to defend myself from being attacked in a street fight or protect a loved one, or any crazy shit like that. Yes, training and rolling with your buddies is fun, but do most of us need to train martial arts for self-defense unless you're a cop, first-responder, military, etc.? I think some dojos are giving their students a false sense of "self-defense skills". Imagine butt-scooting against someone attacking you with punches and kicks.

Overall, I think that my BJJ experience has been positive and well worth it, up to this point. If I somehow shredded the ACL in my other knee, would I still be saying the same thing? I don't know...

Would love to hear other people's stories. Thanks

[danielmccullough]

Rokas, as a sports medicine professional and bioengineer, I want to share some hope and encouragement. While your injury might seem daunting, remember that the severity is often emphasized to ensure proper care, not to predict lifelong consequences. With dedicated physical therapy and a focus on recovery, you'll adapt and eventually barely notice it most days.

I've faced life-changing injuries to both legs and developed post-traumatic OA before 20, yet I still pursue my passions for martial arts and maintain athletic ability, albeit with some added pain and longer warm-ups. Managing stress, diet, sleep, and exercise can significantly reduce pain, and committed rehabilitation lowers the risk of re-injury or lifelong impairment.

There's also exciting progress in biomechanical implants for athletes, like the MISHA knee system, which has shown great promise in reducing osteoarthritis effects and chronic pain. Advances like these give hope that lifelong impairments will soon be a thing of the past.

Stay focused on your recovery and the activities you love. From one martial artist to another, you've got this!

[luchador]

The commitment to the channel to wake up mid surgery and plug it to nurses is commendable.

[fractalpond]

So sorry to hear about your injury. After having so much fun in BJJ for about ~5 years, I came to the point where I "had" to stop. After a shoulder, bicep, and two knee surgeries.... I had to ask myself what would it take for me to stop... losing a limb?!?! I loved the sport so much but you really are putting your life into the hands of another person and the gyms I went to didn't really help that person respect that as much as they should have... There's still a whole world out there for you to enjoy like you did Martial Arts. Hope you get well soon!