Jared Weiner with his daughter, Ellie. Photo: Personal archive

Jared Weiner, head instructor of GMA BJJ United in Philadelphia, PA, has become a spokesperson for attending to injuries in Jiu-Jitsu. Through his own personal story, he has advocated for those who get injured to not ignore them like he did. At the 2014 IBJJF NY Summer Open, a head injury led to a concussion that he tried to pass off as the flu. The injury, compounded with past concussions kept him off the mat until now. You can read about the initial story here.

GRACIEMAG: How long has it been since the first concussion?

JARED WEINER: My first documented one I can recall was in 1998, and that was also Jiu-Jitsu related. Who knows how many I’ve had through out years, but the ones that started this recent cycle happened back in July 2014.

Describe to me your training since getting onto the mat and how strict you’ve been to your doctor’s orders. What setbacks have you encountered?

I’ve followed my team of doctors orders really closely. I’ve been able to get back on the mats and teach again and roll with guys I really trust. The problem has been once the sweat starts to pour I start going full force and it’s only a matter of time before I bounce my head off of something and then I feel a bit off for a few hours or days. That’s been the main set back. I have to remember to take baby steps with this one. It’s just my personality and wanting to be back to the old me is what sets me back!

Do you miss competition?

It kills me watching all the tournaments and my division without me in it! I feel so bad I can’t go back to the Pan this year and try to defend my title! I’m not that guy to sit on the gold and not go back and try to win it again! It’s eating me up alive! But until I can go a month straight of feeling like me again I cannot compete or train super hard.

Have you been playing more top or bottom? Anything specific you stay away from?

I prefer the top game. I trained judo throughout the years so I love the takedown game. My game is a pressure game and I often lead with my head so I’m gonna have to just be careful. I’ve taken this down time though to drill a lot of new positions from my guard so maybe I’ll throw some people off a little when I come back haha.

But I have a feeling as soon as I’m back to me I’ll get right back to my grinding style game. I was joking with my good friend Yemaso [Marcos Torregrosa] that it took me almost 20 years of training to finally learn to get technical.

Do you take coaching more serious now that you’ve been out? Have you found new ways to be a better teacher?

I’ve always taken coaching very serious and I still do, but not being able to come into the academy for a few months really made me appreciate everything so much more. I never want to be away from my students and the school for that long again. I’m so thankful I have a great loyal team. I never felt stress that anyone would leave the school because I wasn’t in so I was able to focus on recovery that much more. I love my team, staff, and students tremendously.

When do you think you’ll compete again?

I’m not 100% sure and I won’t come back until I know I’m ready. So when you see me back out there and you will eventually know that I’m 100% ready and not playing games. I can’t wait to get back out there. It’s one of my main goals.

Now that you have a daughter, have you been able to introduce her to the Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle?

Recently I’ve been bringing my daughter Ellie to the gym during kids class and she has really been showing interest in what’s been going on! It’s the best thing ever. I can’t wait to see her with a little gi on actually participating. She is the best thing in my life and she is my main motivation to get better and 100% healthy. She is my world.

Big thanks to the companies that stood by me during this injury and have had my back the whole time. Fokai Industries, Shoyoroll, Pitchfork, Casa De Roc, Dukes Barber Company, and Glenside Tattoo I can’t wait to rep for them when I get back on the mats.

Learn more about Jared and his academy at www.bjjunited.com and follow Bjj_united on Instagram.

Jared Weiner competing at the NY Open. Photo: Erin Herle

Sometimes when training Jiu-Jitsu, there are injuries. Much like any other physical activity, there is always the potential injury and with one black belt, he has something to share about his.

Jared Weiner, head instructor of GMA BJJ United in Philadelphia, PA, has had his fair share of injuries in his nearly twenty years of training. But recently, an initial head injury at a tournament, compounded with a training injury on the mats at home, has made him push for a better awareness of how to handle these types of injuries.

Hear his story and share it to spread the awareness of these cases that we sometimes try to ignore:

“I was always the first person to tell someone to suck it up and fight through the pain, no matter what the circumstance was. If we were training for a tournament winning was the only thing that mattered. I can honestly look back and say that was a bad mentality and we are very lucky more serious injuries didn’t transpire over the years.

The back story: On July 19, I was in the finals of the IBJJF NY Summer Open. My opponent executed a beautiful single leg, he lifted me up and my head bounced off the mat. I saw the “camera flash” but kept fighting (This had no outcome on the match, my opponent won with great positions, and I don’t want to take away from his victory). Immediately after the match I became very nauseous and dizzy. I found myself dry heaving in the bathroom, and I wasn’t sure how I ended up there. That night I continued to throw up and feel “off” but I thought I was coming down with the flu and left it at that. That was HUGE mistake number 1.

Fast forward to exactly one week later: I was still feeling a little “off” but training hard anyways. All I knew was I had the Chicago Open coming up and I had to win coming off that loss in NY. During that training session I was accidentally kneed in the jaw by one of my students and knocked out cold. I have very little recollection of the actual hit, but I do recall coming to and asking what happened. I was  not really sure what was going on but I decided to keep training anyways because if I missed a day of practice (in  my mind) I would be soft and It might effect the outcome in Chicago. HUGE mistake number 2.

Fast forward to August 3: I finally decided to go to the hospital to see what was going on with me, because since the day I was knocked out, I felt light headed 24/7.  I was experiencing horrible headaches and scalp pain. I had crazy pressure in my left eye, and I was not able to sleep. Any type of light was hurting my eyes, and worst of all I became sad, emotionless, and suffered memory loss. I was scared as I never felt like this before, and I didn’t know what was going on with me.

I remember the doctor being really cool and trying to talk MMA and BJJ with me.  She then advised me that I suffered two back-to-back concussions within a week and that is rare and extremely dangerous. She told me it could have been fatal to get two right on top of each other. She said it will take time but I should feel normal again eventually. EVENTUALLY.

So here I am almost three months later still stuck in this “fog”. My headaches are not as severe, but I am still walking around light-headed and really “off”. I have not been able to train live, only teach, but even that is very difficult for me these days. A lot of things have been put in perspective for me over the last three months. The last thing on my mind is medals and tournaments, but being well for my daughter and family is my priority. This has been a nightmare for me, and people who have never experienced a head injury before never really seem to understand, and its very frustrating for me. I may seem normal, and look normal, but I feel far from normal.

I’m hoping to bring some awareness to head injuries in our sport and they are to be taken very seriously. Take some time and educate yourself on the topic and if you are ever feeling “off” from a head shot get checked out.”

Follow more of Jared Weiner and his recovery or learn more about BJJ United at www.bjjunited.com