Anyone train BJJ, Judo or MMA with a lap band?

monkeygrip · September 11, 2010

Hello all, I have what may be an odd-ball question. I've read a bunch of posts on the forum and I feel that I pretty much fit right in there with a lot of the folks so I'll not bore you with the details. I will just leave it at this; I can relate to most of the posts about abandoned child-hoods, been fat since I've been walking, binge eating, can't stop thinking about food when I see it, seeing my reflection in the bottom of the cookie jar, fast food addictions, all that stuff.

Anyway, a little back ground to my question, I've trained Judo for 2.5 years (lost 45 lbs) and I've been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for 6 months (lost ~20 lbs) but I am still over 330lbs. I struggle just getting through the 15 minute warm-ups, and rolling 20 minutes at the end of class is awful for me. I truly love this stuff, and I do not want to give it up, but I am getting very discouraged because of the limitations of having all these rolls of fat are causing.

My question: Would the impact from throws or the straining to execute sweeps affect the band; would I still be able to play Judo/BJJ if I had a lapband?

I talked to a surgical group here and I got conflicting answers from the presenters. I think its because the doctors don't really understand what Judo or BJJ is all about. Seems like when they hear the words "jiu-jitsu" or "judo" they lump it into the "All_Things_Karate" category. It is like night and day from that kind of stuff. Thinking it may clear things up, I tried to explain that Jiu-Jitsu and Judo have much more in common with college wrestling, there is a lot of impact hitting the floor after going over someones shoulder. There is the impact from throws, stress from straining to establish better positions on the ground, and trauma from struggling while being smashed under the weight of another person.

After explaining it, the doctor said, "I see, well, (pause) I believe all the punching and kicking would be great aerobic exercise. Any more questions?" Ugggggggg....

I know some of the positions like knee-on-belly or double leg take downs are pretty harsh to your torso. Also, the higher flying Judo throws like seoi nage or seoi goshi cause a lot of trama and impact so I am wondering if the lap band would break or slip or something during those techniques? Are there any Judo, BJJ, or MMA guys/gals in here that have had the lap band surgery? If so, what has been your experience?

Mandyrae · September 12, 2010

I do not have experience in anything like that but really if you think about it there will always be risk... but of course as long as your not getting directly hit in the stomach I wouldn't think the risk would be as high. Just cause you have the band doesn't mean you have to give up what you love. You just need to be a bit more aware of your actions.

CottageBliss · September 12, 2010

LOVE MMA!!!

My kids did BJJ and from what I can see as they roll around on the floor, you might want to focus more on other aspects of Martial Arts for a while.

I know most fights end up on the ground and see you wanting/needing to be 'ready' for ground work but until you see how the band works for you, I wouldn't do BJJ.

Drop some weight build up more muscle and I think you will be fine w/ BJJ.

My son is 379 and getting the band in November...he is waiting on BJJ and walking, due to cracked heels (docs orders) and will work on weights and holding karate stands and doing stand up.

Kudos to you for putting your health first.