When it comes to training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, for most people hair isn’t really an issue. As long as your hygiene is in check, you probably have nothing to worry about. However, this isn’t the case for people with long hair. Mostly, this involves women who naturally grow their hair out more than men. Still, if you’ve trained long enough then you’re bound to have bumped into a guy with long hair.
Whilst this isn’t a big issue for the most part, it can still cause problems and be a big awkward to roll with. In this article, we shall give a guide to training BJJ with long hair – which should be useful for long-haired grapplers and those training with them.
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Issues with BJJ and long hair
In most instances, long hair isn’t really an issue and at worst, it’s a bit of a nuisance. Regardless, there are some times when long hair will annoy your training partners.
Perhaps the worst part of rolling with long hair is that it can be awkward to train against. For instance, if you’ve got a long-haired opponent in mount then you may get your fingers deep into your training partner’s hair. For you, this may be fine – but for them, it could pull at the roots and cause pain.
At the same time, this isn’t really your fault either and can sometimes cause a bit of conflict. Nonetheless, it’s something that is annoying.
On a similar note, it’s not particularly nice if your opponent’s long hair gets in your mouth or eyes whilst rolling. This is particularly unhygienic if they’re sweaty – and the chances are they will be if they’ve been training BJJ. So, although long hair doesn’t really cause major issues, it can still be a minor inconvenience to roll with.
Hairstyles that are BJJ friendly
With this said, thankfully there are proactive ways to protect your hair whilst rolling. Some people resort to having cornrows as their main hairstyle which means loose hairs won’t get caught in fingers – nor will your hair get pulled as a result. Similarly, some people also wear hair bands or a ponytail to keep the hair connected which will also keep your hair together.
Having said this, perhaps the best way to protect long hair whilst training is to wear a head guard. This is often worn by those who have to have long hair for religious reasons. Arguably, this is the best method as it requires little effort and doesn’t require completely changing your hairstyle either. Thankfully, head guards are easily affordable too.
Check The Price Of BJJ Headgear On Amazon
Training BJJ with a long beard
So far, we’ve looked at the challenges of training BJJ with long hair. However, what about training with a long beard? Again – some people have long beards due to their religion, whilst others have long beards for fashion reasons.
Arguably, a long beard is more problematic when rolling compared to long hair. This is mostly because of chokes and collar grips which will naturally pull at the beard. For instance, if you go to do a bow and arrow choke on someone with a long beard, there’s a chance you’ll tug at their hair too. This can be pretty painful – but at the same time whilst you’re grappling – what are you meant to do?
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do when rolling with a long beard. You could potentially try to tie your beard in knots to stop the hairs from overflowing. This is a good solution but isn’t to everyone’s tastes. Remember to treat your beard like you would with long hair as well, with the correct oils to stop it from smelling or getting tangled.
How to look after long hair in BJJ
As seen, there are many different ways to look after long hair in BJJ. From head guards, to certain hairstyles – there should be solutions for most people. At the same time, for the most part this is not an issue for the majority of the time and isn’t really a big deal. Overall, there are far more pressing issues to focus on than the length of someone’s hair. Nonetheless, if you’re worried that your hair is too long and causes problems – then there are solutions to consider.
