ever rolled iwth the disabled?

[bennett]

well unlike i'm guessing almost all of you 10th planet players, I suffer from being legally blind, I cannot see out of my left eye and have tunnel vision out of my right eye with massive blind spots(think like in a car except they change from day to day IE. moving black and white floaty lines constantly move throughout my vision)which leaves me with no depth OR peripheral vision but enough of the sob story.... I wanna know what you thought of it.. I gotta say I remember i buddy of mine who i am still friends with to this day once pissed me off so bad in high school, he was talking so much shit i wanted to kick his ass so at lunch time i went over to his house banged on his door and called him out eventually he talked my retarded ass out of it.. so a few years go by he brings up the topic of why he didn't fight me" well lets be honest man if i kicked your ass people would hate me and probably kick my ass for beating up a blind guy and if you kicked my ass well a blind guy just beat me up of course people will make fun of me" I feel the same way about when i roll with certain people they take me as a joke or a comedy act either that or they feel pitty for me because of my disability so they do go as hard? or it just seems that way for me?

whats your opinions?

[DarbyBarby]

Dude I used to play rugby with an albino kid who was legally blind, just keep getting better and better and they'll have to give it their all to be able to keep up with you.

[Isaiah Mendoza]

honestly dude it's whatever you make it to be. look at anthony robles. He was born with one leg and he went on to be NCAA champ. Or Bravo's old coach Jean Jacques Machado he had one functional hand and won 20 something championships. check this out



just believe in yourself dude. your heart is more important than anything else in being a champ. i believe in you. just you believe in you and everyone else will.

[John Alighieri]

If you got someone cool enough to help you through the drills (really depends on your method of learning I guess) apart from that I don't see a problem with being blind in jiu jitsu. It's all about feeling your opponent (weight shifting, pressure etc etc...) I roll with my eyes closed most of the time, I feel somehow more in tune with what's going on when I close my eyes. Plus I've got a major phobia of getting poked in the eye lol (I wear contacts and I've lost of few contacts while rolling)

[Jay Chow]

I have similar vision in my right eye as your "good eye", so I can understand a little how you feel. You need to continue, and be the guy everyone is amazed at for being legally blind and still super technical. That doesn't get "oh no I got beat by a blind guy" responses, that gets respect. Jiu Jitsu is for everyone, remember

[Brandon Woolsey]

Bennett, like everybody else said jus believe in yourself and do work. I have nerve and muscle damage in my low back all the way down my left leg due to military related injuries. I cant do anykind of standing but I can roll thank God. I can promise you this, if you keep at it and put your all into it no one will take it easy or feel for you. They will be like holy shit this dude is beast. Good luck and remember jiu jitsu is a long journey not a short trip. I appreciate you my friend for putting yourself out there.

[David Rosado]

I know if I got beat by a blind guy in class or comp, I'd be ok with it. I'd respect him. Takes a lot of dedication to learn these moves solely by feel. I'd be impressed.

If a guy drilled or rolled a bit slower with you while you're still a white belt, I wouldn't take it as pity, but as help. I can see perfectly fine and guys roll slow with me anyway just to help me learn. As you get used to the feel of things, everything speeds up.

Basically, don't make it an issue, and I don't see many guys who would make it an issue.

[CaseyRuble]

I'm blind in my right eye, but my vision isn't so terrible in my left eye. So, I feel where you are coming from. I know I've felt down on myself from time to time, especially if I don't see punches coming because of my handicap but it's important to remember that you shouldn't let your limitations define you.

[David Rosado]

I'm blind in my right eye, but my vision isn't so terrible in my left eye. So, I feel where you are coming from. I know I've felt down on myself from time to time, especially if I don't see punches coming because of my handicap but it's important to remember that you shouldn't let your limitations define you.

Boom. That's it right there. That can apply to everyone.

[Joe Friday]

I know this guy named Brandon McCaghren, he once heel hooked a crippled guy at the gym... true fuckin story. I watched the shit with my own eyes!