I play guitar and bass, and I have had arthritis problems in the past as a result of Jiu-Jitsu training. Here are the things that have worked for me to keep my hands safe: (1) Grip the gi lightly. Hold the fabric with very little pressure until you need to throw, choke, or sweep. If you death-grip the fabric all the time, your joints will suffer a lot of wear and tear. (2) Tape your fingers for gi class. In this video, Rob uses a much thicker strip of tape and much more tape than I prefer, but the technique is the same X-pattern that I use: https://www.youtube.com/w[...]pT1wljDi5Y. (3) Take anti-inflammatory medications before training. I typically use naproxen sodium or ibuprofen before class, so that I can make a preemptive strike against the inevitable Inflammation. (4) Do at least half of your training no gi. Virtually all of the techniques will transfer perfectly to a gi environment, and you can spare your hands some trauma. (5) Avoid techniques that rely on heavy gripping, like spider guard.

I've also seen bjj black belt Matt Heafy from Trivium using these weird grappling gloves which keep 2 fingers together making them stronger.

Grip the gi lightly. Hold the fabric with very little pressure until you need to throw, choke, or sweep. If you death-grip the fabric all the time, your joints will suffer a lot of wear and tear.

Basically, keep all your fingers together as much as possible, don't over commit, don't over reach.

Annette, rest assured that the people who are scoffing and eye-rolling now probably won’t be there ten years from now when you get your black belt… because they quit due to injury. :)

14 years in the professional music business here: 1. Avoid spider guard 2. Light grips on lapels and cuffs. You can grab the skirt or gi corners full grip no issues 3. Take days off if your joints get sore. Most people stop training due to injuries of any sort. You can avoid them if you’re careful. 4. Tap early if you get caught, don’t rip out of submissions.

As Jim says, the key is to use a very light grip. I talk about and demonstrate gripping technique for the first 5 minutes of this video. I'm a professional musician, I'm 69 years old, and I've never had a serious finger injury, and almost never had to wear any tape on my fingers. https://youtu.be/STot7E8Q1IM

Bring tennis balls to spar. Instead of relying on grips use the ball in hand to learn how to post and anchor when you frame and adjust. You could also use a gua sha tool for fascia release after. The biggest thing is to take things slow. If you have a cut or are not 100%, just show up and watch, most people make the biggest improvements by sitting and familiarizing themselves with the dynamics and progression the same way you would study a piece of music.

Yes, hold on to the ball while rolling. But explain the method to your instructor first if he isn't familiar. A stress ball would be a good alternative too. Jean-Jaques Machado would be a great person to study in-depth for grip alternatives too.