As much as you try to avoid it, there is always some nagging injury that doesn’t help you sleep. It’s a long term martial art to master. Unlike other martial arts, you could be doing this for 3-4 years and still be relatively, a beginner. It’s full of peaks, plateaus, and valleys, but mostly valleys. And it’s frustrating that just when you think you’re getting the hang of it, you fall in a rut.
But…
- it’s a problem solving sport. You can only muscle through enough of it before you get caught. At the end, the smarter grappler wins. This is great for mind-body coordination.
- it’s humbling. You get to realize that simply being a big and scary guy isn’t enough. Specially in your first day when the 16 yr old girl that weights 120lbs just turned you into a human pretzel.
- it’s freeing. You literally need your brain and body and every inch of your soul engaged in it. For that hour or two, there are no late bills, no asshole boss, no broken down cars, no leaking roofs. Only Jiu Jitsu.
- it’s fun. Whether you like it or not, you played wrestled when you were a toddler with friends and siblings. It’s almost like we were hard wired for this.
- it’s honest. You can’t BS your way through it. You can’t cheat or cut corners.
- it’s realistic. Almost every fight you’re in ends up on the ground. If you’re ever in the position where you have to defend yourself and no other way to avoid it, it’s good to know that the ground is your friend and you won’t get beat to a pulp.
- it’s a sexual assault defense. Whenever a man, (unsolicitedly), is between a woman’s legs, there risk of rape is present. If said woman practices jiu jitsu, she’s got a plethora of chokes and arm attacks that will render the attacker unconscious or maimed. This alone is a primary reason to practice jiu jitsu. No other sport teaches you to deal with this effectively (no, poking him in the eyes won’t work)
- it’s an anti bully system. In today’s world if your kid punches his bully, he gets in trouble and the bully is encouraged to do it again. A kid that practices jiu jitsu learns to control his bully on the ground and immobilize him without hurting a hair on the bully’s head. This may not sound like much, but sending a message to the bully that he is harmless to you and you can manhandle him at will shatters his self esteem and prevents him from preying on you again. Bullies go after easy prey.
- it’s great therapy. Mental health problems are dangerous. Just because you can’t see something broken, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Jiu Jitsu is a large community sport. And though it has assholes and jerks like anything else, it also has great people in it. We live in world that has minimal social interaction as it is. Jiu Jitsu gives you a chance to deal with social anxiety. It helps you develop social skills. It allows you to be yourself at your own pace. You literally have a pool of people with a common interest to choose from. Avoid the assholes and gain a bunch of long term friends.
- it’s aerobic. It may not give you Greek god bod, but assuming you live a healthy lifestyle outside the mats, it keeps you active while having fun. Those who start Jiu Jitsu as an overweight person, or even obese, lose lots of weight in the early ranks. You do not have to wait to lose weight to join Jiu Jitsu. We have people of all sizes do great. And you could use Jiu Jitsu to help you lose whatever weight you want off.
So, yeah, I’ll take the injuries and frustrations. Small price to pay 😉
