To the untrained eye, the physicality of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) makes it appear to be a muscle sport where brawn is valued above brains. This, however, cannot be further from the truth. The martial art of BJJ was built on the foundations of overcoming the size and strength limitations of the individual through carefully devised technique. Moreover, students who train under BJJ develop mindsets that allow them to deal effectively with challenging life situations. The lessons you can learn from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are thus truly beneficial for anyone.
Failure Is a Part of Growth
No one innately likes to fail. When you make a mistake, there is no rush of elation or a reassuring sense of relief like you get when you succeed in your endeavors. Rather, a cloud of inadequacy threatens to overwhelm you. But while you won’t receive outright praises for your failures in most cases, there is still a different form of glory to be won from them. Failure is a part of growth, and Jiu-Jitsu makes this point clear. When you are unable to submit someone or cannot successfully pull off a move, you must think about what you are doing wrong. From there, you can combine your instructor’s guidance with your own observations to adjust how you are approaching the issue so that you can move past it and improve your game.
Steadfastness Is Greater Than Talent
The fruits of your labors in BJJ do not make themselves apparent quickly. It’s a slow trek to the top in the art, and natural talent can take you only so far before you must exert discipline over yourself. BJJ teaches you that steadfastness holds more value in helping you to attain your goals in the long run. As you regularly practice and gain experience over many years, you can reach heights that more gifted but lazier people can’t attain. Similarly, when you are off the mat at school or in your workplace, you can accomplish great feats with dedication.
Adaptability Is Valuable for Progress
Circumstances often don’t unfold quite how we envision them in life. When things don’t go your way, it’s easy to become frustrated and stuck on that disappointment. BJJ shows you that trying to fight every unforeseen scenario is counterproductive, as you can’t think about moving forward. When you are up against an opponent who goes in a surprising direction, you let yourself go with them and think of the best way to turn this new position to your benefit. You aren’t pushing against them to overpower their efforts, but instead attempting to think ahead and get an advantage over them. This mental fluidity prevents you from dwelling on one course of action and paralyzing yourself as a consequence, which can be translated into your general outlook outside of BJJ.
To gain these kinds of lessons, though, you must do more than read about them. Gain an understanding of them firsthand by joining classes at Northwest Fighting Arts. We offer martial arts in Portland, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes.