Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is very popular with martial arts enthusiasts. It is a combat sport that teaches you a self-defense system and focuses on ground fighting. BJJ is one of the many varieties of martial arts that descended from the original Japanese Jiujitsu, which is hundreds of years old. Both BJJ and Japanese Jiujitsu feature throws, joint locks and chokes, unlike karate which features punches and kicks for disabling an opponent. BJJ teaches you vital life skills and those who practice it see it as a lifestyle. If you already have a strength training routine, jiu-jitsu can help you acquire skill, while your strength training achievements can help you succeed in BJJ combats and competitions.
Skill and strength are equally vital to successfully practice BJJ. In order to use locks and chokes to take your opponent to the ground, you require strength, especially if your opponent is bigger than you. Strength is often a critical factor in sports. Usually, when two equally skilled opponents compete, the stronger one prevails. Maximal strength, strength endurance, and explosive strength are the main types of strength that make your jiu-jitsu practice effective. Maximal strength is important to effectively apply a joint lock or choke; strength endurance allows you to repeat sub-maximal efforts with reduced fatigue, and explosive strength enables you to release power at high speeds.
Combine strength training with BJJ skill training to maximize the benefits that both forms of exercise have to offer. If you’re already doing a lot of strength training, perhaps it’s time to implement a new form of exercise like BJJ in order to vary your routine and reap the many this form of martial art has to offer.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Benefits
1. Self-Defense
Perhaps the most vital and convincing benefit of jiu-jitsu is that it teaches you how to defend yourself. You can have all the strength in the world if you don't know how to use it in a real-life situation when you are required to protect yourself. Practicing BJJ regularly will teach you how to be more peaceful, confident, and secure, which will be useful in situations of crisis. You will be able to defend yourself in dangerous situations when you are under attack, regardless of your opponent's size or strength level, thanks to the skills BJJ will teach you.
2. Physical Conditioning
A BJJ training session will provide you with a full body workout. It's an engaging and captivating form of training, unlike biking or running, for example. The warm-up, drills, grappling, and rolling will provide you with cardiovascular training, stretching breath control, and a good resistance workout. This will help you build strength, muscular endurance, increase your flexibility, and improve your fitness levels while teaching you a vital life skill.
3. Self-Discipline
Patience and discipline stand at the foundation of jiu-jitsu success. BJJ teaches you how to build patience and self-discipline to reduce stress, withstand situations of crisis, and become patient enough to invest time into your successes. Additionally, this will also help you acquire the rhythm behind the jiu-jitsu technique that enables you to time your movements perfectly in order to defeat your opponent. This type of discipline allows you to develop your problem-solving skills and apply them in your practice, as well as in real life struggles.
4. Falling and Failing
At the beginning of your BJJ training, the first thing you will learn is how to make it through training without injury. This is something you will be able to apply in real life situations as well. You will learn how to fall down without getting hurt. And this is important since most injuries occur upon impact. The more falls you'll take during your jiu-jitsu training, the more you will learn how to deal with failure as well. When you fail, you learn, and you learn how to succeed. Learn how to fall and observe the movements that got you in that position. Next time you will be able to defeat yourself.
5. Cognitive Skills
Because jiu-jitsu training involves a lot of learning, discipline, and alertness at the same time, this keeps your brain and mind sharp and alert. This type of training keeps you teachable, thus promoting proper brain function through the frequent intake and processing of new information. Additionally, the problem-solving situations help you constantly re-evaluate your efforts and find intelligent solutions to the situations you are faced with.
Conclusion
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is fun, and alongside all the wonderful benefits it has to offer, the fact that you'll enjoy it is what matters most. Because doing the things you love and enjoy, extends your lifespan and adds value to your experiences. Sure, you'll get a few bruises here and there, but you'll make new friends, you'll have fun engaging with your opponents, and reap the multiple health benefits and life skills this sport has to offer.
Remember to be patient and disciplined in order to face your opponents successfully. With patience and discipline comes learning, with learning, comes mastery. And that is the ultimate combination of action and study. Not only will you learn the physical techniques that keep you safe and improve your fitness, but you will also be able to deal with life struggles, difficult situation, and reduce stress easily. Additionally, your strength training experience will definitely help you achieve your jiu-jitsu goals faster and stronger. So, stay disciplined, but don't forget to have fun!