Probably you’ve heard or read stories about how people’s lives have changed because of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Maybe even your own life has changed 180 degrees thanks to jiu jitsu. For everyone, this change can be about something else. And that’s because the benefits of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are endless. But not to get lost in this infinity, we will just focus on the crème de la crème of them. So below are the top 10 life-changing BJJ benefits.
Life Changing Benefits of Jiu-Jitsu
1) BJJ will teach you humility
The concept that originally guided Master Helio when creating BJJ was that, that thanks to it smaller person could beat the bigger one. Therefore, the fact that in everyday life you feel like the master of the world because you are big and tall, may not find the mapping on the mat. BJJ is technique-oriented and has not much to do with size. So it may happen that you will be submitted by someone much smaller. This type of situation happened e.g. during ADCC 2019. During this competition, weighing only 77, Lachlan Giles won against 99kg or +99kg competitors like Kaynan Duarte, Patrick Gaudio, and Mahamed Aly. And when such a situation happens to you, you realize you’re not the best. It is a blow to your ego but at the same time a lesson in humility. The quite high frequency of this type of situation makes you learn to be humble not only on the mat but also outside of it. Changing someone from being cocky to humble can be safely called one of the life-changing BJJ benefits.
2) You will learn how to be patient
BJJ got a more restrictive belt system compared to other martial arts. Reaching the black belt takes some time. Often even over 10 years. Besides, in this sport, it’s not like you get promoted to a higher belt every few months. You spend approximately 2-3 years on the same color, which is relatively much time spent on one belt color. In other words, progress in BJJ is rather slow and requires a lot of time spent on the mat, which can lead to frustration and crises. However, thanks to knowing this, you learn to wait, and despite your frequent frustrations, your patience increases. Moreover, you don’t learn patience just waiting for the promotion for the next belt. It also increases when you are rolling. On the mat, you often have situations that you have to wait for the perfect opening to attack and be safe while defending. Practicing, therefore, a sport that requires so much patience, no wonder that thanks to it, you also become more patient in everyday life.
3) You’ll get a lesson to never give up
BJJ is full of ups and downs. Once it goes better once it gets worse. During your adventure with jiu jitsu, there will be times when you will wonder if you should stop doing it. However, you are not the only one in such thinking. Everyone has considered quitting BJJ at some point in time. Even the best black belts were once beginners too. They struggled with the same stuff like you and look where are they now. The saying “a black belt is a white belt that never gave up” is very true here. It is those who clenched their teeth and survived that achieved their dreams and goals. BJJ, thanks to the above-mentioned teaching you to be humble and patient, also teaches you to never give up. This learning on the mat also translates into everyday life.
4) Your confidence will increase
BJJ is quite a demanding sport. A lot of times in jiu jitsu you are in a situation where at full speed you have to overcome size and strength disadvantages and at the same time keep cool under stress. If this is not enough, also your brain must work at its highest speed. You have to constantly think about your next move, how to attack, and not forget about defense. All while dealing with emotions and tiredness. At first, embracing it all can be intimidating. However, after some time you start getting better and better. The above-mentioned items are no longer such a problem for you, and your confidence on the mat increases. And while you are improving in BJJ, all your confidence increases, not just the one for training. You will see that it transfers to the outside world as well.
5) Thanks to BJJ you will develop a strong mentality
As you may realize so far, a lot about BJJ is hard. You can be submitted by someone smaller, you have to act under pressure, figuratively and literally, etc. You get hard lessons on how to be patient, humble, never give up, etc. Although it seems tough, all of the above actually make you mentally strong. Thanks to BJJ you are better prepared for difficult life situations, you will be better at dealing with stress, etc. And that your whole mentality changes can easily be called one of the life-changing BJJ benefits.
6) You will be able to defend yourself better
Master Helio Gracie thought that BJJs main purpose should be self-defense. Actually, when it was created, it was not even seen as a sport. Back then called Gracie Jiu Jitsu firstly was a self-defense system and only then martial art. Modern jiu jitsu has moved away from its roots in favor of sport. Still, however, even sports BJJ gives some idea of self-defense and can be used in life-threatening situations. Of course, it’s best to avoid such situations, but if you find yourself in them, knowing BJJ gives some advantage. And if you save your or someone else life thanks to knowing jiu jitsu, you can literally say BJJ has had life-changing benefits for you. However, let’s hope you don’t have to test it for yourself. Better check it online. On the internet, you can find many videos of jiu jitsu use in everyday life. They often belong to even the most popular videos related to BJJ.
7) Your body will change for the better
BJJ is a full-body workout. This means that during the jiu jitsu practice all your muscles work. Often even those you didn’t know existed. And if you do your best during training and don’t just hang around, it can be also really exhausting. No wonder then that by training BJJ your body changes. You start to lose weight, the fat turns into muscles, etc. For some, losing a few kilos will not be one of the life-changing BJJ benefits. However, out there, there is a lot of stories about a bit overweight people who after starting BJJ training improved their figure a lot. And thanks to it their standard of living has improved a lot. Just check how Nicky Ryan changed thanks to jiu jitsu.
Changing your appearance is not the only effect BJJ has on your body. It also greatly improves your condition and increases strength. Moreover, thanks to jiu jitsu you become more flexible and agile. It all adds up to the fact you are in better shape overall and you are simply healthier.
8) People from BJJ will become your second family
Usually, BJJ academies are full of a positive and friendly atmosphere. And people who train jiu jitsu are open and helpful. Moreover, because it is a sport that includes a lot of sparring, you will have contact with really many people. Thanks to this physical contact and chatting before and after class, you can meet many new friends and create unique relationships with them. You all share the same passion and are pushing each other towards similar goals. Besides, if you spend a lot of time on the mat, you spend a lot of time with your clubmates and trainers. And by spending so much time together, you become very close to each other. The club becomes your second home and people from the mat like family. Besides, actually, the whole BJJ community is like one big family with really good, positive vibes. When going to training even somewhere far from home, you will be very welcomed and immediately feel at home.
9) You’ll see that persistence and hard work really pay off
Certainly, many of us felt life injustice that they had been studying for an exam for a long time and still had a poor result. While others, for example, did not go to class but later passed on thanks to luck or cheating. Such situations can happen e.g. in life through school. We may also be exposed to similar situations at work. Then the man begins to doubt whether hard work and perseverance really pay off. BJJ, however, restores faith in these values. There are no shortcuts in this sport. Cheating also does not pay in the long run. To become better at Jiu-Jitsu, you just have to practice, practice, and practice again. For mastering some movement to perfection you need to repeat it hundreds, if not thousands of times. To achieve this you just have to spend a lot of time on the mat. And when you persevere training hard in this way you will see the effects. Your BJJ game will get better, techniques will improve, etc. Noticing that persistence and hard work really pays off in jiu jitsu translates into the belief that this is also the case in everyday life.
10) Your quality of life will generally improve
Maybe it sounds cliche, but BJJ is not just a sport but also a way of life. And it influences you in many ways. Thanks to it, your body and mindset change for the better. You learn how to be humble, patient, how to deal with pressure, etc. also in everyday life. Moreover, in training, you also meet a lot of people who often become your best friends. All this together improves the quality of your life in general. It’s simple thanks to BJJ you just live better.
