If you have spent any time on the mats, you will already know the many benefits of training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and other grappling martial arts. There is something about jiu jitsu that satisfies us on a primal level.
Grappling is in our DNA, we did after all evolve from primates who establish their dominance hierarchy by grappling one another. It is also instinctive to use grappling to defend yourself against predators and other threats. It comes natural to us. You will even see kids with no experience what so ever instinctively grappler with one another on the play ground. You can’t deny that humans are meant to express themselves through grappling.
And that is just what jiu jitsu is when you think about. Grappling is an art. To master it takes many years, and there are many ups and downs on the journey. You deal with a lot when you are learning jiu jitsu. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. Not every class it good, and not every roll is good.
Learning to push through failure is part of learning any grappling based martial art. Learning how to fail gracefully builds character. And with character development comes things like confidence, gratitude, discipline, and respect.
How many of us can say we get these things in our daily life if we weren’t out there regularly training jiu jitsu? Society does not condition us to express our physical nature. We spend most our day sitting around at a mundane job, barely moving our bodies at all! It is no wonder why so many people are stressed, or even more f**ked up. It is not healthy to contain all that energy in your body, piling loads of junk food on top of a sedentary life style. Because of this life style, many people are constantly dealing with negative emotions, or in a state of panic and anxiety.
This just isn’t a good way to go about life, especially if you are an adult who is response for raising children. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a healthy way to drain all that pent up energy you have throughout the day. Is your boss an asshole? Does traffic suck? There are so many things to get pissed off at, sometimes you just want to punch a wall or hit the bottle. Make no mistake, we have all been there.
But why not take all this negative energy and turn it into a net positive? Learn to grapple and get your aggression out in a safe and fun environment. I promise you, those upper belts won’t mind your aggression! Try anything you can on them! I bet you tap over and over, but it will just make you want to come back for more. Oh, and don’t worry, we’re all still friends after a tough rolling session. One of the best feelings in the world is to get through a hard jiu jitsu class. Get comfortable with discomfort. Learn how to keep cool in a high stress situation. Jiu jitsu can show you how to do these things, and a whole lot more.
Jiu jitsu undeniably has the intrinsic quality of being “therapeutic” for many men and women. No, a doctor is unlikely to prescribe jiu jitsu for whatever ails you. But do this for yourself. Start respecting your mind and body. Get out of your chair and get on the mats. There is a whole world of experience there waiting for you!
When it comes to understanding the therapeutic benefits of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, nobody knows better than 5 Time World Champion Bernardo Faria. Bernardo has been training jiu jitsu since a young age. Bernardo Faria has now taken on the mission to share some of the lessons, techniques, experiences and more that he has learned along in his 16 years and counting as a BJJ student, teacher and world class competitor.
Check out the video below, in which Bernardo shares his thoughts on why he believes jiu jitsu can be your best therapy.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!