DO YOU HAVE TO COMPETE IN BJJ
The art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has evolved from its initial self defense purpose, and over the last thirty years the rise of the competition level has become significant. There are many different competitions that students can enter from the local tournament scene to the more prestigious events like the IBJJF World Championships, and the ADCC. There is a vast difference between simply training in BJJ, and the competitive bjj systems. The average hobbyist will train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for fun, fitness, to keep up their skill set, and for the social element involved. A competitive grappler is a whole nother ball game, as they are ruthless, and hungry to achieve worldwide notoriety. There is also a difference in levels, as a competition grappler will have a more finely tuned, and sharper Jiu Jitsu game, and this is due to the rigorous competitive level they will need to adhere to. The simple hobbyist doesn't need to master every avenue of Jiu Jitsu, instead they can just go to training and have fun without any repercussions.
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THE BJJ PHILOSOPHY
The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu philosophy is a fairly simple one, as it encompasses how people can overcome many of the adversities that they may face in their life time. Every person will go through obstacles in there life, where they may need a solution in order to solve that problem. The BJJ philosophy is one that will help students overcome their fears, and use the confidence within themself to live a fuller, and happier life. These days there are many fears out in the world, as students of the art will use BJJ philosophy in their everyday lives. Suceeding at bjj progression is not just training in Jiu Jitsu to ascertain physical strength, but mental strength is how any student will overcome adversity in their life. Many people will suffer tragedies, or are affected by a range of different problems. Having a stronger mental capacity will help a student endure through the troubles in their life, as they figure out the right course of action in order to progress. Using the lessons learnt in Jiu Jitsu are highly applicable to real life situations, like when a student is stuck in a bad position, and under threat of submission, this is the same concept as being stuck in a real life situation that many people may face like illness, homelessness, death, or conflict.
Jiu Jitsu creates humility within its students, and this is a major point of the BJJ philosophy. There are many people out in the world that are violent, a bully, or just plain evil, and learning how to be gracious in victory, or defeat is how students of the art can then apply this into their lifestyles. Understanding other people's pain can help a student firstly overcome their own pain, and secondly understand why that person maybe causing conflict in the first place. Being humble, and using communication is an aspect that is learnt through Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which can be installed into a student's life. Jiu Jitsu is well known to make its students happy, as they often use BJJ as a distraction from their problems, and as a way to surround themselves with good people to improve their quality of life. Living a fuller, and happier life is the key to longevity, and to fulfilment, as the qualities that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can offer a student are insurmountable, and unattainable to people who strive for happiness in many other walks of life. The BJJ philosophy is heavily surrounded by happiness, as students of the art will embrace their training partners, and other members of the community, no matter their beliefs or their cultural backgrounds.
THE COMPETITION PROCESS
Competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments can be a lot of fun, but they are hard work, and can also be fairly brutal, and strenuous. Students that want to learn how to win in jiu jitsu need to put the work in on the training mats. Training for competition needs to be more diligent then going through the motions, and training half heartedly. Students need to be enthusiastic, and dedicated with a high motivation level, if they want to successfully prepare themself for the rigorous BJJ competition. Most Jiu Jitsu academies have a range of different level students, so it can be quite easy for a student to find good training partners to help them prepare for the physical battle. The competition process can be an extremely gruelling one, as students will often overtrain, thinking they need to spend every possible minute on the mats. This is a concept that can be detrimental to their processes, as all students, even competitors need to know when to rest their bodies, and their minds. BJJ is as much a mental battle, as it is a physical battle, and students that are highly stressed, or overthinking their upcoming fights will often lead to disastrous results.
This is where injuries can happen, or demoralising losses, which can dent a students confidence. Having the right preparation means to find a consistency within their training, and having elements of hard work, combined with physical rest periods, and mental distractions, which can be achieved through a good life balance. Sometimes it can be as simple as going to the beach, and going for a swim, as this will invigorate a student, while at the same time recuperate their bodies. This kind of balance will often fill a student with happiness, which is great for their mental state. Most competitions will have different bjj tournament rules, so it pays for students to become familiar with the different rules, and guidelines that each competition will offer. This is a part of coming in mentally prepared for a competition fight, as a student that does not come prepared will often lose the fight. Competitions will also have different bjj weight divisions, so it is extremely important for a student to prepare physically, so they can slot into the right category, rather than being four or five kilograms lighter than many of their opponents. Most competitions are elimination, where if a student loses their fight they are eliminated, and the winners will go on to fight winners of other parts of the bracket. Some competitions use a round robin format, where each competitor will fight at least five of the other competitors in the division, with the athlete that wins the most fights usually wins the bracket.
THE BJJ TRAINING ACADEMY
A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training academy is a safe place, it is a place where students can go to learn Martial Arts, and many other life lessons. Many students come to BJJ for different reasons, like the victims of bullying will come to learn how to stand up for themselves, the weak and vulnerable will come to get fitter, and stronger, the abused and downtrodden will come to find confidence and purpose within their life, and the inspired athletes will come to seek guidance in order to reach world class levels. Training in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy is where students can come without fear of being persecuted, or judged, as all they will receive is kindness, inspiration, guidance, and nurturing. No students are expected to become a competitor, as all students are free to train in Jiu Jitsu for their own personal reasons. Instructors will always highly encourage competition, as this is a great way to gain confidence, battle test techniques, and instill a confidence that their Martial Arts can work in a real life conflict situation.
Students that do not wish to compete in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments are just as valuable members of an academy, as the ones that compete. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu isn't just for the accolades, the gold medals, and the worldwide notoriety, it is for the combination of prosperity, goodwill towards others, and the integrity of being a better person. Students that join BJJ academies learn how humble, and inspiring an academy can be, as each student will find their own niche within the club. A BJJ school is a place where students can learn many different concepts in both self defense, and competition BJJ. Learning how to defeat an opponent by using control, transition, and submission is an important part of self defense, but it can also be extremely fun. Students that do decide to compete will learn how to score points in jiu jitsu, and this is extremely important because all competition matches have time limits, meaning a five minute match may not be enough time to submit their opponent. This is why understanding how to win by using different control positions is vital.
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PROGRESSING THROUGH THE RANKS
All Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students start off as white belts, and this basically means they are a novice, and still need to learn even the most basic of concepts. Progressing through the ranks of BJJ can take students and extremely long time, as the average student will take at least two years per belt, and that is if they are extremely consistent with their training. Life can always get in the way, which means students may struggle, meaning it can take them four years per belt to move up the ranks. There is no cartas, or special requirements to move up to the next belt level, instead it is a slow culmination of knowledge, and technical proficiency that can only be judged by the instructor of an academy. A BJJ instructor will be watching, and rolling with their students, and overtime they will award each student four stripes on their belt, before ultimately moving them up to the next belt level. Moving from white to blue is probably the hardest transition of all belts, as the student goes from knowing nothing to having to know a tremendous amount within the art. Understanding how to control positions, do basic transitions, defend positions, defend submissions, and even execute submissions themself are all requirements to move up to the next level.
Once a student does progress to the next belt level it is an extremely amazing achievement that is often met with the traditional bjj gauntlet. This is where a student will be whipped by a lineup of their peers and even though this is a brutal tradition it serves as a right of passage for each athlete. Progressing through the ranks of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an exciting journey, as students will learn an abundance of techniques, concepts, and life principles that can help them exponentially. It is extremely rare for white belts to stay in the sport, and progress all the way through to the black belt level. As the statistics will show that roughly one in one thousand athletes will become a black belt in the art. Injuries are the main issue with stopping a student in progressing through the ranks, and due to the complexity, and highly dynamic nature of BJJ this cannot be helped. Serious students that want to progress all the way through to the upper echelon of BJJ practitioners need to develop their own way of bulletproofing their bodies, and staying mentally invigorated, as they strive towards the higher levels of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
WHY EVERYONE SHOULD TRAIN IN BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU
The art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a highly functioning Martial Art, and self defense combat sport that all people should learn. There are many aspects of the sport that can help people from everyday walks of life. Learning how to defend a persons life is extremely important in the modern era. Nowadays the world has become a feasting ground of violence, bullying, and a range of cultural problems. BJJ can offer confidence for people that may have none, and help them to stand up for themselves both physically, and mentally whether it's in a real life conflict situation, or standing up for themself inside their marriage, or family. BJJ academies have been known to help with mental illness, as people that suffer from depression, anxiety, and different levels of autism can come to BJJ and use the art as away to find purpose. A BJJ academy is full of amazing people that offer students honesty, integrity, understanding, and guidance. One of the biggest problems that many people face in their life is the people they hang around, and quite often it can be hard to eradicate these people from their life. BJJ teaches people to only surround themself with good people, and this lesson can be installed into their life which in turn can make a student a happier version of themself.
There are many reasons why people should train in BJJ, and one of them is purely to make friends. An academy is full of students from all different cultural backgrounds, and all different professions in life, as they often realise how much in common they actually have. This can be heartwarming for many people, as they find life partners, and great friendships. There are many physical attributes that a BJJ academy can offer like basically just getting fitter, and stronger. People come to BJJ to lose weight, and get stronger, but what they find is they also pick up greater abilities like flexibility, dexterity, and mobility. All of these attributes can change a person's life, as not only will they improve physically, and mentally, they will begin to change their lifestyle. This can be the habits in their personal life by drinking less frequently, or stopping smoking entirely, as their nutrition also gets better. Through many of the BJJ lessons students will learn how to live a happier, and healthier life.
If you enjoyed this piece, consider checking:
- BJJ Etiquette
- BJJ Hygiene
- BJJ Progression
- What to Eat Before Jiu Jitsu
- BJJ Age Divisions
- Jiu Jitsu Bow
- Combat Jiu-Jitsu
- Training for BJJ Competition
- Jiu Jitsu Stretches
- BJJ Comp System
- Youth Jiu-Jitsu Tournaments
- What Is a BJJ Tournament
- Common BJJ Injuries
- How Often to Train BJJ
- Balancing BJJ and Weight Training
