Jiu-Jitsu Mindest Not Just For Jiu-Jitsu

Jiu Jitsu has a cult like following.  Why is that? If you don’t train it may seem a little odd that your friends or colleagues that train Jiu Jitsu are so obsessed with it.  Sure, it seems fun and all, maybe you even recall your time as a karate student when you were a child. But what is so great about it that so many grown adults have become truly obsessed with this martial art.  Why is it they are constantly showing up to class and destroying their bodies, pushing them past the limits and coming back to do it again the next day, all with a smile on their faces.

Jiu Jitsu is a community.  The academy becomes a second home to many.  A place where they can escape the demands and stress of the day to day.  It becomes a place where you will find yourself most at peace. Regardless of what you have going on in your life, when you step on the mats, those things fade.  It is hard to focus on whatever it is that’s troubling you when someone is trying to choke you. On the mats, you have to be present, you have to focus on the moment and nothing else, otherwise, you will get tapped very quickly and very often.  

These mental benefits of training are a side benefit to the obvious and advertised benefit of training Jiu Jitsu to learn a martial art and become better prepared to protect yourself in a self defense situation.  Let’s just call it an added bonus. There is no arguing the fact that having a clear mind for a period of time each day does wonders for your health. Look at things like yoga, and meditation. In a world of constant distractions like social media, Jiu Jitsu gives us an outlet to put all of that aside and be truly present when we are on the mats.

In addition to the mental benefit of being present on the mats, we can not ignore what Jiu Jitsu does for your self confidence, your self worth.  We live in a time where everyone has constant and immediate access to literally millions of social media profiles in the palm of our hand. As you scroll through the Instagram feed you with out question will see an add by some fitness model selling the next fad diet, but more importantly what is being programmed in our brains is a idea of what good looks like.  What you should look like, and what seemingly everyone but you looks like. While deep down you know that simply is not accurate, that doesn’t make it easier. It can be easy to get depressed thinking you aren’t where you should be, physically, or financially, or whatever, based on the types of profiles you follow that will likely determine the area of frustration. While competition is great, in some cases it’s important to remember that your only real competition is yesterday’s you.  Jiu Jitsu helps reinforce that everyone is on a journey with a similar goal in mind, but everyone’s path is different, and not only is that ok, but it’s encouraged. Be you, and focus on doing the things that will make you a better version of yourself tomorrow.

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The Jiu Jitsu mindset can be applied to every aspect of your life.  To be honest, this will just happen as you go on living your life, training a few days each week, you’ll start to change the way you look at things.  You will start to realize you look at things in a more positive way. After all, how bad could work really be? I mean, it is pretty likely that no one is trying to choke you at work so is it really that tough?  You will notice that things that seemed hard, things you would have avoided doing in the past you now look forward to the challenge. Jiu Jitsu forces you to get comfortable in uncomfortable situations and this applies to way more than just being in bottom side control under someone with a 50 pound weight advantage.  

This mindset carries over to achieving goals in any area of your life.  We live in a world of instant gratification. Participation medals and high fives have become the norm for subpar performances.  There is none of that in Jiu Jitsu. You have to earn it, every step of the way. It takes a long time to earn rank in Jiu Jitsu, on average 10 years to earn a black belt, and likely close to 6 months before you ever see your first stripe on your white belt.  Jiu Jitsu teaches us to be patient, work hard toward our goals and never quit. No matter how challenging, no matter how small or slow the progress may seem, each step forward is just that, a step forward. Jiu Jitsu teaches us to fall in love with the process.  Every goal is simply a milestone, not a destination, fall in love with the process. You will hear elite competitor, business owner, school board member and father Professor Tom DeBlass talk about this constantly, “there are no easy days” every day he is training, because of his passion and love for the art.

This mindset is not unique to Jiu Jitsu, it’s just learned with consistency on the mats.  The reality is you can replace “I want to earn my (insert any color belt) in Jiu Jitsu” with any other goal.  Maybe you want to save more money than you have ever saved in a year, maybe you want to train for a triathlon, maybe you want to be a better father or maybe you want to get that promotion at work.  Maybe you want to do all of these things. Regardless of the goals, the principles remain the same and your mindset will determine your journey.

If you are new to training, we are happy to share the mats with you, keep showing up and putting in the work, before you know it, you will be telling a new white belt this same advice.  If you have been training for a while, it’s time to start looking at how you can share Jiu Jitsu. How can you help someone find their way to the mats, so they too can experience the same benefits you enjoy?

Regardless of what your goals, mindset will determine if you are able to reach them.  Tom DeBlass is a master of Mindset, and his instructional "Ripped In 12 Weeks" will help you achieve your goals!

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