SHOULD I DO JIU JITSU
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is predominantly a ground fighting Martial Art, utilises transitional components to gain dominant control positions. The aim in BJJ is to neutralise an opponent before attempting submission maneuvers like joint locks and choke holds. BJJ originally derived from Japanese Jiu Jitsu, which was designed by the Japanese Samurai in their attempts to disarm, and dismount armed attackers on horseback. Over time the art of Jiu Jitsu became the backbone to the art of judo, where famous fighters like Kano Jigoro, and Mitsuyo Maeda shared their art with other cultures.
What This Article Covers:
- What to Expect at A BJJ Academy
- Do Students Have to Join an Academy to Learn BJJ
- How to Progress Through the Ranks
- The Benefits of Learning BJJ
Once Mitsuyo Maeda came to Brazil, the art of kodokan judo was passed on to the famous Gracie family. After some trials and tribulations, Helio Gracie developed his own form of ground fighting, which would later be known as Gracie Jiu Jitsu. The art evolved over a century, as the split between self defense, and the competitive sporting aspect became apparent. Nowadays Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become one of the mainstream Martial Arts that is practised all over the world. The growth rate of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is climbing exponentially, which is proving why the art is becoming one of the most sought after Martial Arts to train in.
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WHAT TO EXPECT AT A BJJ ACADEMY
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the most comprehensive forms of Martial Arts in the modern era. Training in this formidable system of grappling can be extremely fun, and daunting all at the same time. Students that begin their journey will walk into an academy not sure of what to expect. Choosing to walk into an academy is half the battle for a student, as they will commonly feel nervous and unsure about how to begin. A BJJ academy is a place where students can feel safe to train without fear of being bullied, or vilified for their race or culture. There is a huge cultural diversity embedded into the nature of BJJ, as people from all walks of life come together to share this amazing experience.
When a student walks into an academy they can expect a warm and friendly welcome, as all members of a BJJ school are extremely encouraging toward each other. Learning BJJ is an art form where the student can improve their skills at their own pace, as every student has a different approach to learning. Instructors at a BJJ academy are all very encouraging, and inspiring, as they will offer bjj tips to help a new student transition into a fun, but complicated Martial Art. There are a few expectations that new students will need to adhere to, and most of them are just common sense. Students must respect all members of an academy, and show respect towards the mats. Respecting the mats means to understand the culture of the instructor, and represent their ideology. It also means that students must not wear shoes on the mats, and even though it is not expected, students should bow to the mats as a sign of respect to the art.
Once a student can understand these basic principles of joining a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy, they will be able to dive into the learning aspect of the art. Students can expect a highly intense workout, as all BJJ academies utilise movement based drills, and strength and conditioning practises throughout their training sessions. The technique segment of a BJJ training session can be extremely complicated, but jiu jitsu beginners can expect detailed guidance throughout all scenarios that are taught. The teaching capabilities of a BJJ professor is exemplary, as they have a large amount of knowledge, and experience to share with all students.
DO STUDENTS HAVE TO JOIN AN ACADEMY TO LEARN BJJ
Learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is always best inside an academy, as the art form needs to be practised under guidance. Students will need training partners in order to practise many of the movements, this includes rigorous battle testing that can only be done when two practitioners roll together. Some students may not feel comfortable training in class with a large group of people, and for these students there are other options. Students can opt to learn from their instructors in a one on one situation, as private lessons are always a great way to enhance a students skills. Another way that students can learn is to research how to get better at jiu jitsu at home, as this can be done through hard work, patience, and having all the tools required. Students would need their own mat space so they can practise all of the movement drills, but to improve on their technical skills they would need a training partner, or a grappling dummy. It will be significantly harder with a grappling dummy because the dummy doesn't fight back, but there is still relevance for students that wish to take this route with their training.
If a student chooses to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from the comfort of their own home, then there are many benefits they can take advantage of. Training this way means there will be no expectations on what they learn, or how they learn movements. This means they are free to research some of the best bjj instructionals there are on the market today. Researching instructional videos can be a great way to enhance a student's skill set, and this is due to the high quality of BJJ movements available on platforms like YouTube, and the ever growing and popular bjjfanatics.com. students will need to remember that if they are training by themselves, that they will not have the added bonus of bouncing ideas off of their academy friends. Although this can be detrimental to the growth of a student, it is not the end of the world in terms of becoming proficient in the Brazilian art. At some point though, students will need to practise their BJJ on a live person, and this is purely so they can make sure all of their techniques are proficient enough to work in real life.
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HOW TO PROGRESS THROUGH THE RANKS
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the most complicated forms of Martial Arts to learn in the entire world. In this art form it can take students ten years or more to reach a black belt. It takes some serious hard work, dedication, continuity, and perseverance, to progress through each belt ranking level. Student's may often wonder what does jiu jitsu teach you, and what a student needs to know in order to make these transitions easier, is that every student learns differently. The biggest mistake a student can make is to compare themself to somebody else inside their academy. Some students are just naturally talented, or have a great aptitude for learning, or are already heavily gifted when it comes to strength and athleticism. The biggest opponent in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy is a student's mind, as this is the common reason why students give up before reaching higher levels in the art. A black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is commonly referred to as a student that never gave up.
The best way for students to begin their progression through the arts, is to listen intently and ask lots of questions, as this is the backbone to understanding the mechanics of all movements that are taught. Once a student can be brave enough to ask questions of their instructors, this will open up their critical thinking, and help them problem solve many of the puzzles that makeup the rubik's cube that is Jiu Jitsu. One of the biggest aspects of becoming proficient in BJJ is to practise a lot, this means repetition is vital. It is no use learning an armbar setup, and practising it three times each with your partner, as the student will most likely forget the movements. It is important to practise the move over and over, and even when they feel like they understand the move completely, they should practise it some more. It is also important to come back to techniques they have already mastered to refine them. Every technique has numerous setups and counter movements, which make variations of the move extremely important to understand.
Students should not be worrying about being promoted through the ranks, as that is the job of their instructor. If a student sticks to the task and shows up all of the time, then getting promoted through the ranks will take care of itself. Students should look to roll with everyone inside their academy, especially the higher belts, as this is a great way to gain experience in the art of BJJ. Learning an extensive Martial Art like BJJ, is not all smooth sailing, as there will quite often be bumps in the road. Students need to set realistic goals, as not all students will move up in rank quickly. Throughout the journey of a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner, they will often feel like they are stagnating, or perhaps taking a backward step. This can be extremely natural in the progression of BJJ, and this is due to the complex nature of all aspects involved. Sometimes students can spend too much time practising advanced maneuvers, when what they really need to master is the fundamentals. When a student has a vast knowledge of foundational BJJ, then they are building a solid base which gives them a stronger platform to then add more advanced movements later on down the track. It is extremely important not to get too carried away with the trends, because one thing students need to remember is that black belts that showcase instructional content have already mastered the fundamentals. Learning extremely technical movements at the early stage of BJJ can be detrimental to the students' growth. Therefore sticking to the more traditional elements will enhance the bjj benefits for students in the long term phase.
THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING BJJ
There is an extremely broad range of benefits for students that train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. First and foremost the physical benefits are exceptional, as all students that train in the art boast about how fit and strong they have become. Some students will begin BJJ extremely unfit or uncoordinated, and after a short amount of time the improvements in all of those attributes are incredible. Practising BJJ is great for physical health, as it helps students discover a new form of functional fitness they never knew existed. Students will also use muscles they never knew they had, and this is because Jiu Jitsu needs strength from all sorts of different angles. There is a lot of strength and conditioning involved in BJJ, as students will discover this during many of the warm up drills. Overall the physical benefits of BJJ will help students gain significant strength, increases in their flexibility, their agility, their dexterity, and their overall range of movement.
There are other aspects like the mental health benefits of jiu jitsu, and this is an extremely important concept. BJJ has been often referred to as therapy, and many students of the art can attest to this. In the world today many people suffer from different forms of mental health issues this includes physical and mental abuse, sexual abuse, bullying, and even various forms of autism. The great thing about a BJJ academy is how inviting and encouraging they are to people from all aspects of life, this includes helping people build themselves up to become whole again. BJJ is more than just a fighting Martial Art it is all about becoming a better version of yourself. Coming to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy, students will meet amazing people within the community, and all of them are highly encouraging and inspiring to be around. The benefits for people with mental health issues are immeasurable, and many students have come from a rough past to become humble and inspirational pillars of the BJJ community.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of those Martial Arts that can be trained by anybody. Even though the art has an extensively complicated series of techniques, all of the avenues to learn them are highly guided by professional teachers. If a student is wondering if they should do Jiu Jitsu then the answer is yes, because this Martial Art is highly addictive, and a lot of fun to practise.
There is a massive range of benefits for all students that pick up the art, and due to the caring and encouraging nature of the BJJ community, people of all mental states can enjoy the journey. Along with all the physical and mental benefits, BJJ is fast becoming the number one choice for people all over the world. BJJ does not discriminate, as people from all cultures and all age ranges can learn the art. BJJ translates into lifestyle, as students will find that learning this art form will help them to become more confident in their day to day lives, all while being able to defend themself, de-escalate situations, or even be smart enough to identify danger, and then fit enough to escape conflict. The smartest choice that somebody will make today is to head into their local Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy, and meet the people in the community, as they begin their journey into this amazing Martial Art.
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