WHAT DOES JIU JITSU TEACH YOU
Posted by Benjamin Strusnik on
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become one of the most popular forms of Martial Arts, as the growth rate of the sport has hit an all time high. The ground fighting aspects in BJJ is what attracts many students from all over the world, as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is commonly recognised as human chess. Training in the art will give students the many benefits of jiu jitsu movements, as they are highly adapted to help a student with their core strength, dexterity, agility, flexibility, and their mobility. Along with all of the physical benefits, BJJ also helps students with their critical thinking. Learning this skill is extremely important, as it is one of the main components they will need in a real life violent situation.
What This Article Covers:
- The Physical Benefits
- Self Defense
- The Mental Health Benefits
- The Tactical Edge
- Creating Better People
- Competitive Success
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will also teach many other aspects that students will need in their life. There are mental health benefits of brazilian jiu jitsu that students can access, and learning these processes are extremely important for all students. Many of the principles that students will learn in BJJ can fully translate into different aspects of a student's real life. For example;students will learn how to cope while under an extreme amount of pressure, which can relate to a real life situation, where they may be attacked by an assailant. Empathy will also translate into their real life, as they will learn, and build better bridges toward controlling their emotional responses. This is extremely important in a real life situation, so that a student can have the ability to stay calm, de-escalate the incident, or walk away from danger.
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THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has an extremely impressive range of physical benefits. Quite often students begin their journey into BJJ unfit, overweight, or unconditioned to fast paced, and high intensity exercise. After just a short period of time students will begin to discover many of their attributes improving. The level of functional fitness that is involved in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is tremendous, as not only will a student build up a rather large gas tank, it is in a completely functional way. This means that all of their training is designed specifically to meet a certain purpose, or objective that is to be achieved in BJJ. Due to the nature of the sport, and how dynamic and intense the Martial Art is, students will need a large conditioning of functional fitness.
Although BJJ is unlike weightlifting, it still does have its elements of strength and conditioning attached. Students will ask why do jiu jitsu, and not just train in weights. Training in the art of BJJ can offer students a vast array of movement based exercises, which helps not only strengthen the body, but coordinate all of their movements. In Jiu Jitsu strength is needed on all sorts of weird angles, so the necessity of learning specifically designed movements is essential. BJJ is basically a core workout, as there is a lot of sit up style of movements. A student's core is constantly engaged in many of the aspects involved with BJJ. Athletes will need to have exceptionally strong hips, so they can hip shrimp and learn to escape from bad positions, this is so they can improve in retaining their guard.
After a while of training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, students will see amazing results in their mobility, and their flexibility. Because of the high range of movements involved with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, students will be able to improve drastically on their flexibility. BJJ incorporates not only movements, but a wide range of different yoga like stretches, as these movements will help an athlete improve on their overall game style. It is quite common for students to endure injuries over the course of their careers, and this is a major contributor to students increasing their range of mobility. Mobility exercises come in all different forms, as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a great platform to learn many of these distinguished movements.
SELF DEFENSE
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is more than just a competitive sport, it is also one of the most favourable hand to hand combat systems in the world. The system that Helio Gracie invented was specifically designed for self defense, as his artform involved many different forms of striking. Nowadays BJJ self defense has come back in a big way, as students can learn the values of how to incorporate Jiu Jitsu movements into their defenses. Above all else, some great bjj beginner tips will teach a person to be able to identify danger, as this will leave them in good stead to de-escalate, or avoid dangerous situations. Sometimes avoiding a fight is just not possible, so this is when having experience in the art comes into play. BJJ teaches students to stay calm and use instinctive movements to counteract incoming attacks. Although every situation is different, the art of BJJ teaches students to neutralise opponents using dynamic transitions, and positional control, all without using any forms of excessive force.
A street fight can be one of the most dangerous scenarios that a student may find themself in, and quite commonly attackers will use weapons, or try to win by any means necessary. This means there are no rules on the street, and attackers are not governed by a set of guidelines like a BJJ practitioner is. Implementing the correct BJJ self defense, means that the student will have to use moves they may not necessarily use in training. On the street the threat is real, so students need to exercise caution, and rely on their training structures they have been taught. Learning how to keep balance, and use frames, are all combined with dynamic movements, this will help students conquer any adversity they may face in a real life conflict situation.
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THE MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has a massive range of health benefits, as students will soon discover just how important human connection is. Joining a BJJ academy is a great choice for people that suffer from mental health issues, as the art form is well known as a therapeutic form of Martial Art. When a student trains at a BJJ academy they will meet people from all different walks of life, and this is just what someone who is suffering from depression, anxiety, or other related issues, needs to improve their quality of life. Recovering from different forms of mental abuse is only achieved through human connection, and a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy has some of the best humans in the world today. A BJJ school is well known for how understanding, and encouraging the atmosphere is. Students are free to train at their own pace, without fear of vilification, or embarrassment from their peers.
Many of these benefits also help children, as a solid Jiu Jitsu program will help build a child's resilience, and critical thinking. They will also discover some good bjj tips for how to become part of a team, and use good problem solving techniques, so they can rise above adversity. Many children that are on the spectrum of some form of autism do benefit exponentially from training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This is due to the nature of BJJ, and how a student will need to focus intently while still getting the dynamic exercise that they need to spread out their energy. Women are also a massive benefactor of BJJ, as they do commonly need a solid program to help them build up their confidence. Learning a grappling art like BJJ gives women the skills they need to be able to handle themself in a real life situation, and this doesn't just mean physically, it means emotionally. Controlling emotions is one of the most important aspects of staying level headed, so that a student can make the correct decisions in whatever aspect of their life that they may need.
THE TACTICAL EDGE
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been known as an extremely tactical form of Martial Arts. Students that become extremely proficient in this art form will not only gain an expert skillset, but they will also gain a tactical advantage over most of their attackers. Learning BJJ is like doing maths, there are multiple angles to learn, as well as understanding depth perception, and how fast things move is extremely important to a calculating practitioner. Students that are extremely experienced in BJJ seem like they are barely doing anything inside of a fight, but realistically they are utilising tiny movements, or hidden Jiu Jitsu elements, that are working overtime to keep them in the best position possible. There is a lot of strategy that goes into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, as the art is known as a real life game of human chess. The concept is basic, and is all about out thinking, and out moving your opponent. This is why learning the art with a tactical purpose in mind, is what helps students reach the upper echelon of skills in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
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CREATING BETTER PEOPLE
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is more than just a Martial Art that teaches students to become excellent fighters. Becoming proficient in many of the techniques that BJJ has to offer, is only one element of a much larger art. When a student joins a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy, it does not take long at all before they realise that the art is more than just fighting. BJJ is a way of life, and can be applied systematicly to a student's real life. BJJ involves becoming a better person, or a better version of themself, which is learnt through different components that are taught in the art. Learning humility and knowing when to tap, or when to let go of submissions is a crucial aspect to showing empathy, and just being a decent person. Being honest and integral is deeply breeded amongst the BJJ community, as many practitioners of the art believe in doing things the right way.
BJJ creates better people, and when a group of like minded people get together to train with honesty, integrity, and humility, then the group can be truly inspiring to each other. Practitioners will take the lessons they learn in BJJ, and adapt them into their lifestyles. Once a student has the confidence they need, they will feel like there is nothing that they cannot achieve. It comes down to a simple fact, when a student trains in BJJ their life is in their training partners hands, as is there training partners life in theirs. This is a concept that once understood, is how students of BJJ will breed humility. When a student loses all egotistical views, and replaces them with just pure confidence and humility, then this is how they will achieve a higher standard of integrity, and conduct within their life.
COMPETITIVE SUCCESS
There are many aspects of BJJ that will help a student within their lifestyle. From physical attributes to the more comprehensive mental side of the game. When talking about the skills needed specifically, then BJJ has an outstanding record. The Brazilian art has a never ending gallery of basic to advanced manoeuvres that a student can learn. Quite often students will ask questions like how long does it take to master bjj, and there is no specific answer to this question, as each student will take their own time to reach their desired level. BJJ is an intricate series of trasitional movements, which can only be mastered once a student has applied repetition to their training.
Students that train specifically for BJJ competitions are even more in tune with how Jiu Jitsu works. Students will embody the spirit of the warrior by putting in extreme hard work, and long hours into the mat. What Jiu Jitsu teaches at student is that no matter their limitations, having athleticism and natural skill is only a small percentage of the journey. The biggest battle is in the mind for any BJJ competitor, as they will need to prepare mentally for competing against another seasoned athlete. The competitive world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is now raising in popularity across all platforms, and this is due to the ever climbing growth rate of BJJ across the United States, and the world. Learning BJJ is an art form that is for anybody, as the traditional and respectful Martial Art has become one of the most revered combat sports anywhere in the world today.
If you enjoyed this piece, consider checking:
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- History of Jiu-Jitsu
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