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For many practitioners, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu isn’t merely something you do to get in shape or learn how to defend yourself. Sure, those are all great things in and of themselves, but they don’t really add up to the whole of what is so important about it and why it’s so influential in the lives of so many people.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the things about Jiu-Jitsu that transcend the practice itself and have, for countless amounts of people, improved their life and instilled a deeper sense of meaning.
Jiu-Jitsu & How You Live Your Life
One of the greatest parts about Jiu-Jitsu is that it teaches some extremely important lessons and principles about how to conduct yourself in life. One of the best things I’ve learned from Jiu-Jitsu is the idea of Technique over Strength. In Jiu-Jitsu, this is seen when an objectively smaller practitioner destroys the larger opponent. Many times, truly excellent technique can go a lot farther than raw, untrained strength. This translates to life really well. We should strive to be patient, understanding, and disarming through charm as opposed to bullying our way to the top. Sure, there are times when aggression is necessary, but only after every effort to deescalate the situation has been made prior to that. For example, when protecting others from an attack, self-defense is appropriate.
Discipline
Undoubtedly, BJJ requires a lot of discipline and regular training. Day in and day out, it requires the discipline to show up. If you want to learn a new technique or improve upon your current technique, then you simply have to work at it over and over and over. This is a huge life lesson. In fact, people who get disciplined in one area of life are often found to become more disciplined in other areas, as well. Jiu-Jitsu offers a large array of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment when you work at it to become better — and for this reason it is a great example of how to live life. Greatness is in reach, but you have to work for it. Becoming a disciplined person doesn’t enforce rigidity in the long-run. In fact, it actually allows you more freedom in the future.
This is far from an exhaustive list, as Jiu-Jitsu can serve as a wonderful teacher for a variety of things. But even with the above two ideas in view, I hope it can help spread a message on the importance of personal responsibility and discipline.
Until next time,
Nicholas Gerace
https://medium.com/@nicholasgeracenewyork/jiu-jitsu-as-a-life-teacher-6f73114a78f3