Training Jiu-Jitsu is absolutely one of the best ways to learn Self-Defense, become confident, and get in shape on the mats, but it has impact far beyond that. Here are 5 lessons from Jiu-Jitsu that you can apply to life off the mats, in success, health, business, and relationships.
1) Victory is a result of Persistence: "Its not about who's the best, its about who's left." The most talented, naturally gifted, athletically inclined will pick up Jiu-Jitsu faster than the average student. That is just a fact. However the student who does not have those gifts can overcome all those obstacles simply by consistently and persistently showing up. Skill in Jiu-Jitsu is a by product of quality knowledge and quality repetition. The average student, and below average student can catch up and eclipse the naturally talented, over time, by continually Showing up, and Persistently Outworking everyone on the mats.
In Life: Success in Business, Education, and Relationships is in large part a product of your Persistence and Consistency. Applying the lesson of using quality information, and quality repetition (practice) from Jiu-Jitsu you can catch up to a competitor with more resources, overcome roadblocks to education, and remain committed in your relationships, by applying the lesson of "Hustle Beats Talent, When Talent Doesn't Hustle."
2) Success is a Result of Teamwork: You can Practice and Drills Jiu-Jitsu moves and Concepts on your own, but you can't do Jiu-Jitsu by yourself. The very nature of the Art requires at least one Teammate! Very quickly in training you begin to see the value of a quality training partner. Finding someone who will push you, but not injure you. That will motivate you and keep you on track. Someone who will give you honest, constructive feedback, and work with you to correct your mistakes. Finding, Developing, and Creating Quality Teammates becomes a must for continued Success.
In Life: Your success, your habits, your direction is directly affected by the people (team) you surround yourself with. In Fact, If you want to know where you are headed in life, take a close look at the five people you spend the most time with. If you are uncomfortable what direction that is, implement the teamwork lesson from Jiu-Jitsu and either develop the Team around you or start looking for a more supportive, and driven circle to associate with.
3) Dealing with Pressure: In Jiu-Jitsu you deal with tons of Pressure......Literally! Your training partner, or opponent literally tries to apply as much weight, and pressure to you as possible. In a Jiu-Jitsu Match Victory can and has been a result of applying so much pressure to your opponent that they tap out (surrender) just to the overwhelming sense of pressure. At times, especially in the beginning, the pressure can seem to smother you, or make you feel claustrophobic, you might even feel a bit like you are drowning, but over time Jiu-Jitsu teaches us how to find comfort in discomfort. How to manage what we can, protect ourselves, and survive until the conditions are right to improve our position and escape.
In Life: You will absolutely have moments where you become overwhelmed, when you are overloaded, when you feel like the whole weight of the world is on your shoulders. It is in those moments where we can apply the lesson of dealing with pressure from Jiu-Jitsu to help us stay calm. To stop worrying about the entire problem/s and look at focus on the tiny opportunities, on the small things we can fix right now, to put ourselves in position to overcome our problem step by step removed from the stress, worry, and anxiety of the totality of the problem.
4) Just Breathe: Closely related with dealing with pressure, Jiu-Jitsu teaches us how to breathe. When we are stuck in a seemingly impossible move to escape, or stuck under the weight and pressure of our opponent, or just plain exhausted and feeling like there is no more gas left in the tank, Jiu-Jitsu teaches us how to control our breath. How to slow our heart rate back down, and how controlling our breath helps us control our mind.
In Life: We can apply this principle when we are stressed, when we are angry, or just plain exhausted, by simply slowing down our breathing. From a slow and purposeful inhale, holding, and then slowly releasing our breath the fog that seems to settle on our brain sometimes begins to clear, that tunnel vision we get when we are angry begins to fade, and that exhaustion begins to dissipate as our second wind begins to kick into gear.
5) Nobody Perfect! In Jiu-Jitsu tapping out is what you do when your opponent catches you in a dangerous move that you just can't escape from. In chess terms, it is like being in Checkmate. There is no option but to concede defeat. The Beautiful thing about tapping out is everyone does it, in fact it is inevitable that you will tap. Even the best competitors,in the world have tapped out, and will continue to have to tap out from time to time. It is not removed from, or the opposite of success, but rather a necessary part of improving and learning. Each tap brings the opportunity to start over with a clean slate, and new perspective.
In Life: We can apply this lesson when we fail (and we will fail) in our careers, our education, or relationships. To see the missteps, the miscalculations, the bad decisions as an opportunity for growth, as an opportunity to improve and build our success on top of our failures instead of being buried by them. It also reminds us that nobody is perfect, that we all slip, we all have those moments we just wish we could have back. That rather than dwell on them and remain in pain, we can simply "tap out", learn our lesson, and start fresh, armed with new knowledge and maybe even a bit of wisdom.
Don't take my word for it, take Jiu-Jitsu Master Pedro Sauers advice after he shows a technique on the mat "grab a partner and Let's see if its True!" Start training today and slowly but surely see the benefits of training Jiu-Jitsu start spilling over into all the areas of your life!
Find a Pedro Sauer Gracie Jiu-Jitsu School: www.pedrosauer.com