An Unspoken Brotherhood

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a sport that is predominantly done by men. About 95% of people who actively participate are male.  Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a fraternity that opens doors and friendships all across the country or in some cases the world. There is an unspoken brotherhood that is formed when you train with people that have gone through the same situation as you within those four walls.

Men who are not engaged in physically laborious labor are looking for ways to redefine their manhood, Brazilian jiu-jitsu gives us a chance to establish a sense of manhood that working regular desk jobs don’t necessarily provide. Looking for a way to better yourself, join a like-minded community, and find leaders and role models in your community? Go to your local jiu-jitsu gym.

The lessons learned within the sport are not just physical. There are deep philosophical ways that it will translate over to your regular life. When you have setbacks in life, you can refer back to those setbacks you had in jiu-jitsu to realize that you do get through these things. Having peaks and valleys is a natural part of progressing through life and the people you meet along that path become a part of your family.

The Struggle of Being a Grappler

The average age of a white belt starting in BJJ is 28 years old, most people are starting with this sport at a later period of their life. It is a new and fun way to get excellent exercise but by no means is it easy.

Everyone that has trained and reached higher belts can relate to the shitty 6 – 8 months at the beginning of the journey. You will get beat up and choked out a lot… it’s important to know how to stay healthy, implement good habits, and find good training partners along the way. Choosing to better yourself and finding healthy outlets to release frustration is far more important than you could imagine.

With a world full of negative distractions, it can be a struggle to make the necessary sacrifices but in the pursuit of being the greatest version of yourself, this is a must.

Brotherhood: Importance of Open Mats

Open mats are when other sister gyms open up their mat space for others to come to roll somewhere new. This is a great way to integrate yourself into the brotherhood in a deep and meaningful way.

Rolling with new faces breaks the mundane acts that may arise when training with the same people over and over again. This is a great way to also learn from people who a much further along their journey than yourself. Anytime you get the opportunity to roll with or meet new black belts is an opportunity that should not be wasted. The depth of knowledge they can bring you within a five or six-minute sparring session is immense and can help take your game to the next level!

There is a huge community of like-minded people that show up every day to better themselves all across the world. An already existing community consisting of millions of people practice the sport of jiu-jitsu.  The ability to travel and pop into new gyms, meet new people, and join a brotherhood has never been easier!

Happy Rolling!