Training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) will make you stronger and better able to defend yourself in a fight. But it’ll also give you some unexpected life skills along the way. So if you’re looking to become more patient, more mindful, and generally better at adulting, sign up for a Jiu Jitsu class – your future self will thank you.
Functional fitness
Endless reps in the gym is great if you want big biceps but if you want to keep doing your daily activities, better and longer, you need a more holistic kind of workout.
Functional fitness is exercise that supports the movements you make on a daily basis. Simple things like playing with the kids, lifting heavy groceries, and gardening. Long term physical health doesn’t just mean big muscles, it means being able to stretch, balance, twist, lift, and run. If you think of your body as a machine, functional fitness keeps the cogs greased and the wheels turning so it never loses power.
BJJ is one of the best forms of functional fitness available. This martial art works everything. Flexibility, strength, balance, posture – you’ll see yourself improving across the board after just a few sessions.
Being present
There’s no time to tune out in a BJJ class. Getting wrestled to the ground and immobilized on the mat has a way of focusing your attention, or – as we like to call it – entering a flow state.
What is flow state? Also referred to as being ‘in the zone’, the flow state is that sweet spot where you’re entirely immersed in what you’re doing. Being able to tap into that heightened concentration is pretty much a superpower, turning difficult tasks into a piece of cake.
If you’re the type of person who struggles to concentrate at work, suffers from creative blocks, or procrastinates, learning to access a flow state is crucial. Once you’re in this zone, time flies by. You’re energized, you’re aware, you’re immune to distractions. People do their best work in flow states, unleashing their creativity and becoming hyper-productive.
It also feels great. Research shows that flow states have a euphoric effect in the brain, triggering the release of the feel-good hormone, dopamine.
For an exercise to trigger a flow state it has to be:
- Challenging
- Rewarding
- In-depth
Take a training session at Innisfil Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and you’ll experience all three within the first five minutes.
Patience
BJJ students are great in a fight, but they’re also pretty good at standing in line at the bank. That’s because this martial art teaches you the invaluable art of patience – something we all need, but few actually have.
Jiu Jitsu sessions are a masterclass in patience. Learning anything takes time, but learning a martial art takes time and patience as you drill the techniques and learn the theory behind the moves. Students are forced to slow down, not rushing from one move to the next but pausing to fully appreciate the mechanics of the technique. They also need to be patient with themselves, understanding that progress doesn’t just happen, sometimes it’s slow and steady.
At IBJJ, we don’t focus on belts or competitions. We teach the ‘why’ along with the ‘how’ so our students know BJJ inside and out. It takes patience, but it’s well worth the effort as you’ll become a better, more disciplined fighter who can fluidly adapt what you’ve learned in class to real-world situations.
Being mindful of your mistakes
Mistakes in a BJJ class are inevitable. Injuries happen and that’s why we teach safety as our first priority. But we don’t wrap our fighters in cotton wool either. Students have to learn how to avoid mistakes, but they also need to learn how to recover from them too.
When fighters make a mistake, we teach them to learn from it – without judgment or self-pity. No-one perfectly executes a movement while they’re learning, that’s why they’re learning! Go back, figure out what went wrong, try it again. Our classes offer a supportive environment where students turn their mistakes into opportunities to grow. And we help each other, because we’ve all been there.
In this way, BJJ classes build resilience and mindfulness, teaching students that getting something wrong is just another way to learn.
If you’re interested in trying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu get in touch! We offer beginners a free, no-commitment, introductory session so they can meet our coaches, get to know the gym, and discuss their training goals. Schedule your session now or check our classes here.
Looking for a martial arts studio in Innisfil and the surrounding area? Innisfil Brazilian Jiujitsu offers professional Brazilian Jiujitsu training with a range of BJJ classes for all ages and abilities. Contact our coaches today to get started!