2020 State of Jiu-Jitsu

Rough Times

For most of us in the Jiu-Jitsu world, 2020 was a rough year. Many academy owners lost their businesses, and almost all of them suffered huge losses. Active competitors saw their aspirations for Worlds – to say nothing of the countless other large tournaments – dashed. Students of Jiu-Jitsu had their progress in the art halted as their gyms shut down, or they opted to stay home out of caution and care for loved ones and the larger community. 

The lessons of this year are also lessons that we learn on the mats every day and that deepen throughout our Jiu-Jitsu career. As the vaccines become more available and we start to approach a semblance of normality, we should look back upon 2020 not only as a year of great loss but also a year of great learning, growth, and reflection. 

Jiu-Jitsu Saves

Jiu-Jitsu inexorably changed my life for the better. It gave me confidence, humility, and imbued upon me the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. I can honestly say that it saved my life. Without Jiu-Jitsu I would very likely be lost in a bottle, overweight, and on my way to an early grave. As an instructor – and now as an academy owner – my goal has always been to share Jiu-Jitsu with others, hoping that I can play a part in any capacity whatsoever towards showing others what Jiu-Jitsu has to offer. 

Learning perseverance under pressure.

Resilience Through Adversity

Through Jiu-Jitsu we can truly come to know ourselves. We quickly learn how resilient we are and how much more resilient we can be. On the mats – especially in our first few years training – we often find ourselves in remarkably uncomfortable situations, physically and emotionally. Being attacked and placed in uncomfortable positions by opponents who are often larger and stronger than us can bring up a lot of fear and anxiety. However, the more time we spend in these uncomfortable situations the more we realize that we aren’t made of glass and our training partners cannot break us. The more we train the more we realize that our fears and anxieties are often overblown, and that in order to succeed we need to moderate our fear and anxiety, remain calm and rely on our technical training and physical assets. After a time we learn to become confident in our skills and ability to defend ourselves and even to assert our will upon others. Although having been in their position, we do so out of a mutual desire to make each other better, not out of an aggressive need to “win the train.” 

Jiu-Jitsu is Essential

Through Jiu-Jitsu we can learn to take better care of ourselves, listening to our bodies and nurturing ourselves properly (after putting ourselves through the wringer, of course!). On the Jiu-Jitsu mats we connect with people on a much deeper level than we do in our workplaces and other social settings. In many ways we trust our training partners more than we trust anybody else in our lives. Every time we step on the mats we are literally putting our lives in the hands of strangers, entrusting them with the safety of our bodies when they are able to choke us unconscious or snap our limbs. Through the inconsistencies, starts-and-stops, and ups-and-downs of training Jiu-Jitsu we can learn to not take ourselves so seriously, and to enjoy the journey and whatever obstacles and victories it affords us.

The various friendships built on the mats are truly unique.

Moving Forward

Moving into 2021 we should all reflect on the lessons we have learned through Jiu-Jitsu – of resilience, confidence, respect, community, gallows humor, and becoming comfortable with uncomfortable situations – and how those lessons can guide us through “these uncertain times,” and any adversity that we are certain to encounter in the future.

I hope that all of us have been able to reflect and recognize the ways that Jiu-Jitsu truly does transcend being just another combat sport. Jiu-Jitsu teaches us much more than how to dominate another human being but how to dominate our own fears and anxieties as we navigate an uncertain world.  

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