Why I love Jiu Jitsu
If you asked every member in our gym why they love Jiu Jitsu, you are bound to get a lot of different answers. Some people enjoy the self-defense aspect, some enjoy the physical and mental challenge, others enjoy the fact that they can get a great workout and that it is always something different. Let me explain a little about why I love Jiu Jitsu.
Jiu Jitsu has changed me in ways that I never expected when I first stepped on the mats to begin my journey. I was in the Army and at the time thought I was in tip-top shape. I was maxing out my physical fitness tests, could carry an 80lb rucksack for miles over rough terrain, and throughout my life was very athletic. Jiu Jitsu, I thought, would be too easy. I will never forget my first class, where I was thoroughly outperformed in just one minute of rolling. Exhausted and confused, I left the gym replaying everything in my head trying to figure out what the hell just happened to me.
I didn’t even roll with the highest of belts. my one roll was with a Blue Belt, which is only one belt higher than the beginning white belt I was. I had been controlled, manipulated, and submitted multiple times at his will; but I left uninjured. No broken bones, no black eyes, and no missing teeth. Every time I tapped though, I was immediately released and shown respect; explained why and how it happened. There was no criticism or celebration for my ignorance, only a reassurance that everyone had been where I was that day.
I didn’t realize then, but what I was learning that day was that at Legion Jiu Jitsu, and Jiu Jitsu in general, I could trust my training partners with my life. Every day at the gym we trust each other with our life and livelihood, we trust that we can leave the gym that day to go to work, take care of our families and accomplish our daily routines after engaging in an intense and intricate game of combat chess.
For me, having just left the Army and looking for friendships that bond deeply over mutual respect and trust through struggle, I knew this was something special.
What I was missing at the time was a sense of relationship. People suffer in isolation. I know I did. What I found in Jiu Jitsu was a place of community that has purpose, order and meaning. Legion Jiu Jitsu is a place where being a decent human is a prerequisite and acting like a decent human is essential.
I fell in love with Jiu Jitsu, and Legion, because it became the forcing function that made me act intentionally instead of accidentally, both on and off the mats. It replaced the home that I felt I had lost leaving the Army.
Jiu Jitsu forces us to confront ourselves. Our fears, anxieties, reactions, and habits. A quote from a book I read written by Michael Gerber sums up my love for Jiu Jitsu and the community it creates, “…It is an arena of conflict where we confront an opponent who is not an opponent but rather a partner engaged in helping us understand ourselves more fully.”
I fell in love with Jiu Jitsu because it challenges me physically and mentally, diminishes my ego and allows me to find peace, purpose, and belief in myself within a community of great humans. If you are at a crossroads in life, as many of us find ourselves, I promise Jiu Jitsu will take you down the right path.
