Five Mental Benefits of Jiu Jitsu

Brazilian jiu-jítsu is often talked about in terms of how it can help you get in shape, get
physically stronger, and help improve your cardio in ways you’ve never felt before. While all of
this is true, what about what jiu jitsu can do for your mind?

1. Controlling Emotions
While learning how to control your emotions may not happen overnight, it will come with
time. Us instructors often joke about how breathing is the most important technique. But we do
not only say this to keep you moving physically, it is also to make sure you are thinking about
breathing and the situation you’re in rather than resorting to anger or panic if you are sparring
from a difficult position. It also becomes important to control your emotions under pressure when
you may be training with a good friend, as you wouldn’t want to risk the friendship because you
got stuck or lost a round and couldn’t keep your cool. Jiu jitsu is a great way to start
implementing some emotional control into you or your child’s day to day activities.

2. Boosting Motivation
The endorphins released after the work out of jiu jitsu can not only make you feel happier
and calmer, but it can also inspire you to continue learning more, or keep moving forward in
your fitness journey!

3. Humility and Patience
Everyone’s bjj journey is different. Some want to be high level competitors, some want to
add training into their exercise regimens, and some just want to have fun and learn some self
defense! Either way, achieving those goals won’t happen overnight. It takes lots of time, losing,
and mistakes to become successful in most cases. The time it takes to become a good jiu jitsu
practitioner will help you get better at being patient, as well as help you to understand that losing
and winning don’t matter too much when you’re training with your team. What matters is that
you see progress over time, and are able to ask questions and handle a loss so that you can
learn from it.

4. Managing Stress
We get it, lives can get busy! Full time jobs, kids, lifestyle changes, and all of the above
are happening constantly. It can be easy to get stressed or overwhelmed, and jiu jitsu is a great
way to talk to or make friends, take some time away from work or the house, and also get in a
great work out! As for kids, it can be an awesome outlet for all that extra energy!

5. Focus and Concentration
One very important aspect of jiu jitsu - and life - is the ability to focus or concentrate.
Without it, you can become easily distracted, and it will be much harder to reach your goals or
life aspirations. In a jiu jitsu class, it is important for people to focus on what the instructor
teaches and pay attention to the details in order to understand how and why the technique
works! It is also wise to be able to focus when you are training with someone else in order to be
as safe as possible and avoid colliding with another group, getting injured, or losing track of
what you are supposed to be doing while training, which can also be detrimental to your
partners training! In order to make the most out of it, both partners should be as focused as
possible!