Why Jiu Jitsu Made My Mental and Physical Health 1000x Better

Originally published here

How it saved my life twice

I have been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) for nine years now and it has done more than just change my body composition. BJJ has improved my mental health and physical well-being in ways that I never imagined possible. In this blog post, I will share how BJJ helped me get through some tough times when I was doing a PhD, as well as the many benefits of practicing BJJ.

1. Why I started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Back in 2012, I was in my second year of doing my PhD. I needed a physical outlet because sitting in front of a computer was keeping me sedentary and I was gaining weight. Being grumpy wasn’t helpful to my family either. One afternoon, I was speaking to one of my PhD colleagues, he suggested that I should give BJJ a try since I have done some wrestling in high school and spent some time doing judo. I had watched UFC several times so I knew that BJJ was a grappling martial art. So one day I showed up at a local gym.

2. The mental and physical benefits of practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

The most important benefit of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that it provides mental health benefits. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has helped me and countless people I know deal with stress, depression, anxiety etc. You might find it strange but learning to stay calm while someone is trying to strangle you (and likely to kill you if they don’t stop) has been helpful in dealing with my daily stress. Reading academic research papers and writing thesis at least 6 days a week were not good for anyone. Having this outlet where I turned my research brain off was definitely got me through.

Physically, I have not been in better shape. I remember the first a few months of BJJ I could not keep up with highly trained and in shape Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu friends. I lost 30 lbs. and started to see some defining lines around my abs.

The long-term benefit of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is that it will make you stronger, faster, and more flexible than any other sport or exercise out there. This has been 100% the case for me personally and countless others who trained with me.

One of the greatest benefits about BJJ in my opinion is how much you grow as a person by joining this sport. It helps develop both physical and mental toughness which have been invaluable to me and many others. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is about more than just learning self-defense moves, it’s a way of life that teaches you how to protect yourself against anything fiercer in the world including any of the common mental health issues.

3. How my life has changed since starting to train in BJJ

About 4 years ago, I woke up to a strange feeling. I had a minor heart attack. I was in great shape. I had virtually no fat on my body and probably could have run a half marathon without any training. I guess all the years partying and eating badly in my 20’s and 30’s caught up to me. I had a blockage in one of my arteries. It baffled everyone including my cardiologist. But it was what it was.

Since that incident, I have had a renewed focus on my life. I wanted to change my lifestyle to ensure that I don’t have a second one. My BJJ training had more focus on improving my overall health. I not only worked on improving my techniques, but I made sure that I didn’t neglect to build strength and endurance, meaning I had to maintain my fitness level beyond what it was before. My life was depending on it, literally.

I almost forgot this point…. the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community is amazing. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has helped me make so many friends from all walks of life. We work to help each other grow as people through training together and I am grateful for that. It’s not only for those who you train with regularly. When I travel, I try to visit local BJJ gyms around the world (e.g. New York, Honolulu, San Francisco, and Seoul). I had nothing but great experience meeting all these new people… and I got to train with a number of world champions.

4. Tips for getting started in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

There’s no real requirement for trying it out. All you need is to be open-minded, willing to learn something new and have a positive mindset. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is like many things in life; it’s not for everyone. There are some people who just don’t mesh well with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or any other martial arts. However, if you’re reading this maybe you are intrigued enough to check Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu out.

There’s a saying in BJJ, a black belt is a white belt who didn’t quit. It starts with your first BJJ class. Don’t be intimidated. Be humble. Anyone can get good at this.

5. I am no UFC MMA fighter but….

I knew it is one of the more effective martial arts for self-defense, but I wondered how effective I would be in a serious situation. I think it is normal to question whether various movements and techniques would be effective self-defense techniques.

A couple of years ago, I was on a bus sitting across from a homeless man who appeared to be suffering from some sort of mental health issues. He began to harass a young woman sitting next to me so I gave him an unapproving look. He didn’t like that very much and started saying not-so-nice things to me. I had a headphone on so I was able to ignore the words he was saying but my guard was up as he was getting more and more aggressive towards me. As I got up to let the young woman out, the man also got up and decided to jump me. I guess my instincts kicked in… I grabbed his collar with one hand and my other hand grabbing his wrist as it was hidden inside of his coat pocket (I wasn’t sure if he had a knife). Then I turned and dragged him to the ground while tripping him with one of my feet. He was stunned and fell to the floor, and as I let go a bit, he ran away. As much as I was grateful that I was able to defend myself, I hope I won’t have to face that kind of situation (or worse) again.