From: IBJJF.com
One of the most important and often overlooked benefits of jiu-jitsu is how it enhances our social lives. Although it can be very intimidating walking into an academy for the first time, these feelings soon dissipate as you train more consistently and build relationships with your training partners. Effective training requires constant communication which often leads to strong bonds being formed in the academy. Many practitioners are in their academies multiple times per week and end up seeing their training partners as often as their own families. These bonds are important because they keep us motivated to continue training, improving, and giving back to newer students at the academy. Training jiu-jitsu helps us make new friends, meet people from all walks of life, and connect with practitioners all across the world.
Make New Friends
Throughout childhood and young adulthood, it’s pretty easy to form friendships. You go to school with other classmates who are the same age and share similar interests. But as you get older it becomes increasingly more difficult to make new friends. Responsibilities with work, family, and other hobbies can take up the majority of your time with little leftover for socializing. When you join a jiu-jitsu academy, however, you’ll quickly realize how important good communication is to learning and improving your skillset. By communicating with your training partners, you’re able to discuss what’s working and what you can improve upon more quickly. These interactions bring training partners closer together. Additionally, it’s very common to stay after class to talk about technique or simply catch up with your training partners. The time spent on the mat and the time spent after class socializing about commons interests builds deep and lasting friendships.
Meet People From All Walks of Life
In addition to making new friends, you’ll also meet a variety of people from all walks of life. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, construction workers, police men and women, and people from nearly any profession can be found on the jiu-jitsu mats. This diversity not only exists when it comes to occupation, but also to ethnic group and national origin. Jiu-Jitsu is a world wide sport that is practiced everywhere so it’s common to meet people from very different backgrounds throughout your journey. Whether a visitor comes to your academy’s open mat or you drop into an academy while traveling, you’re bound to meet people from a variety of walks of life when you train. Being exposed to different people with different backgrounds and ideas is vital to our growth and evolution as individuals.
Connect With Practitioners All Across The World
Jiu-Jitsu is a global sport. With more and more academies opening and thriving each year, jiu-jitsu is on a steady growth trajectory. Whether you’re traveling for work or vacation or relocating for a new job, it’s very likely that there will be a jiu-jitsu academy in your area. Knowing that you have a place to go improve yourself and be surrounded by individuals with a common interest wherever you go gives you confidence and peace of mind. Participating in open mats, tournaments, and seminars can help you meet new practitioners and build friendships that will be valuable throughout your jiu-jitsu journey.