Intentional Stress Challenge: Train Jiu-Jitsu

Explore how training jiu-jitsu is a great way to specifically develop a resilient mental state.

The art of jiu-jitsu is worth more in every way than all of our athletics combined.

-Teddy Roosevelt

Personal Experience

Bottom line up front: I’m biased.

I’ve been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) for over eight years and love it as much as any other individual pursuit in my life.

I started training in mixed martial arts (MMA) for the purpose of testing myself and learning how to better protect my family or others if needed. I quickly learned that anyone with mild competency in grappling could dominate me in a fight once distance was closed or we went to the ground, regardless of my superior athleticism, boxing, and/or wrestling.

I could hold my own or at least have a chance of success on the feet in MMA. I had ZERO chance of preventing an opponent from eventually strangling me if they had training in BJJ. This reality, and the birth of my daughter that led me to become more selective in when and how I trained, caused me to begin primarily training in jiu-jitsu.

My team really emphasized sparring or realistic training while simultaneously demanding ego control so safety could be improved, and risk of injury could be reduced. After just months of training and beginning to learn basic techniques, I couldn’t believe the success I was having against guys significantly bigger than me.

My life and confidence in my abilities began to change.

My first team in Guam

Though violence is not lawful, when it is offered in self-defense or for the defense of the defenseless, it is an act of bravery far better than cowardly submission. The latter befits neither man nor woman.

-Mahatma Gandhi

Self-Defense

If a hand-to-hand fight cannot be avoided, BJJ is THE best martial art to teach self-defense to any age, size, gender, and ability.

Situational awareness, de-escalation, ego management, and escape are all better options than fighting.

If you have to defend yourself without use of a weapon, however, jiu-jitsu and its concepts can be taught to anyone to at worst be a harder target and at best to effectively control and strangle an assailant unconscious regardless of size or strength.

Your physical safety is up to you, as it really always has been.

-Jeff Cooper

Most self-defense situations arise from insecure individuals attempting to intimidate or criminals who want material items like money or belongings. These are forms of social violence where the assailant wants to gain something without causing significant injury or death to the victim.

Predators are almost always looking for prey.

Perceptually easy wins are sought by cowards wanting to take advantage of others.

People who appear weak mentally, physically, or spiritually are more vulnerable.

Situational awareness, posture, social support, and confidence can all contribute to decreasing risk of an attack through creating the image of being a hard target. However, when a fight is threatened, perceived superiority, external validation, or possessions aren’t worth fighting for. Success or failure in a street fight can lead to jail time, injury, or death. A trained and confident individual knows this and has no problem allowing someone to have a false sense of supremacy in order to avoid an unneeded confrontation.

When a fight becomes unavoidable, effective self-defense MUST be used.

Self-offense is one’s ability to enact harm on another. Self-defense is ultimately self-preservation or one’s ability to stay alive and be difficult for a predator to have success regardless of size or strength differential.

Both self-offense and defense are useful tools, but only one can be effectively taught to vulnerable populations.

Self-defense is so important to know in today's society. It's not just that you might get mugged. It's more for confidence. It's the way you hold yourself when you walk into a room. Every step you take is more sure and you're much more aware of your surroundings. So, I think it's a really important thing - especially for women.

-Milla Jovovich

Martial Arts

All forms of martial arts can add value to anyone’s ability to defend themselves.

Some training in any discipline is better than no training at all.

Boxing provides footwork, distance management, hand striking defense, proper punching biomechanics, and precision. Kickboxing is appropriately named as it is boxing with kicks. Distance management, however, changes dramatically once kicks are involved. Muay Thai takes it a step further to have all the benefits of boxing and kickboxing with the addition of other offensive tools on the body to include the elbows and knees along with the ability to strike in the clinch. Judo teaches trips, throws and many ways to manage a person on the feet and can be an incredible advantage when having to defend yourself against someone wearing a jacket. Certain efficient submissions are also taught in judo making it the most similar martial art to BJJ. Wrestling is one of the oldest and most important martial arts in that it teaches grit, toughness and the ability to dictate if a fight stays on the feet or goes to the ground. Being able to choose where a fight takes place is a huge advantage as you can put the fight where you have the best chance for success. When considering mixed martial arts, there’s a reason wrestlers have historically done very well once they become relatively competent in other disciplines. Krav Maga emphasizes quick, practical forms of striking, clinching, and grappling with the intent to escape, counter, and/or neutralize an opponent with target-focused techniques. Even Karate, Taekwondo, or Jeet Kune Do can teach speed, precision, and distance management in striking offense and defense for real world application. There are also several Chinese martial arts that teach advanced striking methods such as the death punch or ability to incapacitate an enemy with the touch of a finger that have been shown to be quite effective in film…

Jiu-jitsu and martial arts do not build character, they reveal it. We are all born with unmeasurable courage and determination, but it is as we go through the trials of rigorous training that we rediscover those gifts.

-Ricardo Almeida

Mixed martial arts is the cheat answer to the question of “what is the best martial art for self-defense?” because it’s not a single martial art. MMA is a combination of any/all martial arts based on a person’s interests, skillset, attributes, and coaches. If one has the time and desire to become a complete fighter, MMA, where BJJ is a primary component, is the way to go.

Self-defense is not only our right: it is our duty.

-Ronald Reagan

Weapons, particularly firearms, training is the great equalizer that will override any martial art(s) and should be strongly considered to optimize your ability to defend yourself and others against anyone. The use of a weapon, however, can have catastrophic consequences when negligence or inappropriate applications arise.

Regardless of chosen discipline, consistent training of the mind, body, and spirit is essential.

Jiu-jitsu is the science and art of control that leads to submission.

-John Danaher

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

BJJ is a grappling-based martial art that contains the basic tenets of wrestling and judo while emphasizing control of opponents leading to escape or submission via strangulation, joint manipulation, or agony.

Jiu-jitsu’s foundation is based in concepts for smaller individuals to be able to effectively escape, control, counter, or dominate larger adversaries through the use of leverage, space management, momentum and technique.

In the majority of BJJ gyms, sparring or live training against another person is encouraged. This inherently leads to significant physical and mental discomfort while learning. The discomfort never ends but experience teaches effective management and ultimately resilience despite the adversity.

The beauty of BJJ is that its culture is also embedded in a sense of safety and community. While injuries are always possible, true of any athletic endeavor, it’s a discipline that can be learned and performed by anyone.

BJJ is one of the best forms of intentional stress aimed at self-improvement because of the inevitable mental, physical, social, and spiritual challenges it will present.

If size mattered, the elephant would be the king of the jungle.

-Rickson Gracie

Evidence-Based Application of BJJ

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was originally created in 1993 to answer the question, “What is the most effective martial art?” Professionals from all disciplines entered into a 16-man tournament to determine which form was superior. Zero rules aside from no biting or eye gouging. Kickboxing vs Kenpo. BJJ vs boxing. Sumo vs Savate. Shootfighting vs Taekwondo. Royce Gracie, son of the great Helio Gracie who created BJJ with his brother Carlos, entered the tournament as the sole BJJ practitioner which was relatively unknown at the time. Royce, who was significantly smaller than every other man in the tournament, went on to win in impressive fashion. He then went on to win the second and fourth tournaments which contained more disciplines and extra time for opponents to prepare for this “new” style of fighting. It was later revealed that Royce was far from the best competitor in the family but was intentionally selected because of his smaller size so the power of BJJ couldn’t be denied.

The big, strong, tough guy goes to class, and he keeps getting tapped by the skinny, technical guy. It begins to change him. It makes him humble. That’s what jiu-jitsu does to you. It makes you humble.

-Relson Gracie

30 years have passed since the Gracie family shocked the world and professional mixed martial arts has significantly evolved because of it. It is rare to see a true specialist anymore without substantial training in the primary disciplines of striking, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. Everyone at a high level knows the basics of applying or preventing submissions. The general population, however, does not.

Most people walking around on the street don’t have a clue of how to properly defend themselves to include self-preservation, evading, or countering an attacker.

The true beauty of jiu-jitsu is that it can be used as self-defense without causing significant injury to another person if it’s not needed.

De-escalation can occur physically if it’s not effective verbally in response to social violence.

For anti-bullying, jiu-jitsu can teach victims confidence and competence while teaching bullies humility and healthier outlets for insecurity or other forms of internal struggle.

Introverts can become more comfortable around others, especially with others being in their personal space.

Extroverts can experience isolation or failure around others when forced to consider nothing other than the task of survival.

The person wanting to get in shape can have an outlet to exert while learning a valuable skill.

The athlete can learn fitness doesn’t translate to assured success in a fight.

Jiu-jitsu has beneficial application for any/all types of people.

Always assume that your opponent is going to be bigger, stronger and faster than you; so that you learn to rely on technique, timing and leverage rather than brute strength.

-Helio Gracie

Stress Testing is Necessary

Sparring, or controlled competition, is imperative to stress test skills, determine effectiveness, and build legitimate confidence for potential use outside of the gym.

Maintaining safety while keeping sparring realistic in striking-based martial arts is very challenging when considering different genders, sizes, ages, and abilities. Striking disciplines are all also more self-offense related in that the strikes and defense of them are the foundational skills that often won’t effectively translate to a self-defense situation against larger guys with bad intentions. If you can’t get that perfect strike off against someone before the distance is closed, he has his hands on you, or the fight goes to the ground, you’re going to be in trouble if striking is your skillset.

Both disciplines of wrestling and judo are honestly fantastic forms of self-defense, however, they are extremely hard on the body over time. When considering size differences and the impact throws or repeated takedowns can have, long-term sparring would be a challenge for most people. These disciplines can/should be included in a good jiu-jitsu program, however, they’re a component of it and not the primary focus.

Live grappling can be accomplished safely and daily assuming the right culture of realistic but emotionally managed interactions is maintained.

While beginners often want to use strength, power, and energy, a trained grappler can use all of these attributes against an opponent and capitalize on momentum, timing, and fatigue respectively while conserving energy.

Skilled grapplers can keep opponents safe and still improve during sparring by intentional practice on a particular skillset such as a certain position, technique, or concept. This allows for sparring to be beneficial for both sides even when opponents are mismatched.

My first competition at brown belt in 2023

Sometimes you don’t have to win. You cannot win. But that has nothing to do with losing.

-Rickson Gracie

Emotional Regulation

I’ve said in many of my posts that I believe emotional regulation is one of, if not the, most important skills someone can possess. There aren’t many things more emotionally jarring than another person trying to smash, strangle, or put one of your limbs in a vulnerable position. Learning how to manage emotions while physically sparring or competing against an opponent is resilience training at its finest. This is particularly evident in combat sports, where emotional control directly impacts performance.

There is a funny meme online of a pie chart displaying “Why the average male thinks he will win a street fight.” One percent of the pie chart accounts for trained fighters. The other 99 percent is “You don’t know my mentality bro. When it’s go time, I see red and bodies hit the floor.”

This “seeing red” mentality represents a dangerous misunderstanding of physical effectiveness. There are absolutely cases where adrenaline and luck have helped save someone’s life against an attacker and there are countless examples of some bro overwhelming another untrained person. That being said, emotions in fighting are limiting and often detrimental. The fight, flight, or freeze response typically leads to poor decisions or an adrenaline dump within minutes leading to exhaustion.

Fatigue makes cowards of us all.

When adrenaline begins to deplete and lactic acid begins to build, untrained individuals often abandon reason and resort to desperation.

If you can make your opponent emotional, you’ve often already won.

My opponent is my teacher, my ego is my enemy.

-Renzo Gracie

The emotional regulation developed through combat training extends far beyond the mats or ring. When facing a high-stakes presentation, difficult conversation, or crisis situation, those same neural pathways activate. The practitioner who has learned to think clearly while someone attempts to choke them likely won't be rattled by a challenging work deadline or interpersonal conflict.

Execution of reasoned choice in extreme situations is a superpower.

Like all superpowers in the real world, execution isn’t granted by accident or genetics—it's forged through deliberate, consistent practice under pressure. The gym becomes a laboratory for emotional mastery that serves the practitioner in all aspects of life.

We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.

-Archilochus

Growth Mindset

In order to get good at jiu-jitsu, you have to develop the growth mindset made popular by Carol Dweck. Dedication, hard work, honest self-evaluation, reflection, and most importantly a healthy relationship with failure are the key tenets to a growth mindset and are critical for improvement on the mats.

Failure is inevitable in jiu-jitsu.

You have to fail many times in order to get good at anything difficult. The ones who seek failure in order to learn are the ones who develop the quickest.

Pick challenging training partners, ask questions, and put yourself in difficult positions to work on a technique.

Intentional stress within intentional stress!

This dual-layer approach of deliberating seeking technical challenges while maintaining the inherent stress of sparring accelerates growth in ways comfort never could.

In failure, you can always find small wins and learning opportunities.

Opportunities for improvement even in success are possible if the habit of a growth mindset is ingrained.

Quitting or complacency aren’t considered by those continuously focused on improving.

This mindset transcends the mats. Regardless of who you are or the goals you have, jiu-jitsu can positively impact your life in a variety of ways precisely because it cultivates this approach to challenges and setbacks.

My current team in Callaway, MD

There is no losing in jiu-jitsu, you either win or you learn.

-Carlos Gracie Sr

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Challenge Series

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