Some advice for BJJ beginners
Saw this post the other day over at Robert Drysdales website: www.drysdalejiujitsu.com
Do you get bored exercising at a gym? Are you irritated by the need to log your daily exercise? I’ll tell you the story of one of the best decisions I ever made with regards to getting a dose of fun exercise every day. I recently switched to a desk job, which left me me somewhat flabby due to lack of exercise. I really had to figure something out. I took a look at all the nearby gyms and how much membership would cost me, and then all of a sudden, it hit me. My brother was forever telling me just how much he adored martial arts. Perhaps that would be the ticket to getting back to fitness.
So I made a call to little brother and he told me to give Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) a shot. He even told me the local school I should go to. When I tried it out, I just LOVED it. The big difference between BJJ and other forms of exercise is that you have to work with a partner for most of the class, which makes a massive difference for lots of reasons. Firstly, you rapidly make friends with a ton of people because you usually work with a few different people in every class. You work with someone in every class. You don’t have to try to talk your friends into joining your club because there will always be someone who will work with you.
One more great thing regarding BJJ is that it stimulates the mind, like a chess game. When your opponent moves this way, you counter him that way. Mistakes are rapidly capitalized on, leaving you in a submission hold or choke – trial by fire. All sorts of people come to classes: fast or slow, flexible or not. This means you get to deal with every body type. Each day is like solving a new puzzle.
The biggest reward you get from BJJ is seeing yourself improve. You get fitter and better able to defend yourself and force the opponent to submit. When a new student appears at a class you rapidly realize the huge advantage that your self-defense training has given you. Team spirit, working out and the practicality of being capable of defending yourself all make BJJ a great choice when selecting your personal route to fitness. Personally, I lost around 30 pounds in the last nine months and have gained much muscle. You should consider jiu jitsu or another martial art as a workable alternative to sweating in a gym.
