Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Just because you get your blue belt doesn’t mean that you will only roll with other blue belts. Blue belts roll with purple belts, as well as white belts. As a blue belt, you will likely feel nervous when going up against a purple belt because they are a more advanced fighter than you. However, some blue belts are apprehensive about going up against white belts because they don’t want to get tapped by a lower belt.

Jiu-jitsu has an extremely long track record of helping smaller and less physically strong people in a fight. From its inception, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has been conceptualized as a complete martial arts system based on technique rather than raw strength or speed. While jiu-jitsu has evolved as a martial art in its 100-year history and become far more popular in mixed martial arts tournaments, it continues to be a highly effective and universal method for self-defense.

When you watch people using jiu-jitsu, you may see a lot of holds, chokes, and the occasional strike, but at its core jiu-jitsu is a technique of self-defense. The theory underlying this technique is based on conserving energy, waiting for your opponent to make a mistake, and most importantly survival. This obviously requires patience, but it also means you need to feel comfortable in a defensive position so that you can weather the storm of your opponent’s offensive without panicking and slipping up. 

No matter what kind of skill, talent, or ability you’re trying to develop, it takes time. You need to put in a lot of effort, and this means doing the same thing over and over and over again. Repetition allows you to develop muscle memory and to perfect technique. For a musician, this means running a lot of scales in different positions. For a bodybuilder, this means doing a lot of lifts that target different muscle groups. If you’re trying to learn jiu-jitsu, this means doing the same moves with different partners.

Police reform remains a hot-button issue, but there are two general premises with which most people agree:

1. Police should only use force as a last resort.
2. If police are going to use force, it should not be excessive or result in serious injury anyone involved in the incident.

All jiu-jitsu students begin as white belts and focus on learning the basic moves of jiu-jitsu. These are the fundamental moves that you must master if you hope to develop your jiu-jitsu. Of course, not every move is a fundamental move.

It’s often said that you truly speak a language when you begin to dream in it—when you are literally doing it in your sleep. This is usually the final phase in what can be a very long process of learning a language that can be broken down into three parts. During the first phase, you are simply parroting a few words or phrases. For example, you know that when someone says to you, “Good morning” or “Buenos Dias,” you’re supposed to respond in kind. In the second phase, you still think in your first language, but can then translate it into the new language. You can participate in a conversation, but you often find yourself at a loss for certain words or struggling to keep up with a native speaker. In the third phase, you no longer need to translate; you are ample to think (and dream) in the new language and can converse with anyone else who speaks the language.

Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that has gained popularity in recent years due to its effectiveness in real-life self-defense situations. However, it also offers numerous benefits for children that go beyond physical fitness and self-defense. One of the most important lessons that Jiu Jitsu teaches kids is the value of small failures and how to learn from them.

Anyone who has started to learn something that takes a lot of time and effort to master will quickly come to realize a fundamental truth: It sucks to suck. Particularly for people who are a little bit older and who have always been fairly good athletes, feeling like an absolute beginner at jiu-jitsu can be demoralizing. It takes you out of your comfort zone, it lays waste to your ego, and you will find yourself getting physically dominated by another person. 

Learning jiu-jitsu is not a quick process. It takes months of practice, repetition, and dedication just to get a firm grasp on the basics and to self-defense. It can take a lifetime to even come close to what might be called mastery. 

As a woman, it is natural to want to feel safe and protected in any situation. While there are many martial arts systems out there that claim to be effective for self defense, none come close to the effectiveness of jiu jitsu.

Rickson Gracie is one of the most accomplished jiu-jitsu fighters in the world and, along with half-brother Royce, helped bring jiu-jitsu to prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s. Before moving to the U.S., Rickson made a name for himself in Brazil as a vale tudo fighter after becoming a black belt at the age of 18. 

Whether you’re returning to jiu-jitsu after years of being away or coming to your very first class, it can be intimidating to take those first steps into the gym. There are additional challenges for those who are over the age of 50 or even 40. Most of the people who are your age may be in a similar place as you professionally or with respect to family life, but most of them will be far more skilled than you. Meanwhile, most of the students who are at the same experience level as you will likely be significantly younger than you and want to train at a higher intensity.

Jiu-jitsu attracts a lot of different kinds of people. This includes people of different backgrounds, as well as people of different shapes and sizes. This may come as a surprise to someone who has never come a jiu-jitsu class. Moreover, they may feel as though their body type is not ideal for martial arts, and that they will instantly be at a disadvantage when trying to train jiu-jitsu.

For parents who are considering sending their children to jiu-jitsu class, they almost certainly have a lot of concerns. First and foremost, they want their kids to be safe. Secondly, they may want to know if there are different tracks. For example, is there a track for kids who want to compete in jiu-jitsu tournaments versus a track for kids who are just learning the basics of self-defense. Third, they may to know if it will improve their behavior. Finally, they may want to know what questions to ask their local jiu-jitsu gym before they enroll their child.