I Tried Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu For Four Months…

Am I Sticking With It?

My heart was pounding out of my chest.

My hands were shaking and cold.

I parked my car,

grabbed my duffle bag,

and walked into my first BJJ class.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) may seem intimidating, but my journey into this martial art has been an incredible learning experience. As of writing this, I’ve committed 42 hours in 3 months to practicing Jiu Jitsu, often twice a week for two hours each, on Monday and Wednesday nights.

Joe Rogan, Jocko Willink, Lex Friedman, Jordan Syatt, Nsima Inyang, Andrew Zaragoza - these are the names that piqued my interest in the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. A year ago, I was training for triathlons and enjoying the variety of training, which drew parallels to my history in rowing. Yet, while laying tile during the day, the podcasts I listened to kept bringing up BJJ, often describing it as "another language" and a "practice in humility."

The nearest BJJ gym was located 20 minutes away in a different direction from my current gym, making it an easy "no" when considering joining. However, one fateful Friday, as I was on my way home from a job site, I spotted a sign that read "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu," just ten minutes from my home. Typically, I take at least a month to decide on something as time-consuming as a new sport, but the pull and excitement of trying something new had me signing up for the beginners class the next day. I started just three days later on a Monday night.

I googled the basics of what I might need for class. I clipped my fingers and toe nails, brushed my teeth, took a shower from my work grunge, slipped on the leggings, pocket-free shorts, and compression shirt and made my ten minute long heart-pounding drive to the class. My hands were cold and shaking a little bit. Within an hour, someone could be trying to choke me unconscious or break my arm. I haven’t done contact sports in ten years. I was freaking out. Cue Jack Johnson’s “You Remind Me of You,” ole Jack has always calmed me down and soon enough I was in the parking lot summoning the courage to just get out of my car and walk in to introduce myself.

I walked through the door. A stranger I’d come to know as Charlie smiled at me, “Hey, man! Welcome to the gym!” He gave me a loaner gi (pronounced “ghee”) to try on, I now affectionately call it a garb, robe set, and cuddling pajamas. We went over some basic movements in the start of the class like bridges and “shrimping,” both are useful basic movements for when you’re on your back. We then went over closed guard escape to s-mount and guard sweeps to mount. But I’m not here to shpiel on technical jargon.

I want to cut straight to the heart of my experience trying this new sport. My first BJJ class was welcoming and filled with stories of how BJJ had transformed lives. At 25 years old, I was the youngest guy there by 5 years. It was a really cool experience to assert myself against other men. Big takeaways from the first class included taking it slow, tapping out early and often, and breathing through my nose. By my third session, I made note that I “felt like a toddler in a room of adults, slowly demonstrating my ability to speak their language.” By my thirteenth session, I made note that I was “almost speaking sentences.” My 18th session is one that I didn’t want to go to and it was the first time I arrived late (by 15 minutes,) but it was also the night I landed my first submission on a rolling partner. On my 19th session, I got my first stripe.

During my first couple of months, I would leave the sessions pretty banged up. The novel soreness experienced after each time on the mat was akin to youth tackle football. One black eye, a sore jaw here, a swollen throat there, a nag in my knee over there. I came across the work on John Doneher, “Uncle John,” the guys at the gym like to call him. He’s widely regarded as the best BJJ instructor on the planet. This guy was a Philosophy PhD at Columbia who fell in love with the game and piled his resources into the body linguistics of submission. He believes that the learning curve should start from the ground, defending yourself and ensuring that an attacker cannot advance positions on you. Understanding the slow deliberation of a practical defense helped keep me from overexerting myself and has made BJJ a more enjoyable experience.

After the first weekend of Jiu Jitsu, I asked for my girlfriend’s parents’ blessing to marry her. A couple of months later, we were engaged. Now I’m not giving all the credit to BJJ. The support of my friends and family, my time with God, and the accumulated confidence from a wealth of other areas of engagement have played a huge role in feeling like “I have the ball rolling” in my life. But there’s something extremely unique about rolling with other men with the goal of submitting each other to strangulation and joint manipulation that is so high-stakes… like other intense practices, but with a different flavor, it makes the trivial (where three roads meet) areas in your life seem like clearer points of decision making.

The most profound realizations often occurred on the peaceful car rides home after class. These moments of clarity provided me with a deeper understanding of the art and its intricacies.

BJJ is all about making quick decisions to protect yourself – your neck, arm, leg, wrist, and more. The sport challenges you to think on your feet and react swiftly.

BJJ provides a unique high that goes beyond the adrenaline rush. It's a release of stress and an opportunity to shed the burdens of daily life. Even after the toughest sessions, you leave feeling rejuvenated and reenergized. My fiance has talked about how much she loves my mood and enthusiasm when getting home.

As I stand at a crossroads in my life, I'm contemplating whether to temporarily pause my BJJ journey. The physical recovery required after sessions can be demanding. I'm considering other fitness options, but I'll deeply miss the sense of community and primal exertion that rolling on the mats provides. This decision is closely tied to my budding business in personal training. The personal training snowball is getting bigger, and as I look to manage my time and energy, I'm faced with the dilemma of balancing BJJ with building my business for my future family.

My journey into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was way outside of my comfort zone. Life doesn't have to be one-dimensional, and growth often begins with taking the first step into the unknown.