My only regret with Jiu Jitsu is that I didn’t start sooner.
Physical fitness
Let’s talk about the fitness aspect of Jiu Jitsu. Unless you wrestled in the past and are in fairly good shape, nothing can prepare you for the type of cardio that Jiu Jitsu requires. The repeated movements while learning techniques can be more strenuous than initially perceived. As you gain more experience and learn an ever increasing amount of techniques you may also even spar or “roll” with your training partners. Your first rolls may deplete you to the point of exhaustion that you have never discovered before, but as you continue on this journey your cardiovascular stamina will increase. You will soon forget about how tired you are and crave Jiu Jitsu even more in order to increase your experience and find new puzzles to solve. You will notice your overall fitness increase and may even see a change in your physique, assuming you start to eat healthier as well. This helps as your metabolism tends to slow down later in age. As your stamina and health increases another benefit is that you also learn how to defend yourself in the process.
Self defense
As you continue to train, you will learn skills that will be vital in self defense and will breed self-confidence. Understanding that if you were in a situation where you needed to defend yourself, you have the ability to do so. Not only can this help in a self defense situation, the increase in confidence can also help in other aspects of your life such as work or even in relationships. The ability to defend yourself can be tested while sparring in the gym and is a trait of Jiu Jitsu that many other martial arts cannot offer.
One of a kind friendships
Jiu Jitsu is unique in that both training partners work cohesively together to practice techniques that can seem fairly intricate and can get somewhat intimate. As training continues you may begin to train with the same partners more frequently. This can lead to helping one another understand certain aspects of the sport as well as lead to friendship on and off the mats. These same training partners might also be the same individuals you might seek out once you start to spar.
Check your ego at the door
Sparring in the gym, that confidence may waiver. Confidence while rolling in Jiu Jitsu is a fragile trait. The old saying of “sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail” has never felt more true than when you train Jiu Jitsu. There will be days where your technique shines through and others where you get caught with very fundamental techniques that maybe you feel you should be able to defend. As someone in their 30s, it’s not fun to get submitted or controlled by younger and more athletic training partners, so egos need to be checked at the door. Not only will your ego be bruised, but so will your body.
Recovery
That leads us to recovery. Such a vital part of training that many do not talk about. If Jiu Jitsu becomes your passion, you will want to train as much as possible. Speaking to those past their 30s, its best to take time off to allow the body to recover. You may start to feel your fingers get sore from the grips in gi, or that you incur bruising from rolls or that your elbows get sore from training armbar techniques. Whatever soreness you may feel, this would be a good indication to take a day or a few days to rest, and get the ibuprofen, cold/heat pack and icy hot ready. Maybe even consider getting a massage to help with muscle soreness.Things those younger kids don’t necessarily have to worry about.
Just make the jump and start. You won’t look back.
