In Jiu-Jitsu we learn a lot from our coaches and teammates. I have learned so much on the mats, not just about Jiu-Jitsu, but about life. I have learned how to be healthy and how to be a better person and athlete.
But I think we all often hear a few lies. The lies we hear in the academy are not about the philosophy off the mats, but the philosophy on the mats.
In BJJ, people often want to live in an ideal world where everything just works as it is supposed to. However, as we all know, that is not always the case.
Here are the top 3 lies we often here about BJJ.
- Weight Doesn’t Matter– This is at the core of Jiu-Jitsu and is certainly true when we are dealing with an untrained opponent. However, what happens when we face someone our own rank, but with 100lbs on us? While there are many individuals who can overcome these odds, size generally will matter.
- Holding Your Rank– People have this idea that whatever rank you are, there should never be an instance when you are tapped by a lower belt. This is complete garbage for many reasons. First, some people will rise in skill very fast with their base knowledge and athleticism. But most importantly, as upper belts, we should put ourselves in bad situations that can and will sometimes lead to a tap. It is too easy for an upper belt to simply avoid bad spots. We should always be working on our positions with everyone. We should let the lower belts mount us and take our backs so that we too can learn.
- BJJ Is For Everyone– Probably one of the most famous sayings in BJJ, but is this really true? If it were, wouldn’t BJJ be a lot more popular? What about the high dropout rates most academies face? More people quit BJJ than any other art, so how can BJJ be for everyone. The reason is simple: BJJ is GOOD FOR EVERYONE, but BJJ is NOT FOR EVERYONE. Anyone can benefit from training, but few truly have the discipline to stick with it very long.
Do you agree with this list ? What other things have you heard in the name of BJJ that just don’t hold up?
I’d say I totally agree with this post, but, about #3, let’s not forget those who think jiu jitsu is not for them because they lack of self confidence, and it is our role, those who are there for a longer period of time, to help them overcome this first big obstacle, by inviting them, taking respectful care of them while on the mats, explicitely telling them there is a room for them and that we all had a hard time in the beginning.
And when I’m talking about lack of confidence and needing to hear we’re legitimate, I’m above all speaking about women.
There’s a ton of great unknown-to-themselves women jiu jitsukas out there.
Go get them and keep them in your gym!
I agree with this post in full. As a brown belt, I’m always putting myself in bad situations with lower belts. I’m testing myself and the lower belt. I often get trapped by lower belts. When I get trapped it’s for two reasons; either the lower belt was better than I thought or I let the position get too far along. I check my ego at the door so this doesn’t bother me.
I was talking to another brown belt about this subject and he told me this story. Apparently, 1 lower belt didn’t understand what I was doing. I let this lower belt tap me for an entire roll because I was letting him work the technique reviewed in class. The next day in randori I put myself in bad situations with the lower belt to practisebgetting out of them and to give this lower belt some experience getting too good positions. The following week I wasn’t so accommodating. The lower belt told my friend that he thought he was going to be really good at jiujitsu because he taping a brown belt; he was a blue belt. He believed that until I rolled worth him and didn’t give him anything. My friend explained what I was doing.
This practise is common in many gym.