The Martial Art That Changed My Life and Could Change Yours Too 💪🥋♀️

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is a niche sport, but it’s starting to gain more traction in the UK. In fact, numerous celebrities have taken the plunge into the world of grappling, including Tom Hardy, Demi Lovato and Tinie Tempah, to name a few. For those who haven’t come across this sport before, BJJ is a form of martial art that focuses on fighting and grappling on the ground. The aim is to find ways to control your opponent and eventually make them give up, or ‘tap out’, to a submission hold you have on them.

To some, the sport may seem and look strange. ‘Why?’ you might be asking. ‘Why would you choose to roll around on the floor with sweaty strangers?’ Without wanting to sound overly dramatic, BJJ has changed me and my life in ways I didn’t think were possible. It has become so much more than just a sport. Not only am I fitter and healthier than ever before, but it’s helped me become much more patient, more open-minded to learning and more confident in myself.

Here are five ways this sport changed my life and why I think more women should be stepping onto the mats to give it a go!

Gave Me a Routine

I started BJJ because I was tired of going to the gym. I spent most of my time flitting to and from machines I didn’t use properly, or doomscrolling on my phone. I would then feel disheartened when I didn’t see results. I realised that I needed structure and I needed to be pushed.

This is something BJJ provides. You spend a few weeks learning or improving a technique, and then, in the weeks that follow, you have the opportunity to try and implement it on your training partners. When you successfully hit a move you’ve been working on for weeks, it feels great. Also, to do BJJ, you need to attend classes which are at set times or part of a timetable, so you can plan your day around your workout. This helped me get more balance in my life between going out and working out.

I’m always learning

In short, you can never learn all the moves in BJJ, which makes the sport exciting. Every time you step into the gym, you know you’re going to learn something new. Not only does this keep your mind active, but it ensures your mind remains open in everyday life.

I find BJJ both incredibly rewarding and very humbling at the same time. It’s a daily reminder that you don’t know it all, and you should keep your mind open to discovery. Not only does this keep me returning to classes, but it’s also helped me generally become more patient and more understanding throughout all areas of my life. It’s also enabled me to seek help when I realise I don’t have the answers – sometimes you don’t know, and that is OK too.

I’m Healthier

I’m hooked on this sport, which means I attend classes four, sometimes five times a week. Now, I’m not saying you’ll do the same as me, but having an active hobby means I work up a sweat a few times a week. In turn, I’m slightly more mindful when it comes to what I eat and drink. I’m by no means perfect, and I believe in balance, but overall, my health has vastly improved. I turned 31 this year, and I’ve never felt so great in my own skin.

BJJ has also had a positive impact on my overall mental well-being. No matter what happens in my day, all of it gets forgotten about as soon as I step onto the mats at the gym. My mind is so focused on learning a new move or surviving when sparring, that before I realise, I have forgotten about the thing that annoyed me in the first place. BJJ provides me with a release – an outlet where I can de-stress and unwind.

I’m more confident than ever before

BJJ is a form of self-defence martial arts. This means there are techniques that you could apply to a real-life situation outside the gym that could help you get out of tricky situations. Knowing which way to move out of a headlock, or a safe way to stand up if you’re sitting or lying on the ground, is a good skill to have. But arguably, more important than this is that I carry myself differently, knowing that I could potentially defend myself.

I never want to be in a position where I have to implement BJJ in real life – and honestly, after learning martial arts, I have never wanted to be in a real fight less – but knowing I have some self-defence tools has given me a sense of confidence and self-worth that I have never experienced previously. I’ve noticed that I carry myself differently when walking down the street, I can confidently walk into a room of strangers, and I can more frequently push myself out of my comfort zone (as I’m doing it weekly on the mats!).

BJJ gave me a sense of community

Some of my best friends are from BJJ. I see them several times a week, so it’s hard not to build bonds with your training partners. It’s also a sport where you spend most of your time in close proximity to others, so you quickly learn to become a ‘hugger’.

One of the most magical things about BJJ is the bond you develop with the people you train with. People in BJJ are always happy to share their knowledge, cheer you on, but also challenge you. Your teammates quickly become the first ones to raise you up when you’re feeling low and to cheer you on when you win. This is the true meaning of friendship, and I feel blessed to have found this in my late twenties and early thirties.

I have also met some amazing and inspiring women through training in BJJ. The women’s BJJ community in the UK is incredibly supportive, and I feel lucky to have found it. Female hobbyists and BJJ athletes alike have WhatsApp communities, organise socials, as well as run regular seminars and training sessions. This gives you a chance to meet other women in the sport and to learn from them. There is nothing more empowering than strong women coming together and pushing each other to get better.

BJJ quickly becomes more than just a sport. You learn about humility, friendship, hard work, and dedication. You develop patience and a new sense of what it means as a woman to be powerful, as well as feel empowered.