Jiu-Jitsu Teaches You to Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Look at this picture.

This does not look comfortable.

Someone is controlling your body. You're under pressure. You're trying to breathe, think, defend yourself, and figure out what to do next.

Most people spend their lives trying to avoid situations like this.

In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we voluntarily sign up for them.

Why?

Because something powerful happens when you repeatedly put yourself in difficult situations and learn that you can handle them.

You stop being afraid of being uncomfortable.

Your First Instinct Is Usually to Panic

Every beginner experiences it.

Someone gets on top of you.

Your breathing speeds up.

You start using every ounce of strength you have.

You push.

You pull.

You twist.

You desperately try to escape.

And thirty seconds later you're completely exhausted.

Then your coach teaches you something that sounds almost ridiculous:

Relax.

You're thinking, "Relax? There's another human being trying to choke me!"

But eventually you understand.

Panicking doesn't solve the problem.

You have to breathe.

Recognize the position.

Protect yourself.

Think.

Then act.

That's when Jiu-Jitsu starts teaching you something much bigger than fighting.

Pressure Reveals Your Habits

It's easy to remain calm when nothing is going wrong.

It's easy to be patient when everything is happening exactly how you want.

But what happens when you're tired?

What happens when someone is putting pressure on you?

What happens when your first plan fails?

That's where you begin discovering yourself.

Jiu-Jitsu constantly puts you into situations where things aren't going according to plan.

Your opponent passes your guard.

You're stuck underneath someone.

Your favorite technique fails.

You're exhausted and there's still time on the clock.

Now what?

Breathe. Think. Adapt. Keep moving.

You Start Discovering That Uncomfortable Doesn't Mean Impossible

This is one of the greatest lessons Jiu-Jitsu can teach.

Something can be difficult without being impossible.

Something can hurt without defeating you.

Something can frustrate you without making you quit.

You can be tired and keep working.

You can be losing and keep thinking.

You can make a mistake and recover.

You can get submitted, shake your partner's hand, and start again.

Over time, your relationship with difficulty begins to change.

Instead of immediately thinking, "I need to get away from this," you begin thinking:

"How do I solve this?"

That's a powerful change.

You Can't Learn This From a Comfortable Chair

There are lessons you can learn by reading.

There are lessons you can learn by listening.

And then there are lessons that have to be experienced.

You can tell yourself you're calm under pressure.

Then somebody puts you in side control.

You can tell yourself you never quit.

Then you're exhausted halfway through a hard round.

You can tell yourself you handle failure well.

Then you get submitted by the same person three times.

Jiu-Jitsu gives you an opportunity to practice these lessons instead of simply talking about them.

The mats don't care what you believe about yourself. They give you an opportunity to find out.

Then Something Changes

After enough training, positions that once terrified you don't feel quite as scary.

You're still uncomfortable.

You're still under pressure.

But you've been here before.

You know there is probably an escape.

You know panicking won't help.

So you breathe.

You think.

You work.

And eventually you realize that the biggest change wasn't simply that you learned more Jiu-Jitsu.

You became harder to overwhelm.

That Lesson Doesn't Stay on the Mats

Life is going to make you uncomfortable.

There will be stressful days.

Difficult conversations.

Unexpected problems.

Failures.

Pressure.

Moments when your original plan completely falls apart.

Jiu-Jitsu won't magically solve those problems.

But it can give you regular practice doing something incredibly valuable:

Remaining calm while things aren't going your way.

You learn not to confuse discomfort with disaster.

You learn to slow down.

Assess the situation.

Find your next move.

And keep going.

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable at Jewel JiuJitsu

At Jewel JiuJitsu in Fayetteville, North Carolina, we aren't promising that every practice will be easy.

That's part of the point.

You'll struggle.

You'll sweat.

You'll make mistakes.

You'll occasionally find yourself wondering how another human being managed to tie you into a knot.

And you'll probably laugh about it afterward.

Then you'll come back.

You'll learn.

You'll improve.

And somewhere along the way, you may discover that the situations that once made you panic don't have the same power over you anymore.

Comfort doesn't always make us stronger. Sometimes we grow because we deliberately step into something difficult and refuse to run from it.

That's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Train Together. Grow Together.

Learn more at Jewel JiuJitsu or explore our Adult Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Program, Kids Martial Arts Program, Homeschool Jiu-Jitsu Program, Teen and Preschool Jiu-Jitsu Program, and Women's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Program.