Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is often associated with building a person both mentally and physically. The physical aspects are quite obvious, with improved cardio, muscle growth and athleticism. However, BJJ will also improve your mental health and can result in gaining confidence. There are a number of reasons as to why and how BJJ improves confidence which will be discussed in detail.
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BJJ builds mental endurance
If you’re new at BJJ, the chances are you will get physically dominated during sparring. Whilst this may be uncomfortable – it’s not actually that bad. Nothing particularly horrific happens when you tap, or when you get shoulder pressure into your jaw. After a while, this will become normal and isn’t seen as so uncomfortable anymore. This shows the practitioner has grown in mental strength through practicing BJJ.
If you are more resilient in physically tough situations; then you will be mentally tough situations too. An example could be the next time your boss challenges you at work. Maybe after training BJJ their authority seems less powerful or important before.
This shows how BJJ translates successfully away from the mats as it helps people get through hard situations. If you are mentally stronger than before, then this also leads to greater confidence as you’re now willing to push through challenges which you may have previously doubted.
BJJ encourages socialization
BJJ is a good way to make new friends. For instance, if you have no friends and aren’t very confident, then joining a BJJ gym can change this. Whilst the gym focuses on physical training, there’s also an element of camaraderie which is gained from training. For example, if you’ve sparred the same person for years and enjoy the tough aspects of training then a bond will naturally develop. During this time you will have befriended said person which will have meant you’ve improved your socialization in the process.
Similarly, simply asking people for rolls and probing the instructor with questions is a good way to get talking to people and opening up. This translates to the outside world where you may be less shy to talk to people as you’ve done it in the gym. In short, BJJ will create a new friendship group where you can grow as a person and use the new found skills in the outside world.
Competing confronts your demons
Competing is definitely a tough part of BJJ. When competing, it’s different from normal rolling as it’s more intense. In the gym, you may be more flamboyant and cocky, whereas when competing you’re fighting to win. As a result, competing can naturally be a nervous part of BJJ which may result in physical exhaustion. Because of this, you’re putting yourself in a tough situation. You may not even like to compete but this shows real character if you decide to do so anyway.
In short, competing confronts your demons as it can show your vulnerability. By doing finding something uncomfortable and doing it anyway shows great confidence. Once more, this can crossover to the world outside of BJJ. By competing, you may be more willing to go out of your comfort zone in wider life. This is yet another sign of confidence that BJJ brings.
Confidence in confronting violence
Another part of BJJ adding to your confidence is that it can make you realise you’re physically more capable than before. For instance, there have probably been many times before where a tough-looking guy enters the gym. He may look physically scary, perhaps he is muscular with tattoos. However, when it comes to sparring he is easy to dominate and is less vocal than before. This will teach you a valuable lesson that image is not everything.
With this in mind, if you encounter a similar individual in the outside world – you can once again apply the same logic. The chances are, this person will not be trained in grappling so it is likely you can take them down. From there you can physically dominate them if needed. Whilst we’re not condoning mindless violence or encouraging it. It’s also good to know you can physically handle yourself and have skills to take down potential aggressors. In short, BJJ is great for creating a confident mindset when it comes to self defense.
Summary
To answer the original question, BJJ is great for improving your self-confidence. Not only will it mentally improve your resilience, but it will also improve your socialization skills whilst also improving your ability to communicate off the mat. Lastly, BJJ will also enhance your confidence when confronting possible violence or aggressive behavior in wider life too. Because of this we strongly encourage learning BJJ as it can open up many doors in improving your confidence which leads to a happier, more successful life in general.
