This is obviously a very loaded question with a lot of personal interpretations. For instance, one person’s definition of a certain philosophy could be completely different to the opinion of someone else. However, to make things easier we will be focusing on a quote from Helio Gracie. Helio Gracie is considered one of the founding fathers of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu who laid the foundations of the art for others to learn.
His teachings have inspired many and it’s safe to say the art would not be where it is today without him. His quote directly referenced BJJ as a philosophy as he stated “Jiu Jitsu is like a philosophy. It helps me learn how to face life”. To understand the philosophy of Jiu Jitsu, you have to understand his quote.
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Understanding what Helio meant
In short, BJJ can be brutal. Helio Gracie knew this more than most when he got his arm broken in a super fight by Kimura, of which the move was named after. In terms of physicality, BJJ had maimed Helio and beaten his body. You can experience this for yourself if you have a tough roll in the gym. Whilst your arm may not get broken – you can still get injured and become physically exhausted as a result.
This is what Helio meant by his quote, that life is like BJJ. Sometimes it can be great but other times it’s a real struggle, both mentally and physically. Because of this, he specifically meant that BJJ directly mirrors life. Again, sometimes life will beat you up but you just have to get on with it. This creates mental toughness and improves your mentality when handling problems or uncomfortable situations.
There’s no hiding in BJJ
Whilst on the mats, there is no hiding. It’s not like social media where you can create an image and pretend life is perfect. Instead, your skills are tested. If you get tapped then it means you lose and learn, and this is a good thing. Because of this, BJJ is seen as an ego destroyer. If you think you’re great and unbeatable but someone half your size taps you, then there are no excuses and the only solution is to improve.
Again, this can be applied to wider life. At times you may be unlucky, but at other times you just may not be good enough. For instance, instead of moaning about missing a promotion at work, you could instead look inwards at yourself and realize you need to improve before you to get promoted. This is a philosophy that is taught by BJJ; that sometimes you’re just not good enough. However, the benefit of training BJJ is that if you stick around long enough – you will improve and become better.
There’s no such thing as perfection in Jiu Jitsu
Helio Gracie lived until he was age 95 and was training weeks until his death. With this said, he truly lived the BJJ lifestyle and embraced it until his death. He was also a 10th degree red belt when he died, so it’s fair to say he knew a thing or two about the art. However, why did he continue training? It’s because you can never know enough about BJJ and there’s always innovations and areas to improve. Not only this, but you can also grow as a person by teaching others and passing on your knowledge.
Unsurprisingly his family went on to dominate the sport and still do to this day. This shows the philosophy of BJJ in action, that like life – perfection is not a reality. Perfection may be an idea but it doesn’t really exist. However, you should not get upset by this and by constantly chasing perfection you can enhance your life by improving your standards.
Because of this mentality, Helio did his favorite activity until his death which was BJJ. Not many other people have the luxury, but this was something he created for himself and his legacy lives on. By accepting that no one will ever perfect BJJ, he was able to train and keep pursuing his life’s passion. It is no coincidence that John Danaher is also one of the world’s best BJJ coaches and also has a degree in Philosophy. You could argue that by merging philosophy and BJJ together, his points are easier taught to his students compared to other methods of learning.
Summary
To summarise, the philosophy of Jiu Jitsu is that it is a metaphor for life in general. In facing BJJ, you face the realities of life which are that life can be a struggle. However, instead of running away from problems – you try to solve them and improve yourself in the process. In modern day, a lot of people are detached from this way of thinking and so avoid their weaknesses.
However, BJJ teaches you to embrace your flaws and keep moving forwards. Because of this, it seems that Helio’s quote is more appropriate today than ever and his point still stands, if you want to learn about life then BJJ is perfect in teaching you.
