When most people think about BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), they think about self-defense only. This is because BJJ is linked with MMA and it is considered as a technical training that helps with self-defense and nothing else. In real life, MMA is a complete exercise that not only helps with self-defense but it is an excellent way to help you boost your physical fitness as well as your mental health. Both physical fitness and mental health are equally important in helping a person live a better life so if you have already opted for BJJ, this will help you elevate your quality of life.
Even if we try to figure out the effect BJJ has on our body, it is so diverse that you will need a lot of time to understand all the technical aspects. The best thing about BJJ is that it has so many different benefits and it favors the weak person. Where other combat-based games heavily favor the bulky and strong, BJJ works better for people who are small in size and very lean. The main thing is that it is a game of elasticity.
If you are good with technique, you know how to hold a choke and how to get out of a choke, you will be the winner. With practice, you will not only be able to hold the choke better, but you will also be able to master every maneuver. In short, at any age, you can become a BJJ master regardless of your gender, size, or weight.
With the help of this article, we will explain how BJJ is good for mental health in general as well as for physical fitness. Apart from this, we will also explain some details about why BJJ is a good game for lifestyle as well. Where most people find it hard to adjust exercise within their schedule we will also discuss how BJJ will make it easier for people to improve their lifestyle at all ages.
Benefits of BJJ in Real Life
In real life, there are so many different benefits that are not only linked with physical fitness but also with overall life. For beginners who are still trying to figure out how a simple exercise or training can change their lives and impact their overall lifestyle, we have listed down some of the benefits.
- BJJ classes help people make new friends with steady interaction which helps them with their social life
- BJJ helps in curing pain, especially posture-related pains that impact the lower back, neck, shoulder, and legs.
- BJJ will help you look more confident by fixing your body posture.
- BJJ is good for flexibility and this way it will reduce the chance of injury
- BJJ is excellent for weight loss, in fact within the first three months you will be able to shed all the extra fats.
- BJJ is good for muscle gain, so your body will become lean and muscular.
- BJJ is excellent for increasing strength and endurance which will eventually help you work for longer hours without getting tired.
- BJJ helps in increasing bone density by assisting the absorption of calcium. This will eventually help in older age.
BJJ Benefits Related To Mental Health
Most people just relate BJJ with physical fitness and they never think about mental well-being. However, research shows that with the help of BJJ practice you will see an impact on your mental health as well. According to researchers, BJJ facilitates the blood flow toward the brain and this helps in the supply of oxygen as well as nutrition. With a better supply of this oxygenated blood, brain performance gets better. Some of the ways this supply of oxygen helps include:
Memory
With better supply to the brain, it helps with improving memory. In case you have a family history of dementia, BJJ will especially help you with that. Where most people think that this might not be true, researchers found that people with better blood flow towards their brain have seen an improvement in their memory over time.
Focus
Most people get very easily distracted while studying or while performing a task. With BJJ there is simple training that will help you sync your mind and body together. This will help you stay present at a single moment within a single time frame. This eventually helps with all kinds of work and especially enhances the performance of an individual in the workplace as well as in school and other tasks.
Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are very common. However, with BJJ you will be able to stay ready for unpredictable conditions. Within BJJ practice some exercises help you maintain your physical and mental balance in otherwise shocking conditions.
Depression
Depression is one of the biggest issues in the fast-paced world we live in today. Within psychology, there is a school that says the human mind can be pulled out of depression with the help of an organized lifestyle and exercise. BJJ offers that organized lifestyle and this eventually helps people with depression.
Anger and Frustration
Building up anger and frustration has very serious consequences however, BJJ offers you the opportunity to let out your anger through the skill. With BJJ you will feel more relaxed after taking out your anger on the mat which is a healthy way of expression.
Controlling the Situation
Unpredictable situations can bring serious consequences which is the reason controlling your emotions in unpredictable situations is an art. This art can be taught through BJJ where you can learn how to control yourself in all situations.
Better at Empathy
BJJ teaches empathy which helps you to know how another person feels. In most cases, researchers have found out that people develop empathy and that’s how they become more helpful. With BJJ you learn how it feels to be in pain and this eventually teaches you to stand up for people who are in pain. You also learn to defend them in all kinds of situations which is another plus point and bring society together as well.
Better at Understanding the Price of Pain
BJJ requires full training, this means that you need to work hard and stay on the mat even if you want to quit. This also means that you eventually learn the price of pain and you also learn that all kinds of pain are not bad. Sometimes pain makes you stronger as well which is the reason BJJ training will teach you a lot of good things.
Bottom Line
To sum it all up, BJJ is all about human health and human lifestyle. When you choose BJJ as a part of your exercise plan, you are not just choosing a simple exercise of self-defense it will impact your life as a whole. From the basic food choices that were once just linked to your own choices and nothing more will now be dictated by the workout your plan for that day. It requires complete commitment and consistency.
Where most people complain about the BJJ impacting their life but it still doesn’t bring the best results, it is more about consistency. Quitting the practice after just a few weeks or not tracking the progress to update the exercise will eventually impact your overall plan for progress.