If you’re looking for a martial art that can teach you more than just self-defense techniques, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) might be the right choice for you.

But what does BJJ teach you?

BJJ is not only a physical activity but also a way of life that can help you develop important skills and values. In this article, we will explore five lessons that BJJ can teach you about life.

These lessons include patience, persistence, humility, respect, and loyalty.

By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of how BJJ can help you become a better person both on and off the mats.

What Does BJJ Teach You?

1. Patience

BJJ requires patience as it takes a considerable amount of time to earn a black belt.

Beginners who expect to receive a new belt every six months will be surprised when it takes two years to go from white belt to blue belt.

In addition to promotions, developing actual skill requires patience.

Jiu-jitsu is not only about technique but also about timing, weight distribution, and tactics.

These aspects of the art are more difficult to teach and often developed through trial and error.

Being patient on the mat with respect to promotions and skill acquisition directly correlates to the patience you need to achieve any worthy goal in life.

2. Respect

Respect is one of the most important lessons you learn in BJJ.

To be successful, you must respect your coach, training partners, and opponents.

Respecting your coach means listening to his or her advice about your BJJ game and trying to implement it.

Respecting your teammates means helping them improve, being there for them when they’re struggling, and looking out for their safety when training.

Respecting your opponents means giving them your best effort and shaking hands after the match, regardless of the result.

3. Humility

BJJ requires humility as you have to set your ego aside from day one and focus on learning as much as you can. This means you often lose to people who are smaller and weaker than you.

When you lose a training round, it’s easy to become frustrated, but in order to progress, you must understand how and why you’re losing those rounds.

Once you have the humility to embrace the losses and look at them as learning experiences, you’ll be on the path to correcting your mistakes and not dwelling on prior failures.

This will help you on the mat and whenever you need to set aside preconceived ideas and focus on improving an area of your life.

4. Persistence

BJJ also teaches persistence. It’s a very challenging martial art, and even the most accomplished champions have failed time and time again.

What sets the champions apart is their ability to dust themselves off and try again with a renewed vigor.

In order to add new techniques to your repertoire, you must not only practice them but also test them in a live setting with resistance. In these attempts, you often fail.

Some of the best techniques in your game will be ones you’ve refined for years and years, so it’s important to stick with them for as long as necessary.

Developing persistence in BJJ shows you that if you stick with something long enough and correct your mistakes along the way, you can achieve much more than you thought possible.

5. Loyalty

Although BJJ is largely an individual martial art, having a strong team is undeniably important. Your team will be there for you through all your ups and downs throughout your BJJ journey.

The bonds you build with your teammates and the loyalty that comes with all of it helps you realize that you’re stronger as a team than you are alone.

This applies not only to BJJ but also to every meaningful endeavor in life.

Conclusion

Brazilian jiu-jitsu can teach you valuable life lessons that extend beyond just the physical techniques of the martial art.

By practicing BJJ, you can learn the importance of patience, persistence, humility, respect, and loyalty.

These values can positively impact your personal and professional life, allowing you to become a better person overall.