Why I quit Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
They always say that Jiu-Jitsu is for everyone. Everyone can do it. No matter what height, weight, age, or gender, everyone can practice Jiu-Jitsu. Most of your opponents can be stronger, faster, or bigger than you; but if you know a great technique to put them down, you can always win. Jiu-Jitsu tests our ego, challenge our body, mind, and helps us connect with our fellow Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. So why did I quit it if it's so great?
You know, there are events that are out of our control that forces us to put our practice on hold or to quit the game entirely.
Here are my reasons:
1. I'm not Wolverine.
It takes unique flexibility, strength and cardio to do a BJJ training. I can't quickly recover from one session to another because I always get injuries. I don't know, maybe I'm just clumsy or I'm not doing the right technique. Most of my gi wearing brothers and sisters are probably immune to injuries.
I have a lot of responsibilities at work and home, I can't afford the time off when I get injured. Some of my teammates are just like Wolverine, these mutants heal up faster than other people. I don't posses a genetic trait called an X-gene. I don't have the superhuman powers and abilities. I'm just a normal human being.
2. I'm not a Whale.
That daily drive to the gym 3 to 4 times a week is costing me a lot of gas money. If you wanna be good at Jiu-Jitsu, it takes a lot of commitment. And boy, I'm telling you, the daily training session or monthly fee is also draining my pocket.
Plus, rash guards and BJJ gis are not cheap and it's hard to wash them manually. By that I mean, hand-wash. I don't have a sponsor like some people do. Mat fees cost around $100 to $200 per month. If you multiply that by 12 months, that's about $1,200 to $2,400 a year. It ain't cheap. I train, I buy my own stuff with my own money, if I get injured, I'll pay for my own hospital bill. It can be a pretty expensive endeavor.
3. I'm not Conor McGregor.
It just never clicked with me. I don't have the passion like McGregor has. I know that it will take a while to grasp a new submission techniques, apply moves and transitions. You have to know the recipe for endurance. It can be frustrating, especially that you're paying money to learn it.
I mean, when I was starting out, I have so much enthusiasm that I even watched so many BJJ youtube videos every night. My progress to learn BJJ was super slow, and eventually, I lost interest and motivation in it. Jiu-Jitsu gets better the longer you play. It's a long journey I know, maybe I'm missing out on the best parts. But I do know that it isn't for me.
I'm done.
It's okay to give up sometimes, it's okay to be human.
Cheers mate!
From the top reason seeing that you are not Wolverine made for a good laugh...lol. I guess a lot of the people that are more so into it just have tuned their mental blockers to a higher level. I can remember doing a very long hike with about 100 pounds of gear someone told me there was a bee in my arm. I didn't even notice. After they told me I just took it out, and dropped it to the ground without slowing.
Haha! It's supposed to be a satirical style of writing. Look at my view count: 273. I drove some traffic from reddit and fb and lotsa people bashed me. They don't like the reasons I wrote on top. I told them to just respect my opinion since "RESPECT" is a big deal in BJJ world.
You carried a 100 pounds gear? Good lord, you probably can carry me while running into the woods like what Forrest Gump did to save his brothers. That bee was probably part of the challenge. Gotta stay focus and ignore the bumble bee. :))
Yeah I'm with you as its your life to live ;). To the people that bashed you f*ck them as people that do such a thing usually lead a miserable existence. If you have the time to judge someone so much more than likely you have too much time on your hands.
Yes I am sure I could carry you with ease while running up a hill. Below is a pic of the heaviest gun I had to carry while running. It weighs nearly 30 pounds, then you have to factor in the bullet proof vest, rucksack and other gear that would push it to between 150 and 200 pounds not including my own weight.
I wanna triple vote this comment. lol! thanks man! I got your back too! :)
That gun looks heavy AF! You should write more post about your navy experience. I will definitely read it. Goodnight! :)
there is a difference between quitting and knowing when you have had enough.
like the motivation behind it... resteemed
I totally agree with you. Cheers mate! :)
Nice post...👌
Upvote.
thanks mate!
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It's not for everybody. I'm glad you made the right choice for you.
Definitely not. But I found my new love now, yoga! :))
nice
you too. your avatar looks nice. :)
i feel you, im scared as F.... to go to a jiujitsu lesson. Rather a punch in the face with boxing then to be scared they break my arm.
Props for every minutes you trained jiujitsu..
I'd take a punch in the face too rather than break an arm or fingers. Thanks for your support man. I'm not entirely sure if I'm done with jiu jitsu, but for now. I'm taking a looooong break. I will focus on other stuff that I truly enjoy doing. Namaste!
hello markush it is highly unlikely someone will break your arm. Injuries DO of course happen but all but the most foolhardy of people are very careful with new people. If you are seriously interested and are ok telling me in general terms where you are located (like a zipcode is fine) I can find out from my Professor a school he would recommend. Assuming you are in the USA.
hey bell2bell,
I live in The Netherlands but thanks anyway,
After too many injuries im not really willing to take the risk.
There are some proper Jiu Jiutsu schools here im sure. Maybe i'll join one day. But for now im injured. (ankle)
And somethimes i train Jiu Jitsu with a buddy of mine just a few exercises. As long as i can not beat em its a training.
Goodday
oh the Netherlands well I can't be much help there. But I think it'd be awesome to train with Nikey Holsken (sp?) I think he is from there, or some Viking land
I like that Viking land. I dont know if were Vikings, Or fought the Vikings! But it sounds cool though :)
Anyway Holzken is a great fighter, but there are many of them and it seems they are trying mma to.
Nicky Holzen, Erol Zimmerman, Peter Aerts, Semmy Schilt. Ramon Dekker, Enersto Host. Gokhan Saki. Rico Verhoeven etc etc
Gokhan Saki(Turkish)
Made in Holland,
I like Veorhoven a lot and Holzken
is Hoost retired?
I think he is retired never see him fighting lately.
Btw what do you think of the Diaz brothers?
they truly are misunderstood I have really looked into especially Nick Diaz as a fan (I have never met either of them but it'd be cool to train with them I think)
People get caught up with the attitude that they (esp Nick) puts out but for one thing that attitude is more about his social anxiety and second actions speak louder then words.
Nick Diaz defeats Frank Shamrock and tells him while he is exhausted after the fight "you have to get up, you are a legend"
Nick Diaz has a fight with Scott Smith and after the fight Diaz calls out Smith's corner and team for not treating him right and says Smith should come train where he does and see how a team is supposed to treat each other.
Nick Diaz breaks a dudes arm in a fight cus the guy wouldn't tap, immediately after he is trying to put the guys arm back together and setting it on his chest telling him to hold it there and wait on the doctor. does not celebrate till after.....
these are not the actions of some thug
plus his interviews omg I know he hates doing them but they are great!
have you heard his "run to the good neighborhood with all the fountains where I'd like to live" interview?
Thanks for your honest post. I definitely know where you are coming from. You need to be 100% in because of how much dedication it takes. A lot of the experienced practitioners at my gym travel around all day rolling; they live and breath jiu-jitsu. I am not sure I could keep up with it even if I was retired.
I am currently 3 months in, and constantly doubt myself, especially being also spread thin with work, family, and other interests. It has been the most humbling experience for me to date. Walking into a room with highly skilled fighters and coming in knowing nothing, learning something new each day and being the least experienced in the room, failing hard each time I go.
I told myself I would give it a year. I feel way in over my head, and have trouble staying motivated to go sometimes. But something inside keeps me going. We will see how it works out. It's a great community full of interesting and inspiring people and I feel great to be part of it despite how complex and challenging it is. In such a short time, it's really changed the way I act, move, and think, but still not sure yet whether it's all for the better.
Consider following me, I wrote an ebook (really a very long article) about the beginning stage of being a BJJ trainee, the White Belt into Blue Belt phase really. It has been very well received by everyone that has read it and it may benefit you. I am considering putting it up on steemit. It's like 8500 words so as far as steemit goes or any forum it's a long read. If I find enough bjj folks on here I will def upload it and I may anyway because I know it has helped some people before.
Sorry for the delayed response. Welcome to Steemit! Following as I would be interested reading more about what you have to say about BJJ and your experiences.
I will certainly get to it, turns out I have a lot to say so not sure what order it will all come in but you know I worked for a craft beer warehouse as well! it was a strange mix of work which was not difficult but also was labor intensive because of how much work there was to do!
I hope a long response isn't frowned upon. It happens that I have a good bit of experience with BJJ. I bumped into some of the same issues you mention. They are not uncommon overall but a few things stood out to me and I put together an idea in my head so I decided to ask a few questions. First let me be clear, if you are happy having moved on then I am happy for you I am not trying to change your mind. But I do have some curiosity, you mentioned being hurt a lot. Minor injuries are common of course as it is a combat sport but frequent injuries that require you to take time off of work is certainly not the norm! So that brings up some concerns about the school itself. I also notice in the pictures you shared, the highest ranking person I saw was I believe a Blue Belt. Is the school fairly new? What rank was the instructor? If the school is putting out injuries and has relatively little in the way of upper belt students to help the new people out I think the fees are much too high. Especially the 2400 quote that is higher then what students at the school I train at pay and we have Black Belt instruction every day. There are almost always a few Black Belts to train with as well. If the school you were attending is taught by a Blu or Purple, or even a Black belt that is only there part of the time....and they are looking for those prices...AND they are putting out injuries at a high rate. I think you might have experienced a bad school. I can of course be mistaken I was not there. But I have seen/heard of schools that fit what I am picturing based on what I have read from your post.