BJJ and Gymnastics
A couple months ago I started Brazilian Jiujitsu. It wasn't until about a week ago that things started to make sense and I was able to spar with the guys. In this blog, I'd like to share what I've learned in BJJ and how it's helped my gymnastics.
1. Falling
In Jiujitsu, there's something called a 'break fall'. Basically, when you fall back, you should smack the ground with your hands instead of curling up in a ball. The idea is to spread out the shock of the fall throughout your body, so that your entire body absorbs the shock. When you curl up in a ball- a natural human instinct- only one area absorbs the shock of the fall, which increases the risk for injury.
In gymnastics, the things I learned about falling was 1) don't try to stop your fall by putting your arms down and 2) avoid landing on your stomach at all costs. After learning about the break fall in Jiujitsu, I began trying it at gymnastics: if I fell back, I would smack both of my hands on the mat to spread out the shock. It definitely makes the fall feel better.
2. Body-awareness
In gymnastics and BJJ, body awareness is essential. In gymnastics, upon learning a new skill, the gymnast must know exactly what her body is doing at all times in order to safely perform a skill. Over time, once the gymnast has achieved mastery, she can rely on muscle memory to perform the skill.
In BJJ, if you don't know exactly what your body is doing while you're rolling, you risk giving your partner an opportunity to get the upper hand. However, while muscle memory is important for learning the basic positions and submissions, it is not reliable in live combat; every situation is different. In this way, I believe that body-awareness is more important in BJJ than in gymnastics. Regardless, they both depend on the individual having acute awareness of the body and I think that both benefit the other in this sense.
3. Quick decision making
In live BJJ combat, it's no surprise that quick decision making skills is important; it's a key factor that determines who wins and who loses. It's also no surprise that a gymnast must have quick decision making skills and cat-like reflexes in order to fall safely and prevent injury. Being able to apply my quick decision making skills that I have acquired in BJJ to gymnastics has leveled up my ability to think fast not only in gymnastics, but in school and in social interactions.
4. Confidence
Confidence comes in hand with having quick decision making skills. If you're not confident in your decisions, you can't make them quickly. And if you aren't making decisions quickly, it means that you're not confident in yourself. Having confidence in oneself is extremely important in all aspects of life: sports, social, academics, work, etc.
Kind of a side note, but as a young woman, knowing how to fight makes me more confident in social situations. It also makes me feel more independent knowing that if I end up in a dangerous situation, I can defend myself.
5. Mental state
BJJ has taught me that being in the right mental state is important in the process of learning how to fight. Having an ego in BJJ just doesn't work. I have heard stories about blackbelts (pros) being tapped out by purple belts (intermediates). And they don't get frustrated or angry, rather they come to respect the purple belt. Because of this, I have met some of the most humble, inspiring people at my MMA gym.
In gymnastics, I have learned not to get frustrated at myself when making mistakes. I have learned to stay humble and respect my peers and coaches, as they are there to support and help me get better at gymnastics.
6. Technique
Technique is the most important factor in BJJ. My coaches cannot stress this enough. The biggest, strongest guy with poor technique can easily get beaten by a small, skinny guy with perfect technique. I have seen it happen time and time again.
Applying this to gymnastics, I have seen girls do advanced skills with poor technique, but fail at getting the score they want at a competition, getting beaten by the girls that execute with perfect technique. I had always valued technique high, but after starting BJJ, it is even more important to me.
7. Asking peers and coaches for help
Both in gymnastics and BJJ, asking your peers and coaches for help is vital in progressing and attaining new skills. At my MMA gym, there are a ton of new people that come every day, and the coaches expect that if you have basic knowledge of BJJ, you will help the beginners. I find helping the beginners fun and it tests my understanding of how to do a particular skill.
Some people get nervous or scared asking for help. I used to think that I would look stupid for asking for help, so I would always keep my questions to myself and try to answer them myself by watching my peers. I learned that by asking for help, my questions would get answered more quickly and people were generally eager and excited to help me.
At gymnastics, if I don't understand something or I need help on a skill, I don't hesitate to ask my peers or coaches for their help.
BJJ has shown me a different side of sports. I realize that being involved in different sports gives the athlete a bigger picture. So if you're doing a single sport, I recommend trying out something new that sounds interesting to you, even if it's just for recreation. It can help you get a bigger picture of your main sport and you may learn new things that you can apply in your life.
Comment below what sport(s) you do. If you do multiple sports, comment what your main sport is and how your other sports have helped you with your main sport. Thanks for reading!
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