1)An Improved Level of FitnessOne of the first thing your going to notice within the first month of training is a drastic improvement in your fitness level. There is no workout like grappling! Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the few activities that gives you both an anaerobic and aerobic workout at the same time. What this means is that you are going to be working out both your muscles and your lungs at the same time. While sports like running will increase your lung strength, and weightlifting will improve your strength, neither of these activities will do both of these things for you at the same time. If you want to get in shape, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is one of the most efficient ways you can do it.
2)Improved confidence in your ability to defend yourself
Most people do not know how to defend themselves. Most people have never been in a physical altercation, so the idea of being attacked is frightening. We are all afraid of the unknown, so often we will create scenario in our head about what we would do if we were but in these stressful situations. “If I was attacked, I would do this…”, unfortunately what what we thing we would do, and what actually happens are extremely different. Training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu allows us to actually feel what it is like to physically engage with another person in a way that is 100% safe. This training allows us to overcome fear, panic and other emotions that show up during any stressful situation, not just a fight or self defense situation.
3)A more relaxed attitude during stressful Situations
Weekly Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training trains our brains to relax under pressure. The first time a new student trains BJJ they are very tense, and when you are tense your muscles require more blood, which requires you to need more oxygen, this need for more oxygen requires you to breath more. Over the first few months of training you learn to relax while you are training, and this more relaxed attitude flows over to into every area of your life, whether it is public speaking, taking tests, or having a job interview. A very common saying in the BJJ community is “if i can be relaxed while somebody is trying to submit me, then i can be relaxed anywhere”
4) New Friends and an amazing community
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu has an amazing community of people. Crossroads students sharing what they know with each other is a nightly occurrence. While improving in the art of BJJ is a very personal journey we can not do it alone. Every new person that comes into the gym is a person that will help everybody else in the gym get better and we understand that the better you become at Brazilian Jiu-jitsu the better you will help us all become. So all of our training partners become our friends. The community of people at Crossroads is not something you find everywhere. We often meet up watch UFC events outside of they gym, and our students go out of there way to help each other in anyway they can.