Gracie Barra Mansfield believes in Jiu Jitsu for everyone and Jiu Jitsu FOR LIFE. Why life? Because Jiu Jitsu is far more than grappling. It goes beyond fitness for the body and it creates fitness of mind, will and character. Why Jiu Jitsu is relevant for ALL ages is we all are fighting the same battles from a different vantage point.
Battles against culture and against SELF.
We live in a world of “viral success” “instant fame” “easy money” “NO RISK” but that’s not reality. It’s a lie.
For our young people, what will become the foundation of their character? For those of us who are older, do we need foundation repair because we grew up with poor examples? We’re all concrete and no rebar. Our parents made excuses and took shortcuts so we learned to do the same. Maybe we DID have good examples, but we need some reinforcing because the world and all its junk has eroded our resolve.
BJJ is one of the best places to learn and develop solid character. Excellence is not an event. It is a habit.
As a writer, I’ve noticed that many of the mega authors I work with have a common thread. Almost ALL of them come from professions that instilled in them the ability to delay gratification. They learned to give up what they wanted NOW for what they wanted MOST.
Tess Gerritson was a medical examiner. James Rollins was a veterinarian. Grisham was a lawyer. We see Navy SEALS, Special Forces, triathletes and marathoners all through the upper echelons of publishing.
As a writing teacher I get a lot of newbies who all want to be a New York Times Best-Selling Author with the very first thing they write. They mistake talent for skill. They fail to understand that talent is natural but it isn’t anything all that remarkable.
Talent is nothing if it isn’t paired with skill.
Skill is only something we can earn with blood and sweat and pain. We can’t earn skill on the sidelines, only on the mats. Hammering on our will, our mind, our abilities day after day after day.
Skill only comes with failure.
Skill only comes with getting back up knowing we could fail again. Skill only comes when we appreciate that if we aren’t failing, we aren’t doing anything interesting. Skill eventually rises out of the ashes of our failures because we have made all the wrong moves and so we begin to recognize the right ones.
Skill comes from reaching out to those who are better, wiser and asking for help. Skill comes from humility.
People who dare to great things appreciate this. They willingly subject themselves to being tested day after day. I love BJJ because no one is handed a black belt. BJJ reminds me every day that I can get up again. Do it better. Learn. Try harder.
I voluntarily offer myself to the fire.
For my son, he is learning to have a healthy relationship with failure. He is learning there ARE NO SHORTCUTS to authentic success. He’s learning patience, tenacity, and to be positively absolutely RELENTLESS. What he learns on the mats he can take into life.
For me, I am learning the only limits I have are those I have set in my mind. Limits are like fear. They are illusions. Yes, I am 41 but I only grow old when I think old. Every day I take what I learn on the mats into MY life.
Writing is a brutal profession. We have a 93% failure rate. Being self-employed means I AM THE RAINMAKER. I have to be self-disciplined, self-motivated and self-correcting.
Just like Professor Young is NOT going to come to my house and fire me if I don’t come to class, there is no “boss” that will fire me because I didn’t blog or I didn’t research or I didn’t write the next book.
I have to set my own deadlines. Yes, life happens. We get sick or emergencies happen. Things go sideways, but then we correct. Get back on track. Most people I’ve met in my career will never be successful simply because they failed to master THEMSELVES. If life detours them, they sit in the road and complain instead of making a path back.
Jiu Jitsu teaches us there is no victory without sacrifice. There is no luck we don’t make for ourselves. The harder we work, the luckier we get. Keep going. Keep pressing. Nothing great happens in the comfort zone.
Your enemy isn’t the other guy on the mats. He is your OPPONENT. The enemy is inside of you. Inside of ME.
What we feed is what grows stronger. What we starve grows weak and dies. Why Jiu Jitsu is a part of my life (and my son’s life) is that it feeds the aspects of my character that are essential for success. It feeds determination, hard work, sacrifice and humility. Simultaneously, it STARVES excuses, whining, pride, and laziness.
Yes, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will get you in shape. It will keep you and your kids healthy. It is fabulous for family, friendships and fun. It also will fire out your darkest, weakest parts and leave only your best self behind. Greatness isn’t a singular moment in the sun. It is an accumulation of many unremarkable and unsung moments in the dark 😉 .
~Dojo Diva
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