As a child, I was bullied pretty badly. I was bullied to the point of being the child who sat alone, was picked last for sport games, and had my lunch money stolen daily. I am not sure I ate lunch for a few years.
Fast forward to after puberty, I never grew much. I am just tiny. With that came a whole life of never being taken serious...or what I thought. Basically my self-esteem was pretty low for most of my life until I found Yeshua, my savior. Yeshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus.
However, in 2017, after a man who was watching me and squatting behind a parked car, he came out and started calling me to come to him. I was out getting the mail from our apartment complex and alone in the parking lot at the entrance...but I had my 95lbs German Shepherd. So when this man was calling me I ignored him and pretended he wasn't there. Then my pup started to growl. Then I could see his shadow walking behind me very swiftly. All of sudden my pup leaped for his throat (he was on his leash and I was able to pull him from attacking this man) and I could see that he had his arm raised like he intended to grab me from behind. Anyway, this weirdo man freaked from my pup trying to defend me and ran away.
This story didn't go over too well with my hubby though. He knew that I was purely blessed this time around to have my pup by my side but that there will be times I wouldn't have that option. Such as a car breaking down or shopping alone. So he did something that he always wanted to do for himself. He wanted us to enroll in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ).
So I wasn't really into it at first like him. But I hadn't rolled yet until like a year into my BJJ journey. The first time I rolled I fell in love and became addicted!
Walking off that mat after a good roll is like a high of some sort. I am not talking about drugs, I never tried them and never will. I am talking about like after a good run but more. Each time I just feel like a super woman who can take on the world. Its crazy how much of a self-esteem high that I get! But wait...there is more to it!
So here are the 5 reasons why I believe every woman should learn BJJ:
1: The self-esteem high you get. After living through a rough and bullied childhood, I learned I was the weak one that had something wrong going on. It wasn't true in any sense, but its what I absorbed from such encounters. Then Yeshua...then BJJ came into my life. The simple practice was the perfect emotional medicine for such negative thinking and those thoughts of questioning myself and strengths faded away.
2: Practicing BJJ helps me deal with life. Recently we experienced the hardest reality that has ever happened to me. We miscarried...after trying for about 3 years. Our miracle baby was so wanted and loved even though we never met him/her. When this happened I immediately got back on the mats after a year of putting BJJ to the side. Learning something so complex and creating goals has always helped me to overcome anything, and BJJ is definitely complex and requires a lot of goal making if one chooses to adopt this lifestyle.
3. The ability to protect yourself! Circumstances like what happened with that weirdo man in the parking lot, for example, has made me aware I needed to learn how to defend myself. And now that I can take care of myself and no need to fear any longer. My confidence in my capability to protect myself is an amazing feeling.
4. Concentration improvement for the win. To be honest, concentrating is super hard at time. I have learned how to multi-task from my career that doing one task at a time can be a bit challenging. So when I practice BJJ, it takes ALOT of concentration power. Each time I am on the mat, I am not only learning, I am also practicing on concentration that I have learned is a mental muscle. It can be improved and it has for me.
5. Its a workout! Mentally and physically! You are using your body to move and manipulate the other person into either a choke hold or submission, while protecting yourself from whatever maneuver they use to choke or submit you. I have to be mindful of where my arms and legs are at any given moment and move with coordinated effort. Its both physically and mentally tough. I have met a few who have shed weight just by practicing BJJ.
There is so much more too. Really! I have much respect for this lifestyle and the practitioners of it. Because of the complexity of BJJ, some of the most lethal humans that walk this earth are actually the most humble. The mat is where they drop their life problems and either submit someone or be submitted on the daily. Its a time of focus and determination but a time of learning and always being a student.
Are you going to try it?
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