Guess what... we're just normal, like everyone else!
I read a post a week or two ago (on Facebook) about why we do BJJ and the persons annoyance at the ever present self-proclaimed Buddha, marijuana smoking, liberal, egoless BJJ practitioner – OK so I’ve exaggerated their exact words a little, but I think you get the point.
I read it and laughed to myself! Firstly because this has always been something that has amused me, even from my introduction to BJJ in 2005. We’re forever told that there is no ego in BJJ – that’s not true, I’ve met as many ego driven people in BJJ than in any other walk of life (although whether that ego is positive or negative I don’t know – it is after all a personal thing). I’m pretty sure some of the best competitors in the World simply wouldn’t be where they are if they had NO EGO (think about it!!). Secondly, it’s the link that some people seem to have made between some ritual Buddha type meditation and BJJ – this although not very prevalent is something that I find bemusing, BJJ at times is extremely stressful to many (getting choked out I have found is never soothing) and while I have been in that ‘flow’ state it never happens enough for me to consider BJJ a meditating type experience (stress relief – hell yeah). Thirdly while I applaud the liberal thinking of society, there are people in BJJ who are not liberal, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but just a simple reflection of society.
I didn’t start BJJ to embark on a journey of enlightenment – I simply wanted to learn a martial art that had legitimacy in a competitive environment that reflects closely to street fighting (MMA). I would argue that arts like Judo, Boxing, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Wrestling and Sambo to name a few offer just as much correlation. I have met some great people along the way, and guess what I’ve met some arseholes too. BJJ is no better or worse than many other arts – you may find yourself in an environment of happy, chilled out people and as likely on your travels in a gym full of ego driven monsters who want to rip limbs off.
What I have learnt in almost ten years associated to the art is that the journey is personal and that the community of BJJ can at times simply reflect society. Because we simply do BJJ doesn’t mean we are better than anyone else – while I believe our art places us at a great advantage technically, this has no bearing on our morale standing and certainly doesn’t exclude us from the bad habits that are found daily in this crazy World. Be real - oosss