I personally believe it’s one of those unintended, but great side effects and skills that you learn through bjj- the ability to adapt to unexpected problems and situations. While we tend to talk about things like looking for opportunities, positions and submissions during rolling, we also learn how to deal with the unexpected- we learn how to not panic when things don’t quite go our way, when things tend to go a bit sideways during a roll. We learn to pull ourselves together, to keep fighting to get back on track and work like hell to get back to a place that we can work with.
And I feel this has some real world application to it: something goes wonky at work, and a lot of people will freeze up, not sure what to do or how to right the ship, so to speak. This is where I feel people who train in jiu jitsu can truly shine (if you have the authority and leeway to do so). We’re used to things going wrong all the time, from that failed sweep attempt, to that super cool submission you thought you were doing, only to have it countered and now you’re working how to get out of it. We’re used to attempts in progress leading to some sticky situations, keeping a cool head, and relying on our creative thinking and grit to get us out of them. Hell, sometimes in training we intentionally put ourselves in bad positions in order to figure out how to get out. While it’s important to work your escape plan, it’s also an important reminder that just because you’re down doesn’t mean that you’re totally out of the game. Again, something I think that is an important lesson that has some potential real world application.
These are lessons that can (and should) be learned at any age. Sure, the earlier you learn this skill the better off you could potentially be, but I think as long as you are open to learning this important lesson it can benefit you at age 6 or 56. The more you are able to weather unexpected changes and hiccups, the more adaptable you become to changing situations the better off you will be: that’s not to say you should be a pushover, but in keeping your cool, there is less of a chance of you potentially over-reacting and possibly making a situation worse than before.
Just some thoughts I wanted to share you with you all- have a great day everyone!
A Skirt on the Mat 