Let’s face it, guys! The non-jiu-jitsu practitioners will never understand us. To the outside population, a lot of our daily routines and other aspects of our lives are very strange. I have been questioned many times by my family and friends for the things I do in the BJJ world, and I am sure you have been, too.
The thing about BJJ that separates itself from any other sport is the lifestyle and methodology, which isn’t easily understood. If you haven’t experienced what I am going to talk about, you will.
Friday nights
Many of us really enjoy the Friday night sessions. This is a day where we don’t have to worry about working the next day, and it feels great.
However, many people who don’t train will wonder why we would spend our Friday nights doing BJJ when there are so many other things to do. This can be even more true when you have a significant other who does not train.
You’re still going to train?
When we get sore and even when we have minor injuries, we stick to the grind and for some people this is strange. In a world of people who give up at the slightest sight of adversity, the level of dedication some of us have seems almost crazy. We can complain about our sore legs or back, our slightly messed up ankle, and our raging tennis elbow.
But guess what? We are still going to get on the mats.
Vacation?
All of our vacations are usually scheduled around training and competitions. If our family wants to go to California our answer is, “Okay, I’ll see where I can compete in such and such tournament.”
Explaining the logic behind this can be somewhat hard, but to us it’s simple.
What are you waiting for?
Many of us will wait either hours in person or sit by our computer waiting for the new Shoyoroll, CTRL, or other collectible gi to be released. This is something even other practitioners will not understand. However, I think this is the most understandable thing we do because there are collectors in every field.
Another gi??
Related to the last one is the number of gis we can end up hoarding. Its not uncommon that someone can have more than ten gis in a single rotation.
Laundry Day
Laundry day is every day for us. We need to be able to wash our gis after training, so move your crap to the dryer please!
Many people do laundry once or twice a week, but gis are best cleaned straight after training.
No I don’t want to go to the gym with you!
While many of us do lift weights, our primary focus is our own training in jiu-jitsu. A lot of the “bros” don’t understand if they don’t train, but they quickly realize why once we clinch up.
Free time
Even outside of the gym, jiu-jitsu can take over our lives. We end up talking about it nonstop and watching hours of YouTube Videos late at night. Most other hobbies simply don’t affect a person on this level, but as they say BJJ is a lifestyle.
No I don’t want fast food!
BJJ, like any healthy lifestyle, changes the way we eat and it can end up being a pain when friends want to go out and grab a quick meal. Our choice is either don’t eat, find a compromise, or go somewhere else.
I have had family members try and get me to break a diet many times, mostly unsuccessfully.
No I can’t go!
We get multiple offers to do things like go to the movies or go out to eat, but we end up turning a lot of them down due to our training schedule. This seems odd to many people who don’t train because it seems that we don’t have a “social life”, but jiu-jitsu is our social life.
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