Oh, the love you feel for BJJ! You can barely grasp it, right? You think about it all the time, and there’s no place you’d rather be than on the mats. Truth be told – you’re the happiest when you roll! However, even the most dedicated of Jiujiteiros shouldn’t spend all of their time on the tatami. If nothing, then because rest will positively influence their progress. So, what should you do when you’re not choking out your best friends?
Here are a couple of great hobby ideas for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athletes.
HOBBY #1: OTHER (COMPLEMENTARY) PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
The best hobby for probably any Jiujiteiro is to engage in some physical activities other than BJJ. However, you should be careful when choosing which activity to go for. The point is to choose the one(s) which won’t tire you out too much.
Jiu Jitsu is your primary sport/physical activity, and therefore you should be well-rested and well-prepared for it. If the other activities hinder your ability to recover, you’ll have defeated the purpose.
So, when you’re resting from BJJ but still want to be active, choose activities such as Yoga, running, swimming, hitting the gym, and (perhaps the Jiujiteiro’s favorite) surfing. They should be low impact, keep that in mind; so don’t run marathons and don’t go all out while surfing.
HOBBY #2: READING
Jiujiteiros are often called the „nerds of grappling“. And there’s a good reason behind that; almost every good BJJ practitioner adores the learning and knowledge that comes with training! Jiu Jitsu isn’t just good for the body, but it’s great for „smarts“ too. It teaches the importance of knowing the right things, and applying them in the right time… Which is why it’s such a good activity for kids.
So how can you keep developing your brain while away from the mats? That’s right – by reading. It really doesn’t matter what you’ll read about. Be it science fiction, scientific papers, novels, short stories or poems, thrillers or biographies; all that matters is that you read.
Your body will rest from those hard rolls, while your mind will keep growing. It’s a great combo!
HOBBY #3: SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FRIENDS
When you love something, you’ll go at great lengths to do it. Often, you’ll sacrifice a lot… Which is probably the reason why you’re not spending as much time with your friends as you used to.
BJJ, especially when your training sessions are at night (as most are), can take a beating on your friendships outside of the mats. So, when you’re not training and when you have some free time, make sure to get together with your friends and enjoy yourself with them for a bit.
All things aside, friendships are the most beautiful thing a person can have. Don’t lose yours.
HOBBY #4: TRAVELLING
Travelling gets a whole other dimension to itself when you train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu! It stops being just a modality for relaxation and visiting some far-off places because of nature, history and/or other things… You start visiting places precisely because they have BJJ gyms!
But, yet again, visiting a Jiu Jitsu academy in some other city or country has more to it than just training. It means meeting interesting, like-minded people, and sharing your laughs and knowledge with them. That is, it means building relationships around BJJ – and there’s not many feelings quite like that one.
In the end, it’s fair to say that whichever hobby you choose as a Jiujiteiro, try to orient it around other people and around learning new things. This will make you both happy and fulfilled at the same time.
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