Is BJJ just a hobby to you or is it about life improvement?

I've been reading quite a bit lately about how MAs have changed over the years. I certainly remember when I was a kid practicing Karate and Japanese JJ looking up to higher belts and aspiring to be like them one day. Not just in skill and knowledge but fitness, calm manner and, well, everything really – I was in awe.

I look at some higher belts now and don't feel that – nowhere in particular and in no particular art by the way. I'm not talking about any particular dojo or gym here and want to make that clear.

I'm not sure if it's me looking through an adult's eyes which are less rose-tinted or if the standard has changed but I see black belts who are overweight and are struggling with fitness and they just don't have that look in their eyes that they have their life in control.

In BJJ, do you think that conditioning and all-life-improvement are part of the process for you? Do you practice the art to make you a better person overall or is it just a sport / hobby to you?

I find Lagarto's video, [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqhs42GwCfM"]29 Days[/ame], inspiring. And how he talks about how he used BJJ to give him strength through hard times in his life. Then on the flip side you see shows like The Ultimate Fighter (ok I know it's reality TV!) where a lot of the guys come across not so well.

Interested to hear views and experiences on this.

 

I'll be honest, on my good weeks I train… maybe 6 hours a week? Definitely in the hobby camp. It helps me in daily life because I think "Hey, this is a lot better than when I was getting farted on by that 300 lb white belt." I think pushing your boundaries and testing your limits becomes a practice though.

 

Nothing has changed, you're just not being fooled by the air of superiority some of the more pretentious martial artists put on any more.

 

Those two don't have to be mutually exclusive. Both could apply.

 

I know a lot of guys that train for fun, for hobby and they compete just to test themselves. Then there are a few people, like myself, who are hellbent on making it a career.

I always say I admire the hobbyists more, because they don't have to show up three times a week, try can take the night off and just chill out, which to me is amazing. I go everyday, but I am treating it like a job (that I enjoy). If it was a hobby to me I wouldn't be anywhere near as good.

 

Any contact sport can challange your ego and make you a better person, even if you view it as just a hobby, you dont stick around for long with losing a lot.

 

Both?

 

I know what you mean, Chadderz, in that respect. I tend to climb most days because I want to be as good as I can be and sometimes wish I could just treat it as more of a hobby and do it once in a while rather than pushing myself to do it when I'm tired and don't really feel like it. Truth is I find enjoyment in improving as much as I can (one of my strengths and weaknesses in one) so I doubt that will change!

 

Just a hobby for me.

I completely disagree with the idea that things like BJJ can be positive. They can be positive or negative.

Here is an academic paper on Judo in children. Contrary to the whole "MA are positive" hyperbole, it found that:

"Western-style jūdō practice appears to exert mostly negative effects on the mental
and social development of children, hereby increasing aggression, violence, social dysfunction and body image dysphoria"

http://www.judoliitto.fi/site/assets/files/4107/correlating_20testosterone.pdf


I'm not saying that MA are always a negative influence, but people do tend (as the OP mentioned) to romanticize MA. MA have the potential to be both a negative or positive influence on a person. Saying BJJ makes you a better person isn't accurate IMO. It can, but it can also be a negative influence too.

 

Both aren't mutually exclusive but I'm not a big believer in MAs affecting people's lives all all that much outside the dojo/gym other than allowing them to burn off excess energy. I've met my fair share of martial artists and never found them to be particularly humble, calm or good at dealing with life's non-physical adversities. They're just a gamut of regular janes and joes.

 

I never got the whole "MA makes me calm" thing. MA, in my (subjective) experience are more of a distraction. The minor way fight or flight instincts kick in and everything falls away... its more to do with distraction/exhausting yourself so you forget about other stuff. Nothing wrong with that of course, but I don't agree putting yourself under stress by fighting to forget about other stressful stuff until you are exhausted counts as being "calm" lol!

 

No it probably just puts life into perspective a little bit. I know with some of the stuff I've done so far in my life, I'm really thankful for the experiences, and dealing with stressful situations and having such great experiences really does help tone down the stress of day-to-day life a bit.

 

That link is about correlation between hormone levels and expressed aggression in Judo matches...

 

Sorry chum my bad.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...0YGwCQ&usg=AFQjCNF-R21plNVlmAFYjKLDN5lU4qIm6Q

If you can't see it from that, the study is called "Forms of Jūdō for Juveniles―an experimental Japanese teaching approach to Jūdō skill acquisition in children considered from a historic pedagogical perspective"

 

The studies he leans that assertion on don't support it at all. Not least only one of the aggression-measuring ones is specifically about Judo and it finds only a small increase in one of six measures that you could easily ascribe to reverse causation.

 

I'm still reading this (new link) but findings seem to favour traditional teaching over sport / competition (for kids, at least).

 

Sadly I can't view a lot of the key citations in the piece without paying for them as they aren't avaiable through Athens :cry: so you may very well be correct.

The only other study I'm aware of was conducted at the University of Bath (I think??) and did report increased aggression levels in children after a year of Judo. The problem I had with that was it only used a very small sample of children so it was hard to take any meaningful conclusions from it.

Are you aware of any other academic reading on the matter? I do have access via Athens if you do.

Thanks!

 

The only reason I train BJJ is to get better at BJJ. I started because I wanted to learn the sport, and I had no interest in "becoming a better person". It was the same back when I did traditional arts - the mental/spiritual aspect of the arts aren't things that interest me.

However, I do think that as a side effect of BJJ I have become motivated to improve myself in other ways. It's strange, really - the "Senseis" I had in traditional martial arts demanded respect and deference, and I ended up resenting it when they started pushing me to do certain things that I didn't feel comfortable with. My BJJ coach is someone who has become a very good friend over the last year or so, and I've been inspired more to overcome my limitations working on side projects with him than I ever was by being "ordered" to do things in other arts.

I do think that coaches/instructors/senseis can be inspirational - but that the same can be said for any accomplished expert in any field.

 

Anything is a hobby if you're not getting paid to do it.

 

I'm the martial arts equivalent of that guy who sometimes kicks about a football in the park on sundays with friends.

I know people who sell "the lifestyle", the bjj lifestyle, and its all a massive marketing tool that i dont buy into.

BJJ isnt my life, martial arts aren't my life. It's a small part of my life that is less important than being a good person, spending time with people who's company i enjoy and going to work to make the cash-money.