It is a common joke and meme throughout the Jiu-Jitsu community that Jiu-Jitsu is a form of therapy. Believe it or not, Jiu-Jitsu is an excellent form of therapy. The actual reasons why Jiu Jitsu is such a good therapy session are, it works out people physically, mentally and spiritually. With those three essential aspects of our lives taken care of, we will feel happier.

Let’s take a better look at how this works.

Physically

Jiu Jitsu at face value is an excellent full body workout. You will use muscles that most people do not regularly use, particularly when it comes to the rolling/sparring part of a class. You are using your entire body to attack, defend and move around the mats. Besides the muscular workout, Jiu-Jitsu sparring is a fantastic way to improve your cardio. After a five minute round, you will be left huffing and puffing. Over time you will not only improve your cardio, but you will also learn to roll more efficiently by controlling your breathing and physical output. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body.

Mentally

Your body is not the only part of you that gets a workout on the Jiu Jitsu mats. Your mind does too. Stresses and problems of the day ease and become seemingly trivial as you are trying to manoeuvre your way out of a submission hold. The issue at hand, escaping that technique is all that matters. Jiu-Jitsu forces you to think critically and strategically to achieve this.

Spiritually

There are underlying principles of Jiu-Jitsu that give us the spiritual edge. Whether we learn the self-defence or sporting part of the art, the principles are still there. We learn self-control & conflict avoidance, we acquire confidence, and we increase our humility. All of those things are part of the spiritual side of Jiu-Jitsu.

Jiu-Jitsu is a form of therapy! It will change the way we feel, look and interact with the world around us.

Book your free trial and join the ever-growing tribe of people who are using Jiu Jitsu as their tool to tackle life (including our Founder and Head Instructor, Jack Cox!).