Society's view of BJJ

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Alright I think this depends on where you are and the kind of "company" you keep or are around on a daily basis.

So here is the story: I work in what you would call "high finance" on a trading desk for a mid level broker dealer trading Bonds. The norm for these guys extracurricular activity is Golf or drinking.

When they ask what I do and I mention BJJ/Muay Thai etc they usually laugh and try to make fun of me in some way. I also do not drink so that is two strikes against me. One guy in particular made this comment last week;

"So you are rolling around on the ground with guys all the time right? Well, can't you get herpes from that? I mean, I can't imagine that you are with the classiest of people"

I swear to god I almost flipped my lid when he said that to me. My response was "Your question/statement does not even warrant a response from me"

This is the kind of elitest snob BS that I have to put up with on a daily basis. Now mind you most of the people working here went to large exclusive universities or attended very wealthy high schools/private schools and look down on anybody doing BJJ or as he puts "meatheads beating up on each other"

When I meet people in the general public and the topic of hobbies etc come up and I mention BJJ/MMA/Muay Thai etc they usually are respectful or intrigued in general.

What have your experiences been? AND what do you think of that comment?

That's a pretty exciting job. What exactly do you do ? Brokerage, market-making, running a book ? What kind of background do you have ? What kind of bonds do you trade ?

Since I'm also involved in finance (Structured finance, i.e. LBOs and project financing) I'm interested in fellow grappling financiers !

The best advice I can give you is that it doesn't bring anything to tell your coworkers about BJJ.
It's not a socially accepted activity (I'm not saying it's right, rather just stating a fact), and you have nothing to win by explaining the activity to your colleagues, who just won't listen and make fun of you. You'll just earn yourself a tag of bare-knuckle freak or something.

The last colleague that mentionned BJJ to me said something around the lines of "yeah they're so fucked up, they fight without rules bare-knuckles until someone is unconscious".

Who cares if people know what BJJ is ? Jobs in finance are extremely superficial and image-based *within* organisations. So I said this in other posts here : just say you do judo. It's somehow an activity that society doesn't look down upon, and it's similar enough to BJJ.

Cheers.


EDIT : oh and you wouldn't believe how annoyed I am at the number of people working in finance who golf. I think it's sad that dudes in their 20's don't realise how much of a shame it is to not push their bodies while they can, and who instead focus on something as arbitrary as golf just to blend in. There is something really sad about society.

 

[Bryk]

Unless it's your boss, I wouldn't care.

 

[Alphamale1906]

I work in a small office as well and people at my job are always make ignorant comments about grappling and how BJJ is so "gay" rolling around with other dudes on the ground, etc. I then invite them to come to my gym and step on the mat and give it a shot, and then see if theyfeel the same way when someone is trying to choke you unconscious or tear your arm off. Their response is that you'll come, but they never show up .

 

[mgbyrnc]

Is it just me or does it seem like there's a lot of inferiority complexes on this thread? My BJJ teacher is very humble, that's how I would like to be if I were ever near his level.

I think it's important to treat BJJ as a sport, and not as a way of learning to kick someone's ass or treating your abilities as some power that you hold over others.

my thoughts exactly.

although, the guys advising to say stuff like "oh well i could choke you out and you couldnt stop me durrrr" are probably like 20 years old and dont have fully developed brains yet.

id think that bjj would have taught them a few basic values like respect and humility.

"Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world.
But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you,
So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also." -Kahlil Gibran

and finally; stop dissing golf. when you learn proper driving technique its a TON of fun to go to the range and launch some balls :icon_chee

 

[FREAK656]

You will always get "strange" reactions from most domesticated men over 25-30 years old. Here is my opinion why ...

The fact that you are a fighter reminds them they are not. This is an uncomfortable truth.

Men past their prime and out of shape do not like to be reminded their better days are behind them. They also feel a secret guilt for letting themselves get this way. It gets worse the older and fatter the man gets. You should see the dads that scream for violence at my son's Lacrosse games. The weaker and more pathetic the man, the more he yells at the kids to do the things he can't.

(House cats are jealous of outdoor cats)

That is the smartest thing I have ever heard anyone say about anything...Good post dude

 

[td82394]

I don't tell anybody about my training except for other people who train in martial arts.

 

[[Tycho?]]

Few people I meet know what it is. Those that do think its UFC.

Oddly though, a couple weeks ago I went upstairs to my neighbours place and met some of his friends. Two of his friends were interested, one did greco-roman, the other BJJ. But, as I asked them about it, it turns out the wrestler had no training what-so-ever, and just fucked around with his friends. The BJJ guy trained a little bit, enough to throw out the name of a gym but was in awe when I told him I competed. It was strange, I'd never encountered that before.

To people who don't know what BJJ is I just say its like wrestling with joint locks. After that they usually are not interested enough to ask more, which is fine by me.

 

[Murlik]

Yep, the industry I am in 99% of people are Type-A personalities read Alpha-Males. The thing is I am super nice and genuine with everyone plus try not to make confrontation on anything. Maybe they see that as not being alpha-male enough. It also doesn't help that I went to a DII school and got here on merit as opposed to being a blue blood that went to the richest highschool in Dallas.

Everyone who is not part of their "click" gets hounded on any time they say or do anything. The thing that ticks me off the most is the fact that they would never in a million years say certain things to me outside of work, cause that shit ain't happening in the real world.

I agree that in that industry those type of people are pretty common, but having lived in Dallas from 1 year old to 23 years old before getting the fuck out of there I can tell you....its probably where you live as well. Dallas is full of d-bags.

 

[Auspex]

I'm in my second year of college and this is usually how it goes...

Me: Yeah man I'm going to jiu jitsu tonight.
Random person: Oh is that like wrestling or something?
Me: Sort of, but it's got submissions like chokes and armlocks etc...
Random person: OOOHHH!...You do UFC!
Me: ehh...not really.
Random person: Yeah..UFC is tight!

From then on, everytime I walk into a room after that..."oh watch out ya'll, he does UFC!"...I try to explain it the best I can but everytime it ends with some guys misinterpreting it, talking me up to sound BA, and then followed by some random buff jock who knows two submissions challenging me to "wrestle".

haha, whenever I watch MMA at a friends house someone always challenges me. I yell at the TV (i know, I know) and I know what I'm talking about, so someone always thinks it's a good idea to wrestle me. Most of the "challenges" have come from guys who wrestled in HS and hope they still have it. I like to remind them what they did a decade ago is legit, but I currently do this 4x a week. Still doesn't deter 'em enough.

I'm not shy about rolling, i love the shit and win or lose am gonna have a good time. I have always taken on the challenges with the caveat that I'm definitely gonna try to kick their ass.

haha, point being - Don't be threatened or turned off, have some fun with it.

edit: This is typically my inner-meathead thriving after a bunch of PBR. It's a great time!

 

[LegLockUnicorn]

it's funny that's what people think.

i was suprised to learn our school has a plumber, electrician, lawyer, a guy who teaches medicine, financial adviser, massage therapist, sociologist, lumber jack (gotta be the coolest thing to say you actually do), police officer, concrete block maker.. just about all walks of life walk through the door...

well all walks of life but the low lifes who can't afford the monthly membership fees so... i agree it's not what you would expect from BJJ but that's just how reality is.

Does the lumberjack have stupid strong grip strength?

 

[nni]

"Gay" is the most common response I get when people find out I train. I'd imagine most people think it's gay. Oh well... sucks for them. They can die fat and out of shape, and I'll die healthy.

You do know there are other ways of being fit/healthy that don't involve grappling, right?

 

[Steeltwo]

I say I do

Judo and Jiu Jitsu.

90% of people then say, "OH I DID Karate"
Then we talk about our experiences. When they equate the takedowns to what is done in some Karate moves, it makes thing easier. BJJ and the UFC are pretty much hand in hand at present.

If I EVER says Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, they say "oh you're a UFC fighter then that punches people when they are down?" And the conversation generally turns into me defending MMA as a real sport.

 

[HardEight]

Does the lumberjack have stupid strong grip strength?

I bet he has an epic beard.

 

[MMA junkie]

^ Is his Gi made out of flannel material/design?

 

[Irenaeus]

You do know there are other ways of being fit/healthy that don't involve grappling, right?

*Quits grappling*

 

[HEAVY GRAPPLER]

I work in TV. My boss introduces me as "a mixed martial arts expert," since he thinks it's a good conversation starter. It sort of grates on me. I am a big guy and feel it sort of gives people the wrong impression. But if I don't delight the people with stories of fighting when they ask then he is disappointed.

If the people ask, I tell them BJJ is my real passion and that I just train MMA as an extension of that. My coworkers don't care and don't want to hear me talk about it.

 

[Scooter Brown]

That's what your middle finger is for

 

[redaxe]

I actually met a guy who worked for McKinsey & Co (basically the #1 management consulting firm) who did BJJ. I don't think BJJ is that exotic anymore. A lot of the people I train with have corporate management type jobs.

Maybe it's different in the South though. I can imagine the finance types in the South being pretty aristocratic. Just make fun of them for being pudgy girly-men.

 

[Justwork1983]

I just use alternate wording and I have never been fucked with even by guys who are just natural assholes.

Muy Thai I just say I am going to a boxing session, For BJJ I just say I am going to the gym. One thing that has always helped me is I am a real quiet dude but my girlfriend cant keep her mouth shut about BJJ she tapes videos of our intraschool tournaments and will play them during our UFC parties. Calling them my "fights" so I think that keeps all my redneck buddies from giving me hell.

 

[BWC]

That's a pretty exciting job. What exactly do you do ? Brokerage, market-making, running a book ? What kind of background do you have ? What kind of bonds do you trade ?

Since I'm also involved in finance (Structured finance, i.e. LBOs and project financing) I'm interested in fellow grappling financiers !

The best advice I can give you is that it doesn't bring anything to tell your coworkers about BJJ.
It's not a socially accepted activity (I'm not saying it's right, rather just stating a fact), and you have nothing to win by explaining the activity to your colleagues, who just won't listen and make fun of you. You'll just earn yourself a tag of bare-knuckle freak or something.

The last colleague that mentionned BJJ to me said something around the lines of "yeah they're so fucked up, they fight without rules bare-knuckles until someone is unconscious".

Who cares if people know what BJJ is ? Jobs in finance are extremely superficial and image-based *within* organisations. So I said this in other posts here : just say you do judo. It's somehow an activity that society doesn't look down upon, and it's similar enough to BJJ.

Cheers.


EDIT : oh and you wouldn't believe how annoyed I am at the number of people working in finance who golf. I think it's sad that dudes in their 20's don't realise how much of a shame it is to not push their bodies while they can, and who instead focus on something as arbitrary as golf just to blend in. There is something really sad about society.

This is an interesting discussion for me. I'm in private equity and I have often considered whether or not I should tell a soul who I work with or around about my BJJ/Muay Thai obsession. And it has become something that I love more than anything. As I've progressed, I grown more and more dismissive of all these guys in my profession who are always trying to one-up others and act superior. I respect the guys I train with more than just about anyone else. I am genuinely concerned that my training could be career limiting. Most are like me, MBA's from good schools, finance gearheads, etc. What are your beliefs on this?