What have the grappling arts done for you?

infamous mattyd

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Grappling (bjj and sub grappling) has done a lot for me. I have lost weight, made friends and kind of established a new identity for myself. What things, good or bad has the sport done for you?
 
Added to my confidence, helped me get a part time coaching gig at my kickboxing club teaching some grappling, allowed me the opportunity to meet and roll with world class grapplers and fighters, helped me lose weight, motivated me enough to get by on a few hours sleep and got to two trainig sessions a day at times, taught me to save money each month to cover my class fees, got me some new friends, made me more helpful in some ways (I try to help others in training by pointing out the little things much like others did to me and still do). It's also allowed me to connect with people all around the world and score a mod position here.
 
it has helped me to understand the diffeence between useful and useless martial arts techniques for a variaty of different applications
it opened my eyes to the reality that fighting goes to the ground and you need to know the ground game
i have made a ton of reinds and met a lot of reallt great people.
opened me up to forums
most of all when i teach kids techniques or coah them at tournaments, that is when i get the most satisfactionc
 
Superbeast said:
Added to my confidence, helped me get a part time coaching gig at my kickboxing club teaching some grappling, allowed me the opportunity to meet and roll with world class grapplers and fighters, helped me lose weight, motivated me enough to get by on a few hours sleep and got to two trainig sessions a day at times, taught me to save money each month to cover my class fees, got me some new friends, made me more helpful in some ways (I try to help others in training by pointing out the little things much like others did to me and still do). It's also allowed me to connect with people all around the world and score a mod position here.
I work as a bouncer till 3, get to bed at 4, get to my day job at the prosecutor's office at 830 and stay there till 430, the bjj from 530 till when ever...not bad for 3 hours sleep, so yeah, dedication and discipline are on that list as well.
 
I've made new friends. Gotten closer to friends I already had. I've become more mature. More confident. I look at things in life different from before (in a good way). I gotten a better conditioned body. I've got alot of knowledge concerning BJJ and self defense which I'm able to teach other people. Like teaching girls to defend theirself from being raped etc. I just love what I do so it has made me alot happier.

Ofcourse I've had countless of injuries aswell. But it's all worth it.
 
Made friends, made shorter work of enemies :)P) caused myself lots discomfort, especially to my neck, and learned some fundementals in thinking under pressure and the strategic mindset that permeates through my life.
 
It's kept me out of trouble, made new friends, helped me get stronger, and made learning fun as fuck.. can't say the same about highschool though.

Damn i cant wait to get back at bjj.
 
It's made me stronger. It's given me confidence, and helped me travel. I am looking forward to fighting in MMA again, this would never have been possible without Judo/BJJ/No-Gi, even tho' I box. I really feel like I can make a career out of this, to have a good amateur career, and to help me discover the Warrior's way.
It brought me to God. I never believed in Him, that He would help me, until I started fighing. Now I know He is there. I never would have come to this conclusion if I wasn't a fighter. When I get hurt, I know I will be okay and heal eventually, cuz the Lord knows I love this game, and that it brought me to the shores of Zion.
 
It has made me excited about physical training. Before it was just something I did because I had to to stay in shape.

My cardio is better than ever and the learning curve of grappling makes every class count.
 
I've lost weight, became more confident, learned to deal with stressful situations a lot better. Most importlantly, had fun.
 
keeps me in shape
it makes me eat better
i have more confidence in myself, in anything
met cool people , made very valuable connections { just got hired to do security for the mtv video awards and all the events leading up to in on south beach}
brazilian girls { jiu jutsu is a great ice breaker}
learn portugese
met Master Helio twice
have a entire strategy for ANY situtation
the natural high of sparring in the best ive ever felt in any physical activity ive ever done{ besides sex}
the buzz you get when you see progression in your game, very cool feeling
teach kids and women basic techniques that can help them
makes you a better human all around, i dont know about you guys schools, but jiu jutsu has a way of weeding out assholes.
.......oh yeah brazilian girls { vos se fale portugese? }
 
i just feel fuckin' cool being able to tap people out on the mat and being able to compete with others in a really cool martial art and sport. that is reason enough for me =D
 
Good for me is that I've made friends, gives me something to do (i've always been into sports and need it), gives me something to strive for.

I'm also addicted to it, I can't stop even if I wanted to...I suppose that could be bad and good..But for now its good cause I'm looking to do some competitions in the upcoming months. Also I don't really hang out with old friends like i use too; they were all into the drugs and alcohol...and I'm losing money cause I quit my other job to make time for training. So i'm only working part time...but thats fine by me.

Got to make sacrifices in life sometimes.
 
It brought out the fire in me. I train BJJ and lift as much as I possible can when I am not working 50 hours a week. MOTIVATION is by far the best assest.
Good thread BTW..
 
Before I started training jiujitsu I was an aggressive kid that liked getting into fights all the time. Looking back I realize what a cocky little prick I was. If you even looked at me wrong I would blast you in the face. Since training bjj I have become a more tranquil person and a fight is the last thing on my mind. I'm confident enough to walk away from fights; something I would've never done in the past. BJJ allowed me to focus my aggression and turn it into focus, determination, and dedication.

I have made more close friends through bjj than I ever did going through HS, College, or partying. The calmness and peace I've achieved through bjj have made me a better husband and father. Things that I would blow up over in the past don't even phase me anymore.

Since I began bjj I have taken better care of my body. I try to eat right most of the time (I'll splurg every now and then), drink about once a year, and never smoke (not even the good stuff). The only negatives are that my joints aren't what they use to be. Some of my fingers are warped beyond recogniton, my rib bothers me every now and then, the past year I went from back to back to back foot injuries. Plus I have this monstrous caulflower ear that my wife isn't too fond of. But, the positive far outweighs the negative.

And my recent promotion to brown belt felt a lot better than any beatdown I ever layed on some poor schmo on the street.
 
Enabled me to move like a 90yr old man first thing in the morning until my joints "warm up".

Seriously, I've met some great people, have a good time, got me in shape, upped my confidence and took away my propesnity to be a hot head.
 
met great people, made good friends, learned to walk away from a fight in the street with someone who has cauliflower ear!! hahaha
 
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