What's the correlation between practicing BJJ and spirituality?

[Amave]

I have heard people talk about how after joining a BJJ academy they have become more spiritual, it is said that being put in a vulnerable state gets you closer to god, i see many gyms have spiritual themes ( Atos for example ) . Since joining a BJJ academy i have personally been more spiritual and more aware of things that are bigger than me, bigger than us.

In the movie Choke, when Rickson is bathing in the river that he states is very cold , i remember he gets in the water and comes up and the first thing he says is " Thank you my lord! "

Is BJJ the gateway to the afterlife?

Does BJJ have a spiritual side to it that makes its practitioners become more aware of the " other side " ?


Am i over thinking this whole grappling thing?

 

[lts5025]

Am i over thinking this whole grappling thing?

Yes.

 

[Einarr]

If you die in a BJJ match you go straight to Valhalla.

 

[berimBOWLoh]

Jesus came to me when i was choked out once, he said "Bump and roll". I went and got baptized in the healing waters of lake minnetonka the very next day.

 

[Mumrik]

Quite the opposite I'd say - grappling is so damn no-nonsense that you get an extremely practical approach to martial arts.

Athletes tend to be more religious...
Brazilians tend to be more religious...

Maybe you just got more like the people you were surrounding yourself with?

edit:

Jesus came to me when i was choked out once, he said "Bump and roll". I went and got baptized in the healing waters of lake minnetonka the very next day.

Crap. All I did was drool.

 

[Gfreak]

This is going to be something that's COMPLETELY and 100% dependent upon the person practicing it.

 

[Rod1]

There is a correlation between hardships and spirituality and training grappling is a sort of hardship.

 

[JenStark]

There is a correlation between (christian) spirituality and poor redistribution of wealth. Brazil is one such place. Brazilians do brazilian jiu jitsu. It is either positive proof or anecdotal evidence, choose whatever you are accustomed to.

Luckily in my gym we only have a Brazilian buddist and a Brazilian marxist, so we just train and roll.

 

[pharoah21]

Quite the opposite I'd say - grappling is so damn no-nonsense that you get an extremely practical approach to martial arts.QUOTE]


Real spirituality is practical, all that airy fairy new age hocus pocus type stuff is like the martial arts equivalent of a mcdojo. Most grapplers I know are very down to earth and friendly, this to me is very spiritual.

Being placed in a very vulnerable state all the time definitely destroys the ego, which is what spirituality always tries to educate people on. You realize how fragile you actually are, which makes you humble. Humility goes hand in hand with clarity of mind, which gives you a clearer perception on life, which is something that spirituality tends to focus on.

So yes, grappling will make you more spiritual (depending on your definition of spirituality).

 

[Amave]

Quite the opposite I'd say - grappling is so damn no-nonsense that you get an extremely practical approach to martial arts.QUOTE]


Real spirituality is practical, all that airy fairy new age hocus pocus type stuff is like the martial arts equivalent of a mcdojo. Most grapplers I know are very down to earth and friendly, this to me is very spiritual.

Being placed in a very vulnerable state all the time definitely destroys the ego, which is what spirituality always tries to educate people on. You realize how fragile you actually are, which makes you humble. Humility goes hand in hand with clarity of mind, which gives you a clearer perception on life, which is something that spirituality tends to focus on.

So yes, grappling will make you more spiritual (depending on your definition of spirituality).

This is probably the best answer ITT. Being put into a vulnerable position w/o the ability to get out of does humble you. And i do believe religion or spirituality preaches humility.

 

[EndlessCritic]

This is probably the best answer ITT. Being put into a vulnerable position w/o the ability to get out of does humble you. And i do believe religion or spirituality preaches humility.

And nothing quite screams humility like believing that in our vast universe, God created us in his own image.

 

[WARRIOR POET]

Quite the opposite I'd say - grappling is so damn no-nonsense that you get an extremely practical approach to martial arts.

being spiritual is non-sense?

 

[RJ Green]

being spiritual is non-sense?

 

[FinBJJ]

I don't know what your definition of spirituality is, but I wouldn't consider myself very spiritual.
I don't believe in any gods, deities, spirits or even fate.

Then again I've been doing BJJ for under 2 years, but I don't see it changing.

 

[Gorbag]

BJJ is “entarted” judo without the Zen perspective, and fighting on the ground too long will make their souls earth bound! So the best thing BJJ guys can hope for in the afterlife is the Infierno and doing their perpetual ground game there, if not going lower down where they are obliged to omoplata and triangle each others in the heat by using radioactive gi…

 

[Einarr]

BJJ is

 

[lechien]

BJJ is sold with this extra component: the lifestyle.
The lifestyle pleases the hipsters and people that are looking for something to belong to and/or believe into.
I can see a few famous BJJ instructors adding their Christian belief to their own BJJ lifestyle.

 

[Rod1]

There is a correlation between (christian) spirituality and poor redistribution of wealth. Brazil is one such place. Brazilians do brazilian jiu jitsu. It is either positive proof or anecdotal evidence, choose whatever you are accustomed to.

Luckily in my gym we only have a Brazilian buddist and a Brazilian marxist, so we just train and roll.

USA is one of the richest countries in median household income and PPP per capita, and you have a lot of religious nutjobs.

Religion is a cultural thing mainly.

 

[pharoah21]

And nothing quite screams humility like believing that in our vast universe, God created us in his own image.

That's not spirituality, that's Christianity which to me is just straight up bullshit. Nothing spiritual about that garbage, don't confuse the two.

The word "spiritual" is tainted. I think grappling makes people better, stronger, more perceptive, determined, outgoing and it cuts out a lot of the bullshit in the way I think. Well, at least for me it does, and I know it does for a few others. If it makes you even a little bit more friendly, caring, humble and outgoing, then it does the same for you. And we all know how much BJJ smashes the ego, so how can anyone say it isn't spiritual?

You guys have to stop finding the worst examples of "spirituality" and realize that it's a much more basic concept than you guys have been brainwashed to believe.

 

[Gorbag]

The word "spiritual" is tainted. I think grappling makes people better, stronger, more perceptive, determined, outgoing and it cuts out a lot of the bullshit in the way I think. Well, at least for me it does, and I know it does for a few others. If it makes you even a little bit more friendly, caring, humble and outgoing, then it does the same for you. And we all know how much BJJ smashes the ego, so how can anyone say it isn't spiritual?

Good call, let us all be humble and egoless like the Gracie family...