For the vast majority of jiu jitsu practitioners, this is an individual sport. That is what makes it accessible for those of us who have competing priorities in life; career, academics, family, and passions outside of grappling. Earlier this year, I wrote about taking breaks from jiu jitsu while maintaining the freedom to return to the mats. Although many of us are in jiu jitsu for recreation, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a low priority. But doesn’t it seem irresponsible to put training before… more important matters?

What if we spun that question on its head and asked, what exactly makes jiu jitsu less important? Is it just because we’re not getting a paycheck? Aside from those few people working their ‘dream job’, most of us aren’t necessarily defining ourselves by our work life. The more likely concern is that jiu jitsu is ‘frivolous’ because, well… we’re not very good at it. I swear you could even ask a black belt academy owner and they’d still claim they ‘suck at jiu jitsu’ (and by the way, I have a few thoughts about downplaying our abilities…). Fine. Well, why sign up in the first place? How many jiu jitsu students are walking into their trial class because they think they know it all?

Remember why you started

Everyone is in jiu jitsu for a different reason. Interestingly enough, that reason might transform over time. Students who just joined martial arts as a way to build self-confidence may eventually find a talent for coaching. Some want to get fit, some love to compete, some just need to blow off steam when they’re off-duty. So do those reasons go away when life demands more of us, or our schedules are jam-packed? I’d bet those motives that originally got us to sign a waiver at a jiu jitsu school & put on a weird uniform in the first place only become more valid when we face times of uncertainty and distress.

Take an overworked employee and remove their one source of stress-relief. Or strip away an introvert’s familiar environment to comfortably socialize. When starting jiu jitsu, we are accountable to only ourselves. But outside our training schedules, we have infinite points of connection with society that are impacted by that commitment to self-growth. We owe it to ourselves to continue that journey in martial arts, not because we need to be the top-ranked world athlete… but because dedicating time to continuous improvement, problem-solving, collaboration, and physical challenges makes us better humans–that purpose that brought us here to begin with.

You are a part of something bigger than yourself

If you need some sort of external motivation outside the intrinsic benefits of jiu jitsu… despite just having a gym membership, you’ve impacted a community without even knowing it. There is someone else at jiu jitsu class who needs a partner to drill with. Your coach needs a student to teach. The newcomer needs a classmate to model themselves after. If you think nobody notices when you’re not around, you’d be surprised just how much others gain from you just showing up to class (yes, even you white belts).

With that in mind; do your actions reflect the value jiu jitsu has in your life? Or are you participating in behaviors that don’t serve your end-game? In my own experience, I have made drastic changes to my lifestyle to give more energy to jiu jitsu; knowing how much joy and growth it brings me. When I give more to jiu jitsu, I reap the benefit of being a more positive friend, a more productive employee, and a more vibrant part of the community. To that same objective, I began cutting out the fluff–spending time on friendships that are detrimental to my spirit, side hobbies that became draining chores, and bad habits that limited me physically & mentally. Most of what we do in our spare time is optional. Improving ourselves is optional. However, we have the great luxury to decide that it’s actually the most essential investment of all.