Why Women Should Train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Why Women Should Train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu : Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or BJJ, is today one of the most popular and fastest growing martial arts in the world.

Just about anywhere you go in the world, you probably won’t be far from a BJJ gym. And if you enter one of these gyms, you’re likely to find a wide variety of training partners – young and old, big and small, male and female.

This diversity is what makes BJJ such a great martial art. It offers benefits for everyone, in an inclusive environment, with very few barriers to entry. All you need to do is find a gym, get a BJJ Gi, and dive in.

Read on as we discuss some of the biggest benefits of training BJJ, in particular for women.

Improve Physical Fitness

To start with, BJJ is a great way to improve fitness.

BJJ offers a full-body workout. You’re going to work cardio, flexibility, strength and more, and you’re going to do so in a natural, functional way.

You’re going to get in better shape, and learn a great deal about how your body works, and how to perform a wide variety of movements.

Best of all, you’re doing this in the process of a fun, engaging sport, which is much easier to stick with for some people than repetitive, boring workouts like you’re used to.

Relieve Stress

BJJ doesn’t just benefit the body. It benefits the mind as well. When you start training, you’ll realize it’s one of the best things you can do to dissolve the stress that builds up in everyday life.

Whether it’s a tough day at work, the stress of family life, or any other challenges, everything seems to fade away when you get to Jiu Jitsu. You’re only focused on one thing – training.

This makes BJJ very much a type of meditation, and a great asset for your mental health – which is more important than ever these days.

Build Confidence

Every day, thousands of people enter a BJJ gym with low confidence. Soon enough these people leave the gym every day with the mental strength to face up to any challenge that life presents.

BJJ puts you in situations where you can’t help but grow more confident in yourself. Fighting through difficult positions and techniques teaches you what you’re capable of. You’ll learn and practice the art of keeping cool under pressure, which is one of the best skills you can possibly have.

This confidence benefits you each time you go back to class, or in BJJ competitions, but it also provides a huge boost in all other areas of your life. You’ll build a natural confidence level that will help you take on anything that comes your way.

Self-Defense

BJJ, of course, is a martial art designed for use as a form of self-defense. And while you hope you’ll never have a need for it, it’s important that you know how to defend yourself should the need arise.

There are many martial arts out there, most of which parade themselves as a good form of self-defense. But none are as good as BJJ, particularly for women.

BJJ was specifically created to help smaller people fight and defend against bigger, stronger opponents. It makes use of leverage and positioning to complete techniques, rather than brute strength.

In time, you’ll learn a range of techniques that will neutralize any strength disadvantage in a fight. These techniques have practical, real-world applications that work against almost all the most common attacks women face.

What’s more, Jiu Jitsu focused mostly on restraint and control, which makes it perfect for self-defense, when you’re just looking to protect yourself, rather than strike and do damage to your attacker.

While aggressive situations in real life are ones you ideally would like to avoid, Jiu Jitsu will give you a level of confidence that you’ll be able to handle yourself and defend against whatever should happen.

Break Gender Stereotypes

Finally, BJJ does a great job of breaking down harmful gender stereotypes. Our world is filled with people who tell others they can or can’t do certain things, based on them being masculine or feminine.

In Jiu Jitsu, however, everyone is equal. You’ll see this in the gym – men, women, people of different shapes and sizes can all compete equally. Win, lose or draw, it’s not about your gender, it’s about your skill and technique.

The more women that start training in Jiu Jitsu, the more positive role models for younger girls, who will grow up with the understanding that they can do whatever they want to do, even if others consider it masculine, feminine or otherwise.

This way of breaking traditional gender barriers and stereotypes is vital for creating an atmosphere of positivity and inclusiveness for generations to come.