"Community"

by Christain LeBlanc, Phd.

Jiu-Jitsu isn’t really something you can do in isolation.  Sure, there are drills you can do on your own, but generally speaking, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a social activity.  It forces you to interact with other people, and that changes everything. You show up to a class with other students, you listen to the coach, and you work directly with those other students.  

We’re learning together, but we’re building a community too.

You put your safety in the hands of your partner.  As you roll, you trust that they will be responsible while they are applying a hold or technique.  A moment later you’re applying the same hold or technique to them.  These kinds of activities build trust.  

During warmups, we’re all running, jumping, and stretching the same way.  Easy or difficult, you know that everyone is going through the same process.  If you’re sweating, sore, or out of breath, you might want to stop.  When you see nobody else is stopping, you realize you aren’t stopping either.  At the end of class, you all made it through together.  Every drop of sweat, every lungful of air, and every strained limb has been overcome.  There you stand with the same people that made it through the challenge with you.  

Outside the gym, we’re from all different walks of life.  We’re parents, siblings, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives.  We work in medical fields, law enforcement, business, real estate, and education.  Diverse backgrounds, goals, and lives are all united by our love of BJJ.  

I’ve met people I never would have met otherwise.  I’ve bonded with people I thought I’d have nothing in common with, only to find myself talking with them about music, restaurants, movies, and recovery from these workouts.  It’s not just a workout; it’s a bonding ritual.

Even then, the sense of community still goes deeper.

When you’re training in Jiu-Jitsu, the gym becomes a part of your life.  This is a community meeting place.  When my coach let us know that one weekend he was going to fix up and realign the mats, I made sure to be there.  Other members of my gym were there too.  We care about this building, this location, and we were happy to work on making this place a cleaner, safer, and better place to train. 

It was fun, and it was great knowing that the other people in the gym cared enough to come out here and do the same thing.

I’ve been to barbeques at people’s houses, and I look forward to going to more every year.  This is what makes it a community.  

Everyone training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or considering training in BJJ should know this is one of the many positive side effects of joining a gym.  It’s more than the workouts, the belts, or the techniques.  It’s the people, the places, and the community.  You feel a kinship with the people training with you, and you feel a bond with the gym itself.  

You can’t put a price tag on that, but if you join a BJJ gym, you’ll get a lot more than classmates.  You’ll be walking into a place filled with people you care about and who care about you.

That’s what you’re getting when you sign up.