Have you heard the story of a woman who saw her son under a car, and somehow deadlifted it off him?

This is sheer willpower with a higher purpose in mind. No warm up. No gloves. This lady was willing to tolerate immense discomfort because there was something much more important at stake.

You can always tolerate discomfort if it is in service of something bigger. You’re wired with systems of endorphins which you rely on for survival and for doing difficult things like saving your kid, and fighting off predators.

Now, imagine you see a loved one underneath a car 4-5 times per week. The adrenaline dump happens, you lift the car in a screaming mess. And then they jack it up, get underneath, and drop it down again. So you have to lift it. Again, and again.

How long will that last for till someone finally gets hurt?

When you fight jiu jitsu this is what you are doing.

When survival is at stake to yield is to die. To fight is to win at all costs. And so your body adapts.

 

Your muscles tense up as they prepare for battle. Your breath is being held by the threat of a strike. You groan, and strain, and you try to force things in whichever way you know. You begin to panic. You think you’re going to die. Sn .. Tap!

You don’t mean to feel this way. You meant to go light, I believe you. But it’s like you can’t control it. No matter how much your coach tells you to relax, you have little choice in the matter.

Now you do 3 rolls per night, and you train 3 times per week. That’s a lot of dying.

It doesn’t need to be like this.

This is the gentle art. Everybody can practice because there’s no need for a fight.

The Professor Pedro Sauer talks of rolling as though it’s with your little daughter. You don’t slam her head into the mats. You won’t grind your elbows in her face. And you don’t intend on inflicting any more discomfort than what is necessary.

Sure you can submit her. But you will do it with a smile on your face, and in control the whole time.

Finesse is the elusive trait that makes jiu jitsu both effective, and beautiful all at the same time.

You’ll need patience to find finesse.

You’ll also need to experience discomfort. But it’s always relative. Just enough is a good amount to know what comfort also feels like. And once you learn how to create comfort, you’ll be fine with the discomfort.

This is about the time you’ll become more skilled in using your skeleton. You become aware of the different parts you have available to you. And you learn how to work with your environment to fulfil your intentions.

This is to feel jiu jitsu. It’s easier said than done. But with the right environment and with a culture of learning, it becomes possible for everybody. This is why we come together as friends, we start slow, and we build. The common goal is learning, and we help eachother in this study of jiu jitsu.

Like scientists, we uncover knowledge, we refine and test, and we make things better.

What was once discomfort has become pure delight.

This is how we go higher. This is the way. This is Higher Jiu Jitsu.