My name is Matthew Brooking. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become a major part of my life. Getting started took self-motivation, time management and a strong "Why", today I’m going to share with you, "my why". I have been training for 2 years and have competed in 3 competitions so far. This blog may answer some questions you have been thinking about recently and give you a new perspective.
I started my Journey in New Zealand at New Plymouth Southern Tribes BJJ, I have since moved with my family to Perth and now a proud member of Strike MMA Port Kennedy where I primarily train Jiu Jitsu under Matua (Maori for teacher) David Johnson
When I first started BJJ, I had no idea what the heck I was doing, like all things that you do for the first time you go through what I call the sucky stage, this is when your brain is trying to take in a lot of new data and you can sometimes feel overwhelmed. Just like any physical contact sport it was a little uncomfortable at the beginning, training so close with another person, it took me around 3 weeks to really get comfortable, when you do you will start learning at an accelerated rate, It is crucial that you stay consistent at the start with training to truly see some results.
it is important to make sure you listen to your body, try not to over-train, let your body heal back to at least 80% before your next training session, its ok to have a day off here and there. Personally, I train twice a week consistently, and attend open mats on Saturday to stay in shape.
I have found my body takes around 2-3 months to condition properly for high intensity rolling sessions, keep in mind everybody is different, for instance if your already a athletic person and your currently playing a sport, this can give you a good advantage at the beginning, personally I lifted weights for over 6 years before I started so this gave me extra strength coming into it. Results may vary depending on your work and hobbies.
In the beginning I would rely a lot on my strength to overpower my opponents into different positions or to escape being submitted, this would often leave me felling gassed and fatigued after each session.
Overtime I learned new techniques and how to distribute my weight effectively and started to burn less energy. I would fight to stay on top position to conserve energy, because I learnt being on the bottom uses a lot more energy, my lungs would start to compress, and my breaths became shorter when weight was on top of me, anytime less oxygen is being circulated around to your body and brain, the less explosiveness and strength you will have to escape or counter attack.
As humans we are all hardwired competitive beings, for me it was a big blow to my ego when someone submitted me. At this stage of my life I am into a lot of self-development, also I started exploring my spiritual side and I have learnt a lot about the human ego, if you have not learnt about this concept, I highly recommend you do, as I think this is the most powerful lesson Jiu Jitsu can teach you. I challenged myself to accept defeat, I learnt to control my emotions and become more self-aware of my feelings towards anger and wanting to inflict revenge. I noticed a big change in the way I reacted to people and everyday situations when I was under pressure and stress.
Overtime I got tapped less and less, I focused on developing a good defence first, and not worried to much about submissions for awhile. Everybody is different and depending on your body type you need to find what works best for you and double down in those areas. My current style consists of a strong defence, and a solid top-heavy game, with arm isolation subs being my favourite, It gets really exciting when you develop your own strategy and you execute it perfectly.
I find that Jiu Jitsu aligns with my core values, gentle but deadly. It’s about timed controlled explosive movements, and when you think about it, we do this in everyday life, metaphorically. sometimes in life we need to be patient and choose the right time to take action and then give it everything we got to get through adversity and implement change in our lives. Also, at times we need to control our emotions and think logically, before taking certain actions.
I'm still a guppy in Jiu Jitsu and am not trying to insinuate otherwise,
there is so much to be learnt in this journey, this is just my perspective so far as a white belt with over 2 years skin in the game
Thanks for reading if you are considering this great journey for yourself, i hope this blog and my experiences have inspired you to get started!
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