I had never tried a contact sport before, and I had zero experience with grappling. I’d barely even watched Ultimate Fighting Championship matches except to see Ronda Rousey kick ass from time to time.

Yet there I was with my bare feet against a sweat-ridden, red open mat, gazing out to people wearing pajama-resembling outfits called gis, pronounced “gee”, thinking that this was perhaps the craziest thing I’d done.

During that first class session, I learned an Ezekiel choke and nailed it. I felt a surge of sudden confidence and empowerment. It was in that precise moment that I fell in love with jiu-jitsu and knew it would become a sport that would encompass my life as well as produce several hidden benefits.

Self-Defense

Some may feel that Brazilian jiu-jitsu is overrated, that it’s a fad made popular by UFC, which is an understandable but ignorant assumption. It is so much more than that. It is an extremely effective form of martial arts that omits striking and focuses instead on ground fighting.

As my coach Albert Aguirre always says, “Most fights end up on the ground.”

What makes jiu-jitsu such a formidable method of self-defense is that it isn’t about strength or size, but about skill and technique. For ladies, being able to defend against an attacker who has knocked them against the ground, jiu-jitsu will instill a sense of safety and self-assurance.

Anyone can act out aggressively in an attempt to represent him or herself as dominant in a confrontation. It is something else entirely when a person has the power to kick your ass, but instead acts with great responsibility. There is a sense of humbleness felt along with knowing what you’re capable of.

Fitness and Health

It wasn’t long before I learned what an incredible full body workout jiu-jitsu is. The first few class sessions showed me how sore I could feel from warm-ups, drilling and rolling. Everything hurt from my chest and biceps to my abs and my legs. Regular forms of cardio are massively dull, but rolling with a partner is fun and challenging. An hour-long session of jiu-jitsu can burn up to 700 calories depending on weight and level of intensity.

Without lifting weights consistently and only coming to jiu-jitsu classes about five times a week for several weeks, I noticed an enormous increase in my strength. When I did return to the weight room, I expected to have lost much of my strength; worried I’d be back to square one. I was shocked at my ability to lift much heavier than ever before and broke several personal records. I could only attribute my increase in strength to jiu-jitsu. My endurance also saw a drastic spike. Asthma was a horrible plague in my childhood so cardio has always been a problem for me until jiu-jitsu. For the first time, running and other cardio felt easy, not something I had to force myself through.

Family and Friendship

Just like joining any organization or group, you begin to form close bonds with its members after spending a considerable amount of time as a member yourself. It’s the same when you join a fight gym or dojo. You become close with your teammates and sparring partners, developing strong friendships through your shared lifestyles and hobbies. My social circle has grown quite a bit since I joined Camarillo Jiu-Jitsu. I even got reacquainted with people I already knew whom I had no idea did jiu-jitsu. It is with great pride that I call these friends my teammates, knowing that we represent our team and that we will compete together. Let’s face it – if being wrapped up someone else’s legs doesn’t make you close, then I don’t know what does.

Gifts and Virtues

Much like life, there are always new things to learn in jiu-jitsu. You can increase your level of mastery through years of dedication and participation, but you will never stop growing in the sport. Remaining dedicated and exceling in the sport requires discipline and patience.

There are techniques in jiu-jitsu that will come so naturally, you’ll be demonstrating them in your sleep. Then there are the techniques that you just can’t seem to nail until you’ve exhausted your efforts in practicing them for hours and days at a time. There are moments when you roll or compete, and you are met with failure. It can be the most infuriating and exasperating feeling in the world.

Perhaps the most beautiful gifts jiu-jitsu can bestow are perseverance and confidence. The sport will demand that you keep going after testing your willpower’s limits. You will radiate happiness, confidence and self-assuredness.

Lifestyle

Jiu-jitsu is more than showing up to class every day, eating açaí bowls, buying a new gi for every day of the week, recruiting more people to join and saying “Oss.” Those are all aspects of jiu-jitsu, but they are not what define it.

“Jiu-jitsu is a vehicle of self-discovery and growth,” said Chris Matakas, author of “My Mastery: Learning to Live Through Jiu-Jitsu.” “It reminds me of my ego, of my insecurities, and of my shortcomings.”

What defines jiu-jitsu most is that it is an endless journey in which you are the limitless hero of, always ready to learn more and to do more.

There will be failure. There will be plateaus, and there will be frustration. Jiu-jitsu is about standing back up and trying harder. It’s about coming across obstacles, overcoming and going far beyond them.

Jiu-jitsu is about yourself and how far you are willing to push.