Pawel M
THE "PSYCHOLOGY" OF BRAZILIAN JIUJITSU
by Robert E Slawinski, MA
It has long been an "accepted" maxim that practicing in the martial arts can play a role in developing "concentration, discipline and character". I have spoken to many parents about this as part of my work as a clinical psychologist. Parents are often interested in helping their children develop "focus, self control and confidence". I have been asked on several occasions "how" this, in fact, comes about. Much has been written about the effectiveness of Brazilian Jujitsu as a fighting art and tool for self defense. What many do not realize is that it is equally effective in developing the character, personal psychology and spirit of the practitioner. While I am don't consider myself an authority as to the finer points of applying an arm bar or a triangle choke, I do feel uniquely qualified to speak to this issue. In this three part series I will attempt to discuss the "process" by which personal/mental development occurs specific to the practice of our unique martial art.
To be detached from outcome:
There are many aspects of training that develops ones mind, emotional maturity and ultimately character. At the core of Brazilian Jujitsu is technique and strategy. The first issue often confronted by the novice to the art is the aspect of "technique over power" and the fact that the opponent, in many ways, dictates the technique and series of moves to be used. This leads into the first issue to be discussed in this article which is the surrendering of the ego and becoming immersed in the process. I have only my own personal experiences to draw upon although I have spoken with other practitioners and have found some of the experiences to be universal. The most universal experience is, of course, learning from ones mistakes. Admitting the mistakes, to yourself and others, is often the first break (or break through as we like to say in the therapy world) to personal growth. Like many other people who found this martial art and initially lacked instructors with a deep understanding of the art, I found myself watching a lot of Jujitsu tapes. The most common mistake associated with this form of "self instruction" was to fall in love with submission holds/techniques. To this day I tell people that I probably know hundreds of ways to submit someone and that 80 percent of the techniques I will never be able to apply. The tapes with the most "interesting" and "fancy" submission techniques contained the same techniques that did not flow from solid takedowns, position control or set ups. If some of you have these tapes, check them out and notice how the guy getting "tapped" isn't doing anything to stop the technique or trying to advance his own position. If you watch fighters with depth of understanding (like Royler or any of his brothers) you will notice that they tend to use the "basics" and do not try to "force" a victory.
In training strategy and "flow", the question "what is he giving you?" is often asked to help a student understand what his "next move" should be. In many ways this is a metaphor for life. Successful people in general display the same "detachment from outcome", they are "well founded in the basics" and to not "force opportunity" but rather are persistent in working a strategy while being vigilant for opportunity to present itself. I believe to be "detached from outcome" and focused on the process, is one of the fundamental "character building" aspects of our discipline and training. On the mat this translates into learning to "fight relaxed" for when you are detached from outcome, you are able to enjoy what you are doing and learning. All of the psychological research about learning supports this. When you are learning because you enjoy the material (and are not concerned about the grade) you will learn faster, retain more, and are able to "apply" what you have learned. Not being attached to the "grade", in Jujitsu means not putting too much importance on the belt color or the outcome of a particular match. Sure it is nice to win, but learning and growth has roots in mistakes and defeat. When you submit someone you are aware that he has really beaten himself (so there is no ego). When you get submitted you understand the same thing about yourself and look for the learning opportunity. As you develop this sense of detachment you begin to move to deeper levels of understanding of Jujitsu and of yourself.
Working harder on yourself than you do at the job:
It has been taught to me on several occasions that there are three aspects to moving from technique to technique. Those of you reading this that have trained with David Adiv will recognize this. To be successful you have to 1) know what needs to be done, 2) have the timing to do what needs to be done, and 3) possess the flexibility to do what needs to be done. These maxims contain lessons for personal growth as well and in many ways parallel much of what has been written in the field of personal development. The combination of knowledge, timing and flexibility has long been a “PIN number" to the ATM of success. If you lack any of these qualities on the mat you will find yourself either baffled, behind, or so tense you will be unable to accomplish what you need to.
The real goal of training is to develop yourself as a fighter. Often people will get “caught up" in their day to day routines and “forget" why they are doing what they are doing. They work harder on their jobs than they do on themselves and lose the awareness that they are the “constant" in the equation. This is the individual who is always looking for the “ideal" job, mate, or (fill in the blank). They suffer from the disease of “more" and fail to understand that if you focus on develop yourself the externals take care of themselves and are “by products" of self improvement. The first of these elements “knowledge" comes from learning and assimilating information/technique. It comes about from an understanding of not only “what" technique works, but “how" it works and “why". Complete knowledge is grounded in the concept of “over learning" (repeating a learned activity over and over, refining finer distinctions and eventually teaching the information to others). The second of these elements “timing" comes from experience (read “mat time"). Sparring is only one aspect of this.
One of the things I learned, is that to develop timing, you have to roll at various speeds and sometimes with limited positioning. Rolling around at “quarter or half speed" is predicated on the first principle (detaching from outcome) in that it is an agreement between you and your partner to “move" through the positions and resist the temptation to “speed up" if you mess up and miss an opportunity or get caught in a bad spot. Timing can also be developed through limited or “dedicated" rolling (IE restricting the positions or the goals of the sparring, “one guy tries to pass the guard and the other guy tries to reverse). Timing improves with time on the mat, although there are ways to accelerate the process. Of course, like many skills in life, there is NO substitute for experience. The third element “flexibility" can be understood at a variety of levels. The most basic is the physical. For the longest time there were techniques I could not do (mostly from the guard) because I lacked the flexibility to move my hips the proper way. I could do the appropriate warm ups but I was never able to use the feedback that I was “too flat on my back" while trying to apply reversals or recover the guard. I eventually took up a Kundalini yoga practice, eased up on some of the weight training I had been attached to and spent some regular time stretching “after" workouts. While this played a role in moving past this, it was developing “emotional flexibility" that probably played a bigger role in this process (my guard used to be downright embarrassing). Flexibility is not just about how long your muscles and tendons are, but it is about how open your mind is, how willing you are to “give up" something (a position or an advantage) to “gain" something else.
For me, I had to “give up" my dislike of the guard and learn to like it in order to develop that part of my game. Probably the most practical strategy to develop emotional flexibility is to be aware of any aspect of your training (or your life) that you have an instinct to avoid. When you find yourself wanting to “skip or skimp" in an area, pursue that more aggressively until you learn to, not only tolerate, but enjoy that activity. Any good instructor in BJJ will tell you to “deliberately put yourself in bad positions" as part of your training (let someone take your back, start out cross body down, let yourself be mounted). This not only allows you to practice the techniques/escapes from these positions but to develop an emotional comfort level with all positions. In reality, there are no “bad" positions. What makes a position bad is either a lack of flexibility in your body to execute the appropriate move or a lack of emotional flexibility where the “oh **** experience" interferes with your ability to do what needs to be done. This leads to the third aspect of “Jujitsu Psychology" that is important to personal development on the mat and in life.
Emotional Control = Self Control:
This is an area where it is tempting to be somewhat philosophical although my intention is that this be a practical article. With the emphasis in parts one and two on goal orientation, technique and principles, I believe it is important to be mindful that we are fighting here. There are rules and most of us practice within a context of the “sport" of Jujitsu. The “sport", however, has its roots in combat, and BJJ has a unique distinction from other martial arts in that it allows for full speed/no gear contact with the agreement to “tap out" as the only barrier between a good workout and a major orthopedic injury. Except for some previous training in stick fighting (dog brothers style) I have found the striking arts somewhat limiting in approaching the maxim “train the way you fight, fight the way you train". While we do use mats and other protective gear, I have found the “emotional experience" of BJJ quite similar to “real life". I probably should have precluded this observation with mention of some of my initial attraction to Jujitsu. I had worked for years in several psychiatric hospitals and had training on the “Physical Management of Aggressive Patients". When managed care and the resultant cuts in staffing occurred in the early 1990’s I found myself working on units with sicker, more dangerous clients and fewer staff. I have taken numerous aggression management trainings and am considered quite skilled in “talking someone down" although the mix of more dangerous clients/less staff made me nervous. A fundamental skill in “talking someone down" who is threatening, is being calm while adrenaline is coursing through your veins. In many of these trainings they teach self defense techniques (which most of you would get a good laugh from if you ever the chance to see them). To make a long story short, I wanted an edge. I had not seen the UFC, did not know who Royce Gracie was, and all I knew about Jujitsu was that there wasn’t a lot of hitting (there is a pretty strict rule in most health care settings about not punching your patients in the face). My early training, as unfocused as it was, gave me this edge although like many guys who love Jujitsu, I found what brought me to the mat and what keeps me there are two different things.
Training and fighting are physical and emotional experiences and teach you about “self control" in many different ways. When parents come to me and ask about enrolling their son or daughter in a “martial art", it is this quality that most are hoping to cultivate. To be crude about it for a moment, I think that some believe that if their child knows in their heart that “they can kick ass" then they won’t have to prove it and will somehow learn restraint. If this were true unto itself, we could arm each child with a Glock and they would magically develop self restraint with the comfort of knowing that they have the “deadly force option" at their disposal. The “emotional control" that comes from the martial arts (and BJJ in particular) seems to emerge from several intangible aspects of training. I think that all martial arts offer these intangibles however certain ones come to mind with regard to grappling. The close proximity and constant physical contact associated with our art/training seems to reinforce the notion that we are “connected" to each other and that “what you do to/for another, you do to/for yourself". For instance, if when you are sparring with someone and you are looking out for his safety (as well as your own), this will likely engender the same response in him. On the flip side, if you apply a choke, for instance, with reckless and aggressive energy, you will likely find your opponent equally aggressive in his efforts to tear you arm off his neck.
In short, how you treat people on the mat has a lot to do with how they treat you. I have personally found that training Jujitsu challenges you to change certain aspects of your behavior (outside as well as inside of your dojo/academy that result in increased emotional, and ultimately self control. These are: 1) changes with regard to breathing, 2) changes in certain day to day habits and 3) changes in attitude about what it means to win or lose (that topic of ego just wont go away will it). Individuals that are thought to have “good self control" have simply learned to surrender their fear to a solid plan that they are committed to and is executed in the “present moment". Jujitsu is very much a “present moment" experience that requires you to “split your focus". On the one hand, your attention must be on what your opponent is doing and on the other, what your options are. Beating yourself up about your “lame attempt at a triangle choke" or worry about “the arm bar he is setting up on you" takes you out of the present moment and into the realm of what you have no control over. This is the cognitive (thinking) process that produces fear. Many emotional/behavioral problems that do not have an exclusive “biological basis" are rooted in fear of one sort or another. Even the biologically driven mental illnesses respond positively to life changes that help the individual manage fear in all its forms: worry, guilt, and anger. Learning to breath properly is a fundamental tool in managing emotions. In many ways your emotional state is tied directly to your breathing. When training you are constantly placed in positions where your central nervous system perceives and reacts to “threat" (think of the last time someone was applying a submission to you and you realized that your hands were trapped and you couldn’t “tap", if you have forgotten this experience). In addition to being tied to your emotional life, your breathing is tied directly to your cardio vascular endurance. Part of a good Jujitsu game is learning first to survive/stalemate an opponent and control your breathing so that when there is an opportunity to turn things around, you have some physical energy left to do so.
In short, how you treat people on the mat has a lot to do with how they treat you. I have personally found that training Jujitsu challenges you to change certain aspects of your behavior (outside as well as inside of your dojo/academy that result in increased emotional, and ultimately self control. These are: 1) changes with regard to breathing, 2) changes in certain day to day habits and 3) changes in attitude about what it means to win or lose (that topic of ego just wont go away will it). Individuals that are thought to have “good self control" have simply learned to surrender their fear to a solid plan that they are committed to and is executed in the “present moment". Jujitsu is very much a “present moment" experience that requires you to “split your focus". On the one hand, your attention must be on what your opponent is doing and on the other, what your options are. Beating yourself up about your “lame attempt at a triangle choke" or worry about “the arm bar he is setting up on you" takes you out of the present moment and into the realm of what you have no control over. This is the cognitive (thinking) process that produces fear. Many emotional/behavioral problems that do not have an exclusive “biological basis" are rooted in fear of one sort or another. Even the biologically driven mental illnesses respond positively to life changes that help the individual manage fear in all its forms: worry, guilt, and anger. Learning to breath properly is a fundamental tool in managing emotions. In many ways your emotional state is tied directly to your breathing. When training you are constantly placed in positions where your central nervous system perceives and reacts to “threat" (think of the last time someone was applying a submission to you and you realized that your hands were trapped and you couldn’t “tap", if you have forgotten this experience). In addition to being tied to your emotional life, your breathing is tied directly to your cardio vascular endurance. Part of a good Jujitsu game is learning first to survive/stalemate an opponent and control your breathing so that when there is an opportunity to turn things around, you have some physical energy left to do so.
Robert E Slawinski is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who works with children, adolescents and families. He also holds a purple belt in Jiu-Jistu under David Adiv and has competed as part of the Royler Gracie-David Adiv Jiu-Jitsu Team.
by Robert E Slawinski, MA
It has long been an "accepted" maxim that practicing in the martial arts can play a role in developing "concentration, discipline and character". I have spoken to many parents about this as part of my work as a clinical psychologist. Parents are often interested in helping their children develop "focus, self control and confidence". I have been asked on several occasions "how" this, in fact, comes about. Much has been written about the effectiveness of Brazilian Jujitsu as a fighting art and tool for self defense. What many do not realize is that it is equally effective in developing the character, personal psychology and spirit of the practitioner. While I am don't consider myself an authority as to the finer points of applying an arm bar or a triangle choke, I do feel uniquely qualified to speak to this issue. In this three part series I will attempt to discuss the "process" by which personal/mental development occurs specific to the practice of our unique martial art.
To be detached from outcome:
There are many aspects of training that develops ones mind, emotional maturity and ultimately character. At the core of Brazilian Jujitsu is technique and strategy. The first issue often confronted by the novice to the art is the aspect of "technique over power" and the fact that the opponent, in many ways, dictates the technique and series of moves to be used. This leads into the first issue to be discussed in this article which is the surrendering of the ego and becoming immersed in the process. I have only my own personal experiences to draw upon although I have spoken with other practitioners and have found some of the experiences to be universal. The most universal experience is, of course, learning from ones mistakes. Admitting the mistakes, to yourself and others, is often the first break (or break through as we like to say in the therapy world) to personal growth. Like many other people who found this martial art and initially lacked instructors with a deep understanding of the art, I found myself watching a lot of Jujitsu tapes. The most common mistake associated with this form of "self instruction" was to fall in love with submission holds/techniques. To this day I tell people that I probably know hundreds of ways to submit someone and that 80 percent of the techniques I will never be able to apply. The tapes with the most "interesting" and "fancy" submission techniques contained the same techniques that did not flow from solid takedowns, position control or set ups. If some of you have these tapes, check them out and notice how the guy getting "tapped" isn't doing anything to stop the technique or trying to advance his own position. If you watch fighters with depth of understanding (like Royler or any of his brothers) you will notice that they tend to use the "basics" and do not try to "force" a victory.
In training strategy and "flow", the question "what is he giving you?" is often asked to help a student understand what his "next move" should be. In many ways this is a metaphor for life. Successful people in general display the same "detachment from outcome", they are "well founded in the basics" and to not "force opportunity" but rather are persistent in working a strategy while being vigilant for opportunity to present itself. I believe to be "detached from outcome" and focused on the process, is one of the fundamental "character building" aspects of our discipline and training. On the mat this translates into learning to "fight relaxed" for when you are detached from outcome, you are able to enjoy what you are doing and learning. All of the psychological research about learning supports this. When you are learning because you enjoy the material (and are not concerned about the grade) you will learn faster, retain more, and are able to "apply" what you have learned. Not being attached to the "grade", in Jujitsu means not putting too much importance on the belt color or the outcome of a particular match. Sure it is nice to win, but learning and growth has roots in mistakes and defeat. When you submit someone you are aware that he has really beaten himself (so there is no ego). When you get submitted you understand the same thing about yourself and look for the learning opportunity. As you develop this sense of detachment you begin to move to deeper levels of understanding of Jujitsu and of yourself.
Working harder on yourself than you do at the job:
It has been taught to me on several occasions that there are three aspects to moving from technique to technique. Those of you reading this that have trained with David Adiv will recognize this. To be successful you have to 1) know what needs to be done, 2) have the timing to do what needs to be done, and 3) possess the flexibility to do what needs to be done. These maxims contain lessons for personal growth as well and in many ways parallel much of what has been written in the field of personal development. The combination of knowledge, timing and flexibility has long been a “PIN number" to the ATM of success. If you lack any of these qualities on the mat you will find yourself either baffled, behind, or so tense you will be unable to accomplish what you need to.
The real goal of training is to develop yourself as a fighter. Often people will get “caught up" in their day to day routines and “forget" why they are doing what they are doing. They work harder on their jobs than they do on themselves and lose the awareness that they are the “constant" in the equation. This is the individual who is always looking for the “ideal" job, mate, or (fill in the blank). They suffer from the disease of “more" and fail to understand that if you focus on develop yourself the externals take care of themselves and are “by products" of self improvement. The first of these elements “knowledge" comes from learning and assimilating information/technique. It comes about from an understanding of not only “what" technique works, but “how" it works and “why". Complete knowledge is grounded in the concept of “over learning" (repeating a learned activity over and over, refining finer distinctions and eventually teaching the information to others). The second of these elements “timing" comes from experience (read “mat time"). Sparring is only one aspect of this.
One of the things I learned, is that to develop timing, you have to roll at various speeds and sometimes with limited positioning. Rolling around at “quarter or half speed" is predicated on the first principle (detaching from outcome) in that it is an agreement between you and your partner to “move" through the positions and resist the temptation to “speed up" if you mess up and miss an opportunity or get caught in a bad spot. Timing can also be developed through limited or “dedicated" rolling (IE restricting the positions or the goals of the sparring, “one guy tries to pass the guard and the other guy tries to reverse). Timing improves with time on the mat, although there are ways to accelerate the process. Of course, like many skills in life, there is NO substitute for experience. The third element “flexibility" can be understood at a variety of levels. The most basic is the physical. For the longest time there were techniques I could not do (mostly from the guard) because I lacked the flexibility to move my hips the proper way. I could do the appropriate warm ups but I was never able to use the feedback that I was “too flat on my back" while trying to apply reversals or recover the guard. I eventually took up a Kundalini yoga practice, eased up on some of the weight training I had been attached to and spent some regular time stretching “after" workouts. While this played a role in moving past this, it was developing “emotional flexibility" that probably played a bigger role in this process (my guard used to be downright embarrassing). Flexibility is not just about how long your muscles and tendons are, but it is about how open your mind is, how willing you are to “give up" something (a position or an advantage) to “gain" something else.
For me, I had to “give up" my dislike of the guard and learn to like it in order to develop that part of my game. Probably the most practical strategy to develop emotional flexibility is to be aware of any aspect of your training (or your life) that you have an instinct to avoid. When you find yourself wanting to “skip or skimp" in an area, pursue that more aggressively until you learn to, not only tolerate, but enjoy that activity. Any good instructor in BJJ will tell you to “deliberately put yourself in bad positions" as part of your training (let someone take your back, start out cross body down, let yourself be mounted). This not only allows you to practice the techniques/escapes from these positions but to develop an emotional comfort level with all positions. In reality, there are no “bad" positions. What makes a position bad is either a lack of flexibility in your body to execute the appropriate move or a lack of emotional flexibility where the “oh **** experience" interferes with your ability to do what needs to be done. This leads to the third aspect of “Jujitsu Psychology" that is important to personal development on the mat and in life.
Emotional Control = Self Control:
This is an area where it is tempting to be somewhat philosophical although my intention is that this be a practical article. With the emphasis in parts one and two on goal orientation, technique and principles, I believe it is important to be mindful that we are fighting here. There are rules and most of us practice within a context of the “sport" of Jujitsu. The “sport", however, has its roots in combat, and BJJ has a unique distinction from other martial arts in that it allows for full speed/no gear contact with the agreement to “tap out" as the only barrier between a good workout and a major orthopedic injury. Except for some previous training in stick fighting (dog brothers style) I have found the striking arts somewhat limiting in approaching the maxim “train the way you fight, fight the way you train". While we do use mats and other protective gear, I have found the “emotional experience" of BJJ quite similar to “real life". I probably should have precluded this observation with mention of some of my initial attraction to Jujitsu. I had worked for years in several psychiatric hospitals and had training on the “Physical Management of Aggressive Patients". When managed care and the resultant cuts in staffing occurred in the early 1990’s I found myself working on units with sicker, more dangerous clients and fewer staff. I have taken numerous aggression management trainings and am considered quite skilled in “talking someone down" although the mix of more dangerous clients/less staff made me nervous. A fundamental skill in “talking someone down" who is threatening, is being calm while adrenaline is coursing through your veins. In many of these trainings they teach self defense techniques (which most of you would get a good laugh from if you ever the chance to see them). To make a long story short, I wanted an edge. I had not seen the UFC, did not know who Royce Gracie was, and all I knew about Jujitsu was that there wasn’t a lot of hitting (there is a pretty strict rule in most health care settings about not punching your patients in the face). My early training, as unfocused as it was, gave me this edge although like many guys who love Jujitsu, I found what brought me to the mat and what keeps me there are two different things.
Training and fighting are physical and emotional experiences and teach you about “self control" in many different ways. When parents come to me and ask about enrolling their son or daughter in a “martial art", it is this quality that most are hoping to cultivate. To be crude about it for a moment, I think that some believe that if their child knows in their heart that “they can kick ass" then they won’t have to prove it and will somehow learn restraint. If this were true unto itself, we could arm each child with a Glock and they would magically develop self restraint with the comfort of knowing that they have the “deadly force option" at their disposal. The “emotional control" that comes from the martial arts (and BJJ in particular) seems to emerge from several intangible aspects of training. I think that all martial arts offer these intangibles however certain ones come to mind with regard to grappling. The close proximity and constant physical contact associated with our art/training seems to reinforce the notion that we are “connected" to each other and that “what you do to/for another, you do to/for yourself". For instance, if when you are sparring with someone and you are looking out for his safety (as well as your own), this will likely engender the same response in him. On the flip side, if you apply a choke, for instance, with reckless and aggressive energy, you will likely find your opponent equally aggressive in his efforts to tear you arm off his neck.
In short, how you treat people on the mat has a lot to do with how they treat you. I have personally found that training Jujitsu challenges you to change certain aspects of your behavior (outside as well as inside of your dojo/academy that result in increased emotional, and ultimately self control. These are: 1) changes with regard to breathing, 2) changes in certain day to day habits and 3) changes in attitude about what it means to win or lose (that topic of ego just wont go away will it). Individuals that are thought to have “good self control" have simply learned to surrender their fear to a solid plan that they are committed to and is executed in the “present moment". Jujitsu is very much a “present moment" experience that requires you to “split your focus". On the one hand, your attention must be on what your opponent is doing and on the other, what your options are. Beating yourself up about your “lame attempt at a triangle choke" or worry about “the arm bar he is setting up on you" takes you out of the present moment and into the realm of what you have no control over. This is the cognitive (thinking) process that produces fear. Many emotional/behavioral problems that do not have an exclusive “biological basis" are rooted in fear of one sort or another. Even the biologically driven mental illnesses respond positively to life changes that help the individual manage fear in all its forms: worry, guilt, and anger. Learning to breath properly is a fundamental tool in managing emotions. In many ways your emotional state is tied directly to your breathing. When training you are constantly placed in positions where your central nervous system perceives and reacts to “threat" (think of the last time someone was applying a submission to you and you realized that your hands were trapped and you couldn’t “tap", if you have forgotten this experience). In addition to being tied to your emotional life, your breathing is tied directly to your cardio vascular endurance. Part of a good Jujitsu game is learning first to survive/stalemate an opponent and control your breathing so that when there is an opportunity to turn things around, you have some physical energy left to do so.
In short, how you treat people on the mat has a lot to do with how they treat you. I have personally found that training Jujitsu challenges you to change certain aspects of your behavior (outside as well as inside of your dojo/academy that result in increased emotional, and ultimately self control. These are: 1) changes with regard to breathing, 2) changes in certain day to day habits and 3) changes in attitude about what it means to win or lose (that topic of ego just wont go away will it). Individuals that are thought to have “good self control" have simply learned to surrender their fear to a solid plan that they are committed to and is executed in the “present moment". Jujitsu is very much a “present moment" experience that requires you to “split your focus". On the one hand, your attention must be on what your opponent is doing and on the other, what your options are. Beating yourself up about your “lame attempt at a triangle choke" or worry about “the arm bar he is setting up on you" takes you out of the present moment and into the realm of what you have no control over. This is the cognitive (thinking) process that produces fear. Many emotional/behavioral problems that do not have an exclusive “biological basis" are rooted in fear of one sort or another. Even the biologically driven mental illnesses respond positively to life changes that help the individual manage fear in all its forms: worry, guilt, and anger. Learning to breath properly is a fundamental tool in managing emotions. In many ways your emotional state is tied directly to your breathing. When training you are constantly placed in positions where your central nervous system perceives and reacts to “threat" (think of the last time someone was applying a submission to you and you realized that your hands were trapped and you couldn’t “tap", if you have forgotten this experience). In addition to being tied to your emotional life, your breathing is tied directly to your cardio vascular endurance. Part of a good Jujitsu game is learning first to survive/stalemate an opponent and control your breathing so that when there is an opportunity to turn things around, you have some physical energy left to do so.
Robert E Slawinski is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who works with children, adolescents and families. He also holds a purple belt in Jiu-Jistu under David Adiv and has competed as part of the Royler Gracie-David Adiv Jiu-Jitsu Team.
Krzysztof Piekarz
maciek
