Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is unique from other martial arts in the sense that it offers solutions for every stage of a fight. This is in contrast to other disciplines that tend to concentrate on striking and depend on physical strength and speed. Neither counts when you’re lying supine. This is why BJJ is fundamentally different from other martial arts. More than anything else, it is a mental weapon translated to proper technique and leverage.
Best of all, BJJ can be a good option for older adults or seniors who are looking for an efficient way to improve their mental and physical health. If you thought this discipline is only for the young, just as most other martial arts are, you’re wrong. Here are the most remarkable benefits you can expect when training in BJJ in advanced age:
Increasing Core Strength
One thing’s for sure: BJJ can give you way more benefits than usual aerobic exercises like jogging or walking. The resistance you encounter as you roll with your opponents gives you a good base for core strengthening through a serious abdominal workout. As a result, you have better muscle tone and less body fat while enhancing your sense of balance, expanding your cardiovascular limits, improving bodily coordination and building endurance.
Balance Enhancement
Balance enhancement as a benefit of BJJ training deserves to be singled out for good reason. Our sense of balance naturally diminishes as we age, but it doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it. Training in BJJ gives you many opportunities to test your physical boundaries, a process that requires a lot of balancing as an instinct that protects against injury. As you’ve probably heard, falls among older people are mostly caused by balance issues. BJJ training helps you overcome this weakness with the careful guidance of your expert coach.
Mental Calisthenics
It’s no secret that the brain provides continuing benefits through every stage of life, even in older age, and actually helps you delay losing your marbles. Training in BJJ, which, as mentioned, is largely based on technique, you can learn new and complex movements while being exposed to environments that force your brain to think of strategies to overcome your opponent.
Confidence Building
It’s normal for people to feel less and less confident about the things they used to do or were once great at. Again, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t or can’t do anything about it or that there’s nothing you can do to fight this reality. Among the best benefits of Brazilian jiu-jitsu is how it builds your confidence and empowers you to keep taking challenges. Take note that the mind is as trainable as the body, if not more.
Forging New Relationships
Finally, practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu means you’ll be joining a community of martial arts enthusiasts and professionals. You will surely meet other like-minded seniors who are as passionate about starting this journey as you. Best of all, you gain new friends and new experiences and add a whole new vibrance to your life that your once sedentary lifestyle probably lacked.