If you follow me, you know I love the gym. I’ve even shared my bodybuilding workout here on the blog. One year I did 315 push-ups in a day, just to see if I could.
But nothing humbles you like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
In the gym, the weights don’t fight back. On the mats, the problem is a human being who is actively trying to stop you. And that’s exactly why I keep coming back. BJJ keeps teaching me lessons I end up using everywhere else: on set, in sales, in business, in life.
Here are the big ones.
1. Thank the problems
In jiu-jitsu, every training partner is a problem to solve. Some are stronger. Some are faster. Some are just smarter than you on that day.
At first you get frustrated. Then you realize: those are the people making you better. If everyone let you win, you’d learn nothing.
I try to bring that into life. A hard client, a tough director, a project that keeps going wrong. Instead of complaining, I try to say thank you. Difficulties are the training partners that make you stronger.
I learned the same thing in theater from a very tough director. I wrote about it in The Toughest Director I Ever Had.
2. Ego is the first thing you tap out
You will get caught. You will get pinned. Someone smaller than you will submit you. It happens to everyone.
The people who quit BJJ are often the ones who can’t handle that. The people who stay are the ones who tap, smile, and ask “how did you do that?”
That’s a great attitude for an actor too. You’ll lose castings. You’ll get notes you don’t like. You’ll see someone else get the role you wanted. Tap, learn, go again.
3. Pressure reveals your training
When someone is on top of you and you’re tired, you don’t rise to the occasion. You fall to the level of your habits.
It’s the same in a live hosting gig when the program changes five minutes before you go on, or on a shoot when the call time moves. What saves you is what you’ve practiced. Calm under pressure isn’t magic. It’s reps.
4. Breathe, and stay calm
Beginners panic. They burn all their energy in the first minute trying to escape a bad position, and then they have nothing left.
Experienced people breathe. They make small adjustments. They wait for the right moment.
I’ve used that so many times in life. When things get bad, money, health, career, the panic move is rarely the right move. Breathe first. Then fix the next small thing.
5. Sell the change, not the feature list
This one surprised me. BJJ made me better at sales.
Nobody signs up for jiu-jitsu because of a list of techniques. They sign up because they want to change: feel confident, get fit, defend themselves, stop being scared, have a community.
When I explain a service to a client now, I try to remember that. Don’t list everything you do. Show them the change they’ll feel. That’s what people really buy.
6. Small daily progress wins
You don’t get good at BJJ in one session. You get a tiny bit less bad every week. A slightly better grip. One escape that works today that didn’t work last month.
That’s how careers are built too. I’ve been performing since 1998. Nothing came in one big jump. It was a lot of small days stacked on top of each other.
7. Respect the people on the mat
At the end of a roll, you shake hands. You just tried your best to choke each other, and you say thank you. There’s something beautiful about that.
Hard on the problem, kind to the person. I want to work that way too.
Try it
If you’ve been curious about BJJ, my advice is simple: go to a trial class. You’ll be bad at it. Everyone is at the start. That’s the point.
And if you already train, tell me: what’s the biggest lesson the mats have taught you?
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