Regardless of all the craziness in this world, we can use Jiu Jitsu as fuel to push forward.

Work hard, play hard. Living in crazy cities like Rio de Janeiro and San Francisco takes heart. Living in either city can feel like living near paradise. Warm beaches, amazing food, and rich, diverse cultures everywhere. However, this is also balanced out with other attributes that are not ideal. Intense poverty and crime, injustice and corruption.

Living in a sprawling metropolis means that you are living in the heart of opportunity but it also means everyone else is looking to capitalize on those same opportunities. Life can be fun and laid back but can quickly become intense and competitive. 

This is true now more than ever. The world moves faster and faster everyday. Skills that are useful one day become obsolete the next. It can be hard to find clarity with everyone around you scrambling to make something of themselves. Having the will to keep showing up in order to achieve a goal can feel impossible some days. 

This is the biggest gift and lesson that training Jiu Jitsu gives people. During a roll, it can feel at times like we are against impossible odds. Getting smashed and tossed around round after round will damage even the toughest of egos. But it’s in those moments that we define ourselves. Will you give up or try again? 

When we hit those walls in life, the situations are usually more drastic than the situation of getting obliterated by an opponent or training partner but the emotions and feelings are often similar. Having the experience of dealing with impossible odds and picking your head up after going through a loss is the quality of Jiu Jitsu that transcends beyond the four corners of the mat.