Philosophy x Jiu-jitsu: How Timeless Wisdom Creates Your Desired Life Experiences

Everywhere you look, external forces are influencing their philosophy onto you: your family, friends, cultural perspectives, social media platforms, traditional education system with hidden intentions, and more.

This unique blend creates your current life philosophy as a byproduct of your environment.

But what if we consider a different perspective?

What if we explore two seemingly disparate disciplines [philosophy x jiu-jitsu] and uncover the shared insights they offer into navigating life's challenges?

Philosophy, the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, delves into the depths of the mind, probing the intricacies of human thought and perception.

Jiu-jitsu, the 'gentle art' of grappling, transcends mere physical combat to become a metaphor for life itself—a journey of mastering control of your body and the other individual, resilience, and self-awareness.

Though one takes place within the mind and the other is displayed in a physical form, their underlying principles intersect in profound ways.

Both philosophy and jiu-jitsu share a common focus on personal growth, resilience, and self-awareness.

They offer practical tools and insights for overcoming obstacles, cultivating resilience, and pursuing personal fulfillment.

As we embark on this exploration: let's uncover how the wisdom of philosophy and the discipline of jiu-jitsu converge to empower individuals to create their most desired life experiences.

DIVING DEEPER INTO THE DOMAINS

It's fascinating how our brains interpret the information from the external environment [shaping our inner world's perception of reality] while stimutaneously influencing our experience of life itself.

To the untrained eye observing jiu-jitsu practitioners sparring looks extremely painful as many have stated.

Within the jiu-jitsu world on the mats: it's one of the most fun and exciting activities one can do with time.

The return on time invested in mastering this martial art is tremendous.

What's the difference between the initial perception and the current reality?

Experience.

Our perspective evolves over time as we gather experiences, directly impacting our interpretation of objective reality.

After the first couple of sessions, being the one practitioner with zero experience [in a room full of trained and experienced practitioners] no matter how hard you try: you just get completely demolished.

Next mornings consisted of muscle soreness reaching extremes never felt outside of lifting weights in the gym.

With time as your ally...

The pain slowly fades as your muscles strengthen to armor your body from the resistance that comes with marital arts training.

You learned how to apply technique by leveraging your opponent's energy expenditure into momentum by off balancing their weight so you can capitalize on the opportunity.

With each small victory, dopamine kicks in now that you got a "better than before" understanding of jiu-jitsu compared to the days to weeks prior...

But then you spar again, only to get smashed yet again as it reminds you how much you don't know and why you must get back to training.

This rollercoaster of triumphs and setbacks represents a profound transformation:

A positive life changing transformation is happening right before your eyes.

Some see it and remain training on the mats.... while other don't never to be seen again.

The only difference?

Perspective.

You initially thought it was negative, now with experience and perseverance, your interpretation has shifted into a positive one which completely alters your life experience with reality.

This is philosophy in action within the realm of jiu-jitsu.

Not only does this transformation take place on the mats, but it can be experienced within other major life domains:

Career

Education

Wellness

Interactions

Happiness

Your Life Experience = [unlimited information accessible to you] x [your creative imagination here] x [consciously deciding the interpretation] x [process of embodiment] x [time]

EMBARKING INTO THE ABSTRACT FROM THE MATERIAL

Jiu-jitsu is expressed as an art while being studied as a science...

What seems to be a journey that transcends in the physical realm dives into abstract depths of philosophy.

Each practitioner's story is unique, filled with personal anecdotes that illuminate the transformative power of jiu-jitsu.

The more one engages in jiu-jitsu training, the more competent they become in understanding this complex martial art.

In the early stages of training - the focus is on survival - a primal instinct that drives practitioners to navigate through the complexities of positions, weight distribution, and the interplay between movement and resistance.

These moments of struggle and triumph are deeply ingrained in the fabric of every practitioner's journey, serving as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

A profound transformation occurs as competence grows, not only in the physical realm but also in the realm of the mind.

With unwavering dedication and relentless perseverance, practitioners tap into their true potential and unlock the power of their primal instincts.

Things start to click.

In this state of mind: your movement becomes like water maneuvering around every object that gets in it's path.

Almost feels like time stood still as you have tapped into superhuman like abilities you didn't know you had access to.

Turns out heathy addictions do exist after all.

Faith in the process: your mind and body undergo the natural initiation and it becomes inevitable until you earn a black belt... as long as you do not stop training.

It doesn't end there...

TRANSCENDENCE BEYOND THE MATS

Positive reenforcement from the material world eliminates self limiting beliefs conditioned by society.

The layers start peeling off one by one revealing glimpses of your true authentic self.

You reenter the world as a new person: as if you need to go through the "getting to know yourself" phase all over again].

As you chat with your training partners you find out that the mind-body synchronicity is a real thing that has been backed by years of scientific study but never before has it been viewed through the lens of jiu-jitsu.

Funny how you did not have a care in the world about human biology before.

All it took was a shift in perspective [based on the context and your collected life experience] to make a radical transformation to your reality.

Certain subjects never captivated your focus because it did not have any meaning to you.

You were indifferent before and now suddenly you cannot stop your curiosity.

The subject's meaning has changed in relation to you via how you perceive this information given the situation.

Your brain sees a crystal clear path how the information will have a direct benefit to your life experience.

Diving deeper into this new found interest [contained within books, podcasts, websites, reels, stories and every other form of delivery] you enter this whole new mental realm you didn't know existed.

Your awareness expands.

Your consciousness expands.

Your knowledge expands.

Profound insights are shared with you simply by reading and listening.

Emerging out of this immersive mental state of mind, armed with newfound wisdom, you reintegrate it into both your on and off the mats experiences within the physical realm.

Through your experimentation in the real world this abstract idea actually worked which only increases your competence level, self-confidence and self-esteem.

Not only did you bring the physical realm into the mental, but you have the power to bring the mental realm into the material.

And yet again it doesn't end there...

"Jiu-Jitsu is like a philosophy. It helps me learn how to face life." - Helio Gracie

Anyone that has trained jiu-jitsu long enough will relate to this profound quote in unlimited ways of interpretations.

But that does not mean learned philosophy cannot be applied into jiu-jitsu.

Due to my unique life experience:

I cannot ignore the fact my epiphanies that happen on the mats.

With over a decade of studying Philosophy and every subject related I feel a sense of duty to share with the world a unique perspective that contains within these two interconnecting domains of mastery.

For this reason I created "Philosophy of Jiu-jitsu" to focus my time and energy into an area that millions can and will benefit from.

Not only Philosophy complimenting Jiu-jitsu and Jiu-jitsu supplementing Philosophy, but the intersecting overlap in between which I'll expand further.

You see.

I stuck to a habit that remains very dear to my heart as it has created such a significant impact on my life and will for the rest of my life which is exactly why I will continue doing so until I part ways on my death bed.

This one thing has been here for as long as ancient history:

Reading.

In a new-age world packed with podcasts, audiobooks, videos, but reading is something so plain and simple often gets overlooked far more frequently than it should.

There's just something about analyzing a block of words that hold such profound information so you can reflect, reread, reflect, again and again.

Sadly it is going into extinction due to a society that heavily depends on technology which has resulted in significant reduction in attention spans that less than a goldfish: majority of people today have a less than three second attention span.

Obviously technology has it's tremendous benefits so it becomes the balance of nature of it's downsides: lack of focused attention only to diverge onto the next stimulating source perceived as valuable to receive a spike of dopamine.

It's been over a decade since I taught myself to become addicted to timeless wisdom contained in books written by the brilliant minds scattered throughout history with the sole intention to share their life experiences so that others can benefit too if they invested their time to learning.

Since then I am averaging, at the very least, one hour per day reading to understand complex subjects: philosophy, psychology, human nature, communication, mindfulness, business, marketing and every nuance topics in between.

The direct result of this indispensable habit of reading: I experience very strange phenomenons on the mats that not many jiu-jitsu practitioners can see nor relate to.

While I would cherish the opportunity to engage in more nuanced conversations, the reality is that the majority of practitioners I've encountered during my nomadic lifestyle spanning over a decade cannot relate to my unique life experience.

What is blaring obvious off the mats does not enter conscious awareness to the untrained eye training on the mats unless I point it out so they can slowly starting seeing "it".

Not only am I experiencing Helio Gracie's quote, but the opposite becomes obvious to me:

Training jiu-jitsu reveals my life philosophy on the mats.

I put my embodied philosophy into practice without a conscious thought on the mats after years of studying and integrating philosophy into my life to reach unconscious competence.

When I am in some of jiu-jitsu's most uncomfortable situations - I enter a meditative state feeling most at peace - while my opponent is squeezing with all his might until burn out.

After the round is over, he asks me: "Are you a Navy SEAL?"

If you are not aware: the Navy SEALs are America's #1 military team that take on the biggest challenges where failure is not an option. This is the team that took out Osama Bin Ladin, the leader of the dangerous terrorist group that organized the horrific acts on September 11, 2001

Without getting lost in the technical and psychological details as to how I was able to get out such a bad situation...

How did I survive?

Life.

For it is life that taught me how to deal with adversity.

My life experience taught me lessons that makes 99.9% of people panic and give up.

And now I can meditate in discomfort and survive to live another day with a smile on my face as it leaves my training partners flabbergasted as to how it is possible I didn't tap.

I've had other similar experiences when I had to face both UFC prospects and veterans, professional MMA fighters and other archetypes that appear within the realm of jiu-jitsu.

These on the mat experiences directly translate to my life off the mats.

In fact: I am even more calm going about living my life.

Not bad for a bullied kid that grew up with crippling social anxiety and one point away from not graduating high school.

How am I going to allow the thoughts and opinions of others dictate the way I live my life?

Especially after going through experiences with trained killers trying to inflict physical harm onto me... and survive.

This is the type of confidence that cannot be given as it must be earned.

All while today's personal development slowly conditioning you to values external opinions and perceptions vastly greater than oneself.

Insanity.

Core confidence can only be earned by developing competence.

The intention behind Philosophy of Jiu-jitsu is to make a lasting positive influence onto viewers' lives through self-actualization.

I strongly encourage those to embark on a life journey far more adventurous than any movie you could find on Netflix.

For jiu-jitsu practitioners, this means exploring the vast information field, while for philosophers, it involves grounding oneself and tapping into their potential in the physical realm.

When you integrate the abstract realm of philosophy with the material application linked to jiu-jitsu you have the power to create life experiences only limited to your imagination.

In my humble opinion, nearing a combined total two decades of obsessive study in both philosophy and jiu-jitsu, this unity creates one of the best tools available for a holistic approach to personal growth and self-actualization.

You are not watching it from a far from the audience's point of view through a digital screen while your soul decays any longer.

Instead you live it by becoming the driver behind the wheel controlling your life experience any way you want.

There's no right or wrong way of approaching this, at the end of the day it is all an experiment, to reengineer your way of life to your unique individuality so you can truly enjoy life to the fullest.

I'm dedicated to distilling the insights gleaned from countless hours of rigorous study and personal experimentation into clear and actionable guidance for you.

Through my transformative life experiences, I've absorbed valuable knowledge, and now I'm committed to articulating these insights so that you can benefit without the need for the same level of time and commitment.

We only scratched the surface and there's a lot more that needs to be done.

If you’re as excited as I am.

This is my invitation for you to join the journey by subscribing to my newsletter to be notified when the next entry gets released.

There's many topics to be discussed and expanded on:

Well-Being

Mind-Body Connection

Primal Nature

Mindful Practice

Deliberate Training

Lifestyle Design

Pragmatic Awareness

Existential Authenticity

Beyond The Mats

and so much more...

Let’s continue exploring each individual discipline [while bridging the gap between the two worlds] of Philosophy and Jiu-jitsu together.

See ya on the mats,

POJ