How Covid 19 affected our BJJ family and why people were desperate to start training again

So Covid 19 came around and caused a change in the way we did life. It affected our home life, work life, training life, social life and how we interacted with others. Some people felt isolated, some people were happy, it was all a reflection on your personality type and state of mind. Introverts survived, many extroverts struggled. We were forced us to slow down and close down. All gyms and training came to a complete holt. BJJ students left with no one to grapple with, laugh with or banter with outside of their home. Grappling is a BJJ Martial artist’s happy place. Most of our BJJ students struggled, and were desperate to get back on the mats! When you unpack their eagerness and how BJJ affects your life you’ll understand why!

Let’s be honest, while people were in lock down, most people were forced to slow down and many went crazy from sheer boredom and escaping their reality of looking at 4 walls, being limited in what they could do. Memes were going around. Spending Easter in the kitchen or lounge room became humorous. Not spending time with extended family became familiar. Kids spent the holidays indoors, no sports, no running around, no play grounds, no BJJ, no play centers, no friends, play dates and no socialisation. Total restriction.

BJJ is a sport, and it helps kids, teenagers and adults stay fit, especially our kids and teens. School is sometimes a place of bondage, freedom comes from friendships outside of school. Several of our kids, teens and adults, had gained a few extra kilograms from less movement, more couch time and excessive Netflix and chills. BJJ isn’t your regular sport through. It requires high fitness, stamina, and knowledge. It uses leverage over strength. BJJ forces people to stay fit. When you are grappling someone and are running out of energy because of your low fitness, you don’t enjoy the sport. The more you train BJJ, the fitter you get, the more energy you have, and the better you feel. When you train BJJ whether you like it or not, you will lose weight and will gain muscles, muscles you didn’t even realise you had. This is because you’re using your body constantly. When you use leverage to pin your opponent, you position your body in such a way that it has more impact on the person you are grappling. BJJ is known as human chess and its a sport that forces you to stay fit

The Endorphins running through your body gives you that sense of calmness, it helps you relieve stress. Endorphins, according to doctor Google, has the same effect on the body as some people who use substances illegally. That sense of euphoria. The natural ‘high’ you get whenever you do any form of high intensity exercise.  When you join our dojo, working out with your fellow martial artists, the happiness it brings, through banter and laughter is priceless. You join a family when you join our Legion 13 BJJ dojo. Other Legion 13 affiliates, allows members to cross train at other gyms around the world, unfortunately this wasn’t happening during Covid 19, but when these restrictions are lifted, you can. C2MA is part of something so much bigger, a family. Legion 13 is one of the best martial arts schools in WA. We have won countless state titles collectively, over several years in several divisions.  

Happiness develops from progress, if you’re moving forward you naturally become happier. Think of all the times you’ve been unhappy. It’s probably because you feel stuck. When you learn BJJ you learn to become a problem solver, and you learn to think critically, when you get caught in the same place more than once, the frustration is obvious, learning how to escape is key, questions come, how to overcome, how to move into a position where you are in control, not being controlled. When you are fighting for your life, you’re certainly not thinking about your bills, debts, and problems at work, your family or how life gets so busy. You are 100% focused on getting out of the position. This is liberating, as escaping life’s challenges can be difficult. Not many sports allow you to completely forget your circumstances. Sharing the mat with like minded students is priceless and a place that breeds security and safety. 

So with all face to face training and group training coming to a complete standstill, online training was how we remained connected to our BJJ family. We did online tutorials so our students didn’t lose their motivation, although it is hard to lose motivation when it is so darn addictive. We did training that you can practice on your kids/partners. It just wasn’t the same.

BJJ is addictive because of the way it makes you feel, it challenges you emotionally – when someone taps you out, mentally – you become stronger, because you know sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn. You learn humility and patience, everything in BJJ can’t be taught in a day. Belts below you tap you, belts above you, you are chasing them – aspiring to be life them. To become a BJJ black belt, it takes 10 years of continuous, nonstop training. During the 10 year journey, the growth you develop interpersonally is phenomenal. You become humble in your travels through the journey. Confidence is quiet, insecurities are loud. When you know how to use your body as a weapon, you don’t go looking for fights, you try everything you can to avoid a fight. Friendships are formed with like minded people, people who challenge you to be better, people you share your life with, and really your BJJ journey with. Kids grow up together, parents sitting waiting for their kids during class are chatting about life, kids, schooling, parenting and so much more. The connectedness of not gathering regularly left some people feeling lonely. Because the truth is, the people in our dojo become pretty close to you. They are more than just mat partners, parents and students, especially when you see them several times a week. They are people who you grow to love and bond with. The bonds formed at C2 Martial Arts and all Legion 13 gyms are just amazing! You really can’t put a price on the journey and interpersonal growth a BJJ Martial artist feels.

The best news is, on the 27th June 2020 the WA government has given us the all clear to resume life as normal, no restrictions, no hand sanitiser, no lists of people attending our gym, no thermometer checks. Life returns to the way we once knew it. Our students are wrapped, reuniting as a BJJ family once again. We’re excited about what lies ahead for us. Make sure you check out our time table for our classes. All kids, teenagers and adults are welcome!