The Early Haze of Jiu Jitsu at 55: A Puzzle Unlike Any Other

The below blog is written by our student Jim! Enjoy.

“

As already stated, I didn’t think I headed into my trial week of jiu-jitsu at 55 with anything resembling lofty expectations.

But even so, my first week at Flow Martial Arts in Coolangatta — and, to be honest, the entire first month — left me nothing short of dazed, battered, and confused. I mean, I told myself I was prepared to suck, but I suppose I still possessed some glimmer of hope that I’d be capable of bringing something unique to my novice status (other than my age).

But I was kidding myself.

Jiu-jitsu was where all egos — big and small — go to crawl under a rock and, for all intents and purposes, die.

Which I now understand is pretty typical for any beginning jiu-jitsu student. For a variety of reasons.

Jiu-jitsu forces your body into all sorts of unique contortions and movements. For example, let’s discuss an escape maneuver called ‘shrimping.’ This movement involves trying to move your body across the gym, repeatedly swapping from hip to hip in a jerky and spasmodic, jack-knifing motion across the mats.

For me, let’s just say it most definitely didn’t come easy, and for more than a week, the activity felt more like a hazing technique than any warm-up activity I’d ever participated in. And the best part?

Waiting in its wake were one or two other equally foreign-feeling movements that left me feeling just as uncoordinated and self-conscious.

And jiu-jitsu has its own jargon. Some of the more basic positioning terms include closed guard, half guard, mount, side control, sweeps, and reversals. While most of these terms serve as the foundation of any six-minute ‘roll,’ in the beginning, knowing one elementary term from another can seem as strange as trying to learn a second language in the middle of a street fight.

Which, of course, all leads to the submission and choke terminologies. Names such as the Americana, kimura, armbar, body triangles, bow and arrow, guillotine, and the cross-collar choke.

For the novice, there’s a lot going on in this department as each term has its own degree of complication and consequence. But, in one way, at least, there is the upside of these terminologies being far easier to remember than those in the positioning category.

Because it seems having your shoulder nearly ripped out of its socket from a kimura or feeling the blood drain from your brain while trapped in an armbar triangle does wonders for your memory. Let’s just say once you’ve experienced such a submission, you won’t forget it. And especially not the name that it goes by.

That said, I quickly learned all about these submissions. Not how to implement them, per se. But, more specifically, how it felt to be caught and submitted by such holds. Repeatedly.

Time. And. Time. Again. And all despite having 20 plus kilos on everyone else in the class.

Being larger and new, I became the perfect target for all my smaller classmates to practice their craft. Which is not to say I didn’t make them work. Because truth be told, to garner such submissions, they had to work fast. Not because of any unexpected bursts of post-middle-aged speed or crafty defensive skill on my part. But, rather, due to my pathetic conditioning which regularly saw me sprawled out gasping for breath after barely three to four minutes into a six-minute roll.

“You’ll get there. The conditioning will come,” I must’ve heard two to three times a class that first month. And always with a smile and a helpful hand up off the mat, I should add.

To an outside observer, such a gesture might’ve seemed virtually insignificant. But for me, such little acts of prodding encouragement meant everything and essentially gave my battered and bruised body and ego the slimmest belief that such early struggles wouldn’t last forever. It wasn’t much, but it was something. And oh, how I needed it.

My classmates understood that learning jiu-jitsu at any age is a marathon and not a sprint. They knew the early days of learning jiu-jitsu are like putting together a very large puzzle. A puzzle that has no box with an image to work from. Just a thousand little pieces that, eventually, somehow all come together.

For me, starting this journey at 55 only made this scenario even more challenging as it seemed I had an added handicap to contend with.

Because for me, it really seemed like all my puzzle pieces were blank.

“

Rolling into Reality: My First Jiu Jitsu Experience at 55

The below blog is written by our student Jimmy! Enjoy.

“

I thought I had a pretty good and tempered grasp on things as far as my expectations heading into my first introductory jiu-jitsu class.

It was late April of 2024, and in four weeks, there was no escaping the fact that I was turning the big Double 5s. But there’s that whole age-is-just-a-number thing that, I can’t lie, I’ve always been a big fan of.

For a few reasons.

First, my wife is an amazing chef, and as such, I’ve been fortunate to eat extremely healthy over the years. It’s easily the biggest reason I’ve felt fitter than many of the 35 and 40-somethings I crossed paths with on a daily basis.

Also, I had always been fairly quick and agile, and though I knew I’d lost a step or two (or three or four), I tricked myself into believing I still might have the slimmest element of surprise up my sleeve.

And while I’m no Arnold, I once had a great relationship with weight lifting. Enough of one, I reasoned, to allow me the present-day belief that I was hardly what you could consider a weakling.

It wasn’t much, and I accepted that it wasn’t going to be easy. But as a fairly fit guy with a large frame and a very competitive nature, I figured if anyone was going to pull this jiu-jitsu thing off at 55 years of age, I had as good a chance as any.

And then I put on my gi for the first time.

The thing felt like what I imagined wearing a bear skin hide must feel like. Thick and heavy, so much so I wondered if the thing was made of Kevlar. It probably wouldn’t stop a bullet, I reasoned, but I was pretty damn sure the thing had to be, at the very least, fire retardant.

“The material has to be able to stand up to steady gripping and pulling,” my new instructor said before leading me back into the gym as I silently pondered the implications of the sort of force I was getting ready to subject myself to.

But that mauling would have to wait.

Because back in the gym I was greeted with the smiling faces of around six or seven mid-to-late 20-somethings. All were quick with handshakes and as welcoming as they could be. And the best part, I told myself, was that I had 20 to 30 kilos on all of them.

After all the ‘gripping and pulling talk,’ for the briefest of moments, I breathed the sigh of a man given a death row reprieve. It would prove to be a misplaced sigh of relief, but it was a sigh nonetheless.

But that sigh was soon to be replaced. Replaced with panting after what would prove to be a five-minute warm-up run around the gym.

Yes, barely five minutes of a light jog mixed in with a series of high knees, heels up, shuffling in and out, and skipping with arms flailing in various directions intended to increase blood flow and loosen up muscles, joints, and tendons.

I’m no medical professional, so I can only guess as to what that five-minute warm-up did as far as my capillaries, muscles, joints, and tendons were concerned. All I know is it left me panting like a dog that had mistakenly chased a car halfway across the Nullarbor. And all with the added benefit of turning my bear skin gi into a portable sweat lodge.

That would be the moment I’d begin recalibrating my preconceived and tempered grasp of the undertaking before me.

It was the middle of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, and this coastal section of SE Queensland was what any local would tell you was ‘quite cold.’ I was out of breath and sweating uncontrollably, and a quick look around the gym revealed only a smattering of fans on the periphery of the rolling mats, which meant only one thing.

There would be no air conditioning when summer arrived, and as such, I knew I had until maybe September (at the latest) before I figured this gym would turn into a virtual sauna.

I knew I needed to lose some weight, so hip, hip, hooray for that, I thought. But on the flip side, at the rate I was currently sweating after only five minutes, summertime would most likely see me flopping away on the mats with an attached IV.

Still panting and sweating heavily while hunched over with my hands on my knees, it was all a pretty dismal scenario to ponder.

And, looking around the room at my new classmates as we lined up for the next phase of what was fast becoming Operation Reality Check, I noticed two things.

One, they’d barely broken a sweat.

Second, and most concerning, involved their faces. It seemed the genuinely warm and beaming smiles they’d greeted me with five minutes earlier had been replaced.

Replaced with even bigger smiles coupled with a twinkle in their eyes that suggested a barely contained eagerness for things to come.

And let’s just say it was that eagerness that concerned me.

“

Why should women do jiu-jitsu?

Jiu-Jitsu is an excellent sport for women! Not only can it be a great way to get fit and stay healthy, but it also builds confidence and teaches you how to protect yourself against an attacker. Here are some reasons why learning jiu-jitsu is a great choice for women:

Confidence.

As you train in Jiu-Jitsu, you will learn to trust yourself and your body. You will also learn how to respond effectively when someone is trying to harm you.

This can be helpful for women who want to feel more confident in their own skin, especially if they have been victims of abuse or sexual assault.

Jiu-Jitsu helps build confidence because it teaches people how to protect themselves from danger without relying on others for protection or support (such as police).

Trust.

Learning jiu-jitsu will teach you to trust yourself and your ability to solve problems.

Self-defense is a great benefit of jiu-jitsu, but it's not the only one! Learning self-confidence and problem solving are both invaluable skills that can be used in all aspects of your life. You'll also gain an increased sense of independence when learning how to defend yourself against attacks or being able to escape from someone who has you pinned down on the ground--it's empowering!

Jiu-jitsu (and other martial arts) teaches you how to be more confident in your abilities, which helps with interpersonal relationships as well as professional ones too; knowing what moves work best for each situation will help reduce anxiety about making decisions because there are no right or wrong answers here--you just need enough knowledge so that whatever decision comes out feels good within yourself

Empowered.

When you practice Jiu-Jitsu, you are learning to take control of your own body. You are learning how to use it and how to react when someone else uses theirs against you. In this way, Jiu-Jitsu is empowering because it gives women the ability to fight back if they ever find themselves in an unsafe situation or being attacked by someone else.

Jiu-Jitsu also teaches us that we should never give up or let ourselves be controlled by others; instead, we should take control over our own lives and make decisions that benefit us most as individuals--even if those decisions go against what other people want from us or expect from us at any given time. If someone tries telling me what I can or cannot do with my life (or even just my body), then I'm going straight into their guard triangle choke!

Challenge.

You can challenge yourself with different moves that are appropriate for your experience level.

You can learn at your own pace, and work up to more difficult moves as you gain more skill. If something is too difficult for you now, but might seem doable in a few months or years, it's no problem! You can come back later and try again. Or if someone else tries something on you that seems impossible at first glance... well... we won't tell anyone if you ask for help!

Get fit.

Jiu-Jitsu is a great way to get fit without a lot of high impact movements. You can practice it anywhere and it doesn't require any equipment, which makes it especially convenient for people with injuries or limited mobility. The sport's slow pace will help you build muscle tone while also improving your cardiovascular health, meaning that you'll be able to burn calories even when you're not working out at the gym!

Jiu-Jitsu is a great way to get fit, have fun and feel empowered. It's also a good way for women to stay in shape without having to spend hours at the gym every week! In fact, Jiu-Jitsu can be as much about self-defense as it is about fitness or competition.

The sport has been around for centuries but has only recently become popular with women due to its emphasis on technique over brute strength (which is often favored by men). Because of this focus on technique rather than size and speed, it's no surprise that many smaller practitioners tend to excel at jiu jitsu competitions when compared against larger ones who might not have learned proper form early enough in their careers - especially if they were just trying out martial arts because they wanted something different than what their friends were doing!

Jiu-Jitsu is a great way to get fit, build confidence, and challenge yourself. It's also a sport that can be enjoyed by both men and women alike. If you're interested in learning more about Jiu Jitsu classes near you or would like us to come speak at your school please contact us today!

Why should kids learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

In an age where screens and technology are at its all time high its more important than ever to be aware this can mean kids tend to not exercise as much, join in on sports or socialize as much as they would be used to.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu does not only bring in the fundamentals of exercise it introduces respect, discipline, focus, confidence, self defense, socializing skills and trust. These are imperative for kids on the mats, and can be transferred to life skills off the mats. 

Let’s take a closer look at these.

The concept of discipline is taught alongside respect. Kids are taught to have respect for their coaches, their teammates and themselves. Focus is also key in order to learn and progress. Slowly they learn to focus on their coaches, the drills and tasks at hand. This helps to build good habits and strengthens their ability to focus. 

The ability and the confidence to be able to defend yourself is one of the most important skills to have. BJJ teaches children not to attack or instigate a situation, rather to have the confidence to remove themselves, defend or neutralize the situation if they are so required to do so. The ideology behind Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is learning how to defend yourself from an attacker without having to punch, kick, or inflict damage on another person.  This may be on the school playground, in social situations or in other sports. The skills that our kids are taught in BJJ can shape the foundation to a bully-proof concept and practices that kids can take off the mat and carry on into their lives. 

Other benefits of BJJ go way past mental and physical. Kids learn to communicate and build their socializing skills with each other in a fun, safe environment with other kids of different ages and abilities. 

Just like the adults classes, the fundamental techniques and drills are taught alongside all these life skills. However, obviously at the suitable intensity and level.  At FLOW we follow the Winners Methodology. An internationally recognised program to bring Jiu-Jitsu to our kids in the best and most effective way possible. 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art and combat sport founded for the purpose of teaching the smaller person how to defend themselves against the larger person through the use of correct leverage and technique.

This sport was popularised by Royce Gracie in the early Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments (MMA) and by its founders the Gracie family. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu focuses on defending oneself through the use of throws, takedowns, control on the ground, escapes on the ground, and if necessary submitting one’s opponent through the use of chokes, arm locks, leg/foot locks, and the like.

The recent popularity of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu over more traditional martial arts has risen through its playful-like nature and its absence of strikes (punches, kicks, elbows, knees). Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu offers the unique martial arts experience of one being able to train close to 100% day-in-day-out with minimal injuries due to its absence of striking.

The art of BJJ revolves around the concept of the smaller, weaker person - teaching them the skills to have the ability to defend themselves against heavier, bigger opponents by using leverage and weight distribution. Sparing is known as ‘rolling’ in the BJJ community and practice such as live drilling plays a major role in training and development. Jiu-jitsu is a method not only for adults, but for kids to build confidence, physical fitness, mental strength, character and is more than just a sport, it is a way of life.