What Jiu Jitsu Teaches an Entrepreneur and Small Business Coach

I first entered Infinite Jiu Jitsu Academy/Loveland Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2007, which was once known as Infinite Mixed Martial Arts/Loveland Martial Arts. I believed I could hold my own against a young person half my size and half my age thanks to a decade of weightlifting, a 300-pound bench press, extreme false confidence, brute force, and hostility, as well as four years of another fighting style. Boy, was I mistaken.

I was choked out by a teenager in 18 seconds. From that moment on (once I caught my breath), I fell in love with the sport of jiu jitsu.  I am currently a purple belt under Royce Gracie, I compete, and I help coach the children at Infinite jiu jitsu Academy.  This sport has had a large impact in my life, my leadership and my business.  Here are 7 lessons I have learned from the jiu jitsu mats. I use these lessons every day as an entrepreneur as well as a small business coach.

  • Jiu jitsu is the great equalizer. Technique, skill, and proper leverage and positioning beat brut force muscle and false confidence every time.  A phenomenal jiu jitsu practitioner uses their opponents force against them.  What are you using in your business?
  • You should never judge a book by its cover. Silent assassins are common in jiu jitsu. They are supremely confident and aware of how dangerous they are, and it permeates every bone in their body. What do you take around for work?
  • Size does not matter; resourcefulness does.  Watch this video of Royce Gracie fighting Akebono to see this in action. Do you count on your size or your resourcefulness in business?
  • Winning (or losing) starts in your head and is decided by you before the fight even starts.  99% of the sport is a mental game.  What do you decide before you step into the fight of business? Please remember, business is a fight! Never forget that.  Fighting is a good thing.
  • One of the few sports where you may give it your all during a match without killing or gravely hurting your opponent is jiu jitsu. The same is true of business. Do you give your all every day at work—100% of the time? Why not, then? Will it harm anything or anyone if you do?
  • Position before submission is a term used frequently in jiu jitsu.  This means you must take proper position on your opponent before you submit them (make them cry uncle and tap out).  This also means you may be in a bad position yet be in no harm of being submitted until your opponent makes another move. Bad positions are extremely uncomfortable, but it does not mean you give up. Sometimes doing nothing is best, sometimes moving at the right time in the right way is best.  When you find yourself in a bad position in business, what do you do? Do you move at the right time in the right way? Do you panic and move too early? Do you move at all? Why?
  • The three pillars of jiu jitsu success: training, time, and toughness (mental, physical, and spiritual). How tough are you really, and what are you doing in business to constantly improve your talents over time?

If you would like to see some of these lessons in action, here is my jiu jitsu competition reel. Here are a series of blogs I wrote a while back to dive into each topic a little bit more.  Lessons from the Jiu Jitsu Mats, Choked Out by a 15 Year Old. Being Humble in Life and Business, Position Before Submission, and It’s OK to Tap.

I’d love to hear your ideas, comments, and experiences on this subject. As always, you can join the MattShoup.com community, get caffeinated with me on a weekly basis, read my daily blog, and receive free business development tools to operate your organization with excellence by clicking the coffee cup to the right.

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