Checkers or Chess?

A lot of people shy away from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu because of the difficulty and that is quite understandable because complexity it is not for everyone just like chess is not for everyone.   But the people who do play chess are a special kind of breed in that they like challenge and strategy, and enjoy the involvedness of the game.  Ask a chess player if they would like to play checkers (a very simple game and probably an insult to chess players), you will get the same reaction by asking a BJJ player if they prefer to build sandcastles.

Martial arts in their entirety are very complex but that’s what keeps our interest going because of the never ending research and experimentation.  I often advise martial arts instructors to take up and train BJJ and then decide, after 5 years, whether they should continue or not. Not the other way around ie think about it for 5 years and then take it up.  That way, they don't waste those youthful years.  That applies to anbody in any martial art, of course.

Every martial artist develops their own techniques, strategies and solutions to their problems just like  a chess player.  These are life skills and what better way to help the young find their way into the big world.
GA