The first weeks of BJJ are rarely pleasant. You're on the bottom, someone heavy is on top of you, you can barely breathe and you have no idea what to do. Many people ask themselves afterwards why they're putting themselves through this. And yet some keep coming back.
Why? Research has no measured answer yet. But there are studies in which practitioners describe in their own words what BJJ gives them. Here is what they say, where those studies fall short, and how we make your first weeks easier.
Why is BJJ so uncomfortable at the start?
Because BJJ puts you in situations everyday life doesn't: close body contact, pressure on your chest and neck, the feeling of being stuck. Many people react as if the danger were real: heart rate up, breathing shallow, everything tense.
What changes over time is not the position but how you handle it. You learn what to do in it. Our guide Starting BJJ in Düsseldorf gives you three words to know before your first class: Tap, Frame, Breathe.
- Tap. Tapping means: stop, I want this position to end. Your partner lets go immediately.
- Frame. With your elbows or forearms you create space between you and your partner, to defend, to escape and to breathe.
- Breathe. Don't hold your breath. Breathe through the position you're in, even when you don't like it.
That is what we mean by "uncomfortable is good": not that you have to endure something, but that you learn to stay calm in an uncomfortable position and look for the next small step.
What practitioners describe
In a British interview study, eight white belts talked at length about what BJJ means for their wellbeing (Morris & Bone, 2024). They were aged 24 to 48, five men and three women, and had trained for five to 18 months at the same academy. The researchers found three themes in the conversations:
- Developing mental toughness.
- Progress towards goals that matter, and healthy habits.
- Building and keeping good relationships.
It is a small study: eight people from one academy, and the authors themselves name the small sample as a limitation. It shows what practitioners experience and say. It does not show that BJJ has this effect on everyone, or that the effect can be measured.
It does match what we see as coaches on the mat. For us, mental toughness on the mat is quite concrete: lying on the bottom, breathing calmly and looking for the next small step instead of panicking.
Community: what a review of BJJ studies says
A systematic review brought together twelve studies on the social and psychological sides of BJJ (Blomqvist Mickelsson, 2021). On community, the picture is clear: training is physically and mentally demanding, but the atmosphere in the gyms studied is described as friendly and supportive, and training partners and coaches play the central role in it.
Two findings fit the question of why people stay particularly well. In one of the studies, interaction with training partners predicted how closely someone felt tied to the group and whether they kept training. And several studies place the core of this bond in sparring itself: you challenge each other and get through the hard part together.
The same caution applies here: most of the included studies were small snapshots, there was no statistical pooling, and one of the studies is the author's own. These are pointers, not proof.
Why progress in BJJ is visible
The second theme from the interview study, progress towards goals that matter, has a visible form in BJJ: belts and stripes. Stripes make the long road between two belts visible, even when it doesn't feel that way on the mat yet. How long that road is, is covered in How long to blue belt?
But the small steps in between matter more than the belt. The first position you escape from reliably. The first round in which you don't just survive but have a plan. The first technique that works on a partner who is resisting.
Moments like these can't be rushed, and that is exactly what makes them valuable. In our experience as coaches, people who notice them are more likely to stay. That is our observation, not a study finding.
Our training is built for exactly this. We built Imperial Ground with professional infrastructure and a structured curriculum, so you feel class by class how you are getting better. After every class you know what you learned and why. Promotions here happen when the coach sees the skill, not on a fixed schedule. More on our Belt Promotion page.
When community tips over: hazing rituals
The same review also describes a darker side. In some gyms, a promotion comes with a ritual in which the newly promoted person walks past a line of training partners who whip them with their belts, often leaving welts and bruises. The review calls such rituals socially and morally disputed and calls for more research on them.
Our view is clear: a team is built by training together, not by pain as the price of entry. Our code of conduct opens with the principle that every person who walks through our doors is treated with dignity, regardless of rank, size, gender, background or experience. We have a firm rule: nobody is ever hit or humiliated as a ritual, not at a promotion and not "for fun" either. A promotion is a reason to celebrate, not a test of what someone can take.
- How a promotion works here. Belts are awarded in person, on the mat, in front of the training community. Stripes are given at the end of a regular class. That recognition, not the belt itself, is what matters.
- Higher belts carry greater responsibility, not greater privilege. That is in our code of conduct.
- The code applies to everyone on the mat. Breaches are handled under our published infraction system.
How we shape your first weeks
We built Imperial Ground as a place where everyone feels safe and welcome. For your first weeks, that means:
- You will not be thrown into a fight. Nobody asks you to do anything you haven't been shown.
- Safety first. You learn to tap on your first evening. Whoever taps is released immediately, without exception.
- Control before intensity. In our Foundation classes you roll under a coach's eye, and your partner matches weight and resistance to you.
- One word is enough. If a partner says "stop" or "slower", the other stops immediately, no discussion.
- We look out for each other. If anything feels wrong in your body, you stop, tell the coach and sit out.
What this means for your start
From what practitioners describe and what we see as coaches, a few simple pieces of advice follow:
- Expect discomfort. The first weeks feel chaotic for almost everyone. That is not a sign that BJJ isn't for you.
- Come regularly, ideally to the same classes. Two fixed evenings a week will take you further than the occasional marathon, and community grows from faces you see again.
- Celebrate small progress. Getting out of a bad position once is a real success.
- Say so when it gets too much. Uncomfortable is good, overwhelmed is not. Talk to the coach before, during or after class.
To be honest: what the studies don't show
- Why people stay in BJJ has hardly been studied. The studies here mostly ask about wellbeing and community.
- The interview study covers eight people. It describes experiences, not measurable effects.
- The review rests on a few, mostly small studies, most of them snapshots.
- Almost everyone asked is someone who stayed. Who stopped, and why, is rarely heard.
- That BJJ improves your mental health is not proven. We believe that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can improve people's lives: physically, emotionally and socially. That is a conviction, not a study result. More in What BJJ really does.
Frequently asked questions
Why do so many people say BJJ is addictive?
We don't know of a study on that. In a small interview study, eight practitioners named three things that make BJJ worthwhile for them: mental toughness, progress towards goals that matter to them, and good relationships. That matches what we see as coaches.
Is it normal to feel overwhelmed at the start?
Yes. Close contact and pressure are new for almost everyone. Over time you learn to breathe in these positions, create space and look for the next step.
How long until BJJ becomes fun?
There are no studies on that, and it is different for everyone. It usually gets easier once the first movements sit and you can breathe calmly in tight positions.
How do I fit in at a new academy?
Come regularly to the same classes, introduce yourself and ask questions. Community grows from faces you see again.
Do you have rituals at promotions?
We have a firm rule: nobody is ever hit or humiliated as a ritual, not at a promotion and not "for fun" either. A promotion is a reason to celebrate, not a test of what someone can take. Belts are awarded in person here, on the mat, in front of the training community. That recognition is what matters.
Sources
- Morris B, Bone A. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and wellbeing: an inductive thematic analysis exploring how BJJ can increase subjective wellbeing. Mental Health and Social Inclusion 2024;28(6):1149–1162. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-11-2023-0116
- Blomqvist Mickelsson T. Brazilian jiu-jitsu as social and psychological therapy: a systematic review. Journal of Physical Education and Sport 2021;21(3), Art. 196:1544–1552. https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2021.03196
About the author. João Macedo is a 1st-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has been on the mats for more than 14 years, and is co-founder and head coach of Imperial Ground Martial Arts in Düsseldorf-Derendorf.
Read on: Wellbeing Through Community · Starting BJJ in Düsseldorf · How long to blue belt?