BJJ

Life-Changing Jiu-Jitsu Famous Quotes

Life-Changing Jiu-Jitsu Famous Quotes

BJJ training is a continuous journey towards excellence. It is quite normal for you as a BJJ fighter to feel anxious, depressed and fearful about your bad performance on the mats. It is obvious when we are investing our time , energy and efforts into something, we also need good results. When we don't get it, we feel a little distracted . In such a situation, you need motivation to do well on mats. As   motivation is just like a fire that needs fuel to burn. Here is a solution to get motivated and inspired in just a few minutes each day through this precious collection of famous BJJ quotes to learn the essential ways of self defence and grappling.

1. Why Read Quotes?

Quotes are always searched by millions of people on the internet every day about different topics to get motivated and inspired. Many people seek insight and thoughts from quotes in their personal lives to move forward toward success. People love to read a quote as the deeper meanings are engraved in a few words.

 The reading for quotes helps us in many ways.

  • In setting a positive mindset towards our life goals.
  • Gives hope and enthusiasm to overcome daily challenges.
  • Won’t let us feel lonely and left out while going through a difficult situation.
  • Allows following the dreams with sustainability in life.

Moreover, making a habit of reading quotes on a daily basis is a perfect way for empowering lives with energy boosters. But, they prove only effective when we start believing in ourselves, enhance our self-efficacy, and put the effort into transforming our thoughts and words into actions.

1.1. Importance of Quotes for BJJ Athletes


The training of BJJ is totally based on daily motivation and inspiration. The training can be hard, fun, or competition for different BJJ fighters depending on their passion and dedication.

Sometimes, you may get up from bed with body aches and bed soreness. You don’t want to continue your hard training. Your energy is totally low and you feel demotivated that you don’t have any future in your BJJ career.  With growing age, you may be able to come up with your mentor’s expectations. You don’t want to get out of your comfort zone.

All these feelings and depression are quite normal in the lives of BJJ fighters as the road to the black belt and preparing for competitions is not an easy journey full of hurdles and challenges. So, now the question arises what should you do in such situations.

So, it is always recommended to remember and repeat all the words of wisdom you ever read and heard from your mentors about the BJJ philosophy. Ethics, rules, health, stress reliever, overcoming challenges, and self-defence.

It is natural that your life is filled with tough gym routines and you may not get enough time to read much motivational material available on the internet.

So, there is nothing to worry about, as you get motivation and inspiration by going through some quotes as a daily routine.  So, just decide that you don’t have an option for quitting it. We all know that winning never matters, but our attitude matters. Let’s keep going with a positive attitude by following the true philosophy and values of BJJ.

2. Categories for BJJ Quotes

Following are the categories:

2.1. BJJ’s Philosophy


“The biggest lesson I learned from jiu-jitsu was how to truly know myself” – Carlos Gracie

“It’s as real as it can get. That has made me a better person. It’s made me a better man. It’s made me understand myself, my weaknesses, my strengths, and the shit I need to work on. Jiu-jitsu has been one of the most valuable tools I’ve ever had in my life.” – Joe Rogan

“Jiu-jitsu helped me to understand life in a very deep way because it’s a representation of life but on the mat. You can express your emotions, you can express your intelligence, and you can express your personality, your character. You cannot hide anything because once you’re there, you have your Gi, [but] no gold watches, and no security, no guns, and you have to expose yourself in a very raw way.” Rickson Gracie

“The essential characteristic of jiu-jitsu is very simple. It’s the science and art of control that leads to submission.”  John Danaher

“Jiu-Jitsu forges friendships in a way I’ve never known. Being involved in art as intimate as this, where the bodily connection is a must, the common cultural boundaries of personal space are broken. You will never see more hugs, high fives, and physical expressions of love than on the mats. Ultimately, this proves to be one of the most fulfilling aspects of our pursuit of mastery. Along the way, we learn to love others as we love ourselves.” ― Chris Matakas

“The deepest benefits of Jiu-Jitsu come off the mat.  It encourages a worldview based upon the idea of rational problem-solving.   Jiu-Jitsu is all about solving problems that are rapidly changing under stress, and that gives you an ability to identify the crux of the problem in front of you, even in a stressful situation, and adapt your body and tactics to overcome that problem and continue overcoming it as the problem itself changes.   It encourages you to use a very rational trial and error method, basically the same method that science uses to overcome these problems.   So it gives you this sort of problem-solving mindset, which I think applies throughout life itself.”     John Danaher

“My life is dedicated to Jiu-Jitsu. My goal was simply to build a brotherhood to lead the expansion of Jiu-Jitsu while respecting the essence of our art. My students are an extension of my family. I want each one of them to achieve their personal best while helping spread Jiu-Jitsu. We must do that by honoring the traditions and efforts of those who came before us.” – Carlos Gracie Jr.

“True strength is not always shown through victory. Stand up, try again and display the strength of heart.  – Rickson Gracie

A black belt only covers two inches of your ass – you have to cover the rest. – Royce Gracie

If you want to be a lion, you must train with lions. - Carlson Gracie, Sr.

2.2. BJJ’s Values and Ethics


“Discipline and consistency. I owe these two factors all I have attained in my life. Things have never happened overnight. Results have appeared as a consequence of decades-long toil. It is necessary to persist.” – Master Carlos Gracie Jr.

“To be a champion all you have to do is train. But first, one must be a good person. Be a friend at the academy, and learn to help. To be good at Jiu-Jitsu it’s all about believing and training, there isn’t that much else you can do.” Rodolfo Vieira

“It’s as real as it can get. That has made me a better person. It’s made me a better man. It’s made me understand myself, my weaknesses, my strengths, and the shit I need to work on. Jiu-jitsu has been one of the most valuable tools I’ve ever had in my life.” – Joe Rogan

“I’ve never been quite as humbled as I have in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.”  – Lex Friedman

“Jiu-Jitsu at the end of the day is the art of expressing yourself honestly. Every time you put on that Gi you can’t lie.”  – Saulo Ribeiro

“BJJ is an art that teaches us to be tolerant with intolerance” — Carlos Gracie.

“BJ is the art of physically dominating without hurting the opponent. BJJ gives us physical and moral strength as well as self-knowledge.” - Demian Maya.

"Jiu-Jitsu and martial arts do not build character, they reveal it. We are all born with unmeasurable courage and determination, but it is as we go through the trials of rigorous training that we rediscover those gifts." - Ricardo Almeida

"Jiu-Jitsu is perfect. It’s humans who make errors." - Rickson Gracie

“Anger brought me to jiu-jitsu, but love made me stay” – Abmar Barbosa

“The best thing about Jiu-jitsu is the honour it provides.” – Fábio Gurgel

2.3. Rules of Game


“The rule is to train, train and train some more. Train until the lamb becomes the lion”Paulo Miyao

“Jiu-jitsu is not the art of hitting, it’s the art of not getting hit” – Royce Gracie

“What differentiates Brazilian jiu-jitsu from most martial arts is the employment of positional strategy. In jiu-jitsu, the position you are in relative to your opponent is paramount. A kick-boxer or a karateka is concerned with knocking out their opponent, but besides distance and angles, they do not give much thought to the position of their body in relation to their opponent’s. Jiu-Jitsu first seeks to establish a position, and then to finish the fight.” Nic Gregoriades

“In the fight, only one person can be comfortable. Your job is to transfer the comfort from your opponent to you.” Rickson Gracie

“The most interesting aspect of Jiu-Jitsu is…of course the techniques are great…but the sensibility of the opponent, sense of touch, the weight, the momentum, the transition from one movement to another." - Rickson Gracie.

"Jiu-jitsu is a gentle art. It's the art where a small man or woman is going to prove to you, no matter how strong you are, no matter how mad you get, that you're going to have to accept defeat. That's what Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is." - Saulo Ribeiro.

 "Before a big tournament, I stick to the stuff I’ve been doing and just drill it to death. If you’re thinking about what to do next, your competitor is already moving to his next move. It’s best to just react and let your body take over." - Keenan Cornelius.

"When you're training for Jiu-Jitsu, particularly if you're training for a competition, you have to be pretty prescribed in the variety of what you eat." - Anthony Bourdain.

"Jiu-jitsu is personal efficiency to protect the weaker, which anyone can do. It is the force of leverage against brute force." - Helio Gracie.

You go down practising the art of Jiu-Jitsu. And the art is: how do I control and submit my opponent and survive using the least amount of attributes."Chris Haueter.

“Always assume that your opponent is going to be bigger, stronger, and faster than you. So, you have to learn to rely on technique, timing, and leverage rather than brute strength” – Helio Gracie

2.4. Physical/Mental Health


"Talk to all people about happiness, health, and prosperity." - Carlos Gracie Sr

“BJJ is a lifestyle, it is self-confidence, health, and mental balancePedro Valente.

“Athletes are not permitted certain luxuries like drinking, partying, and eating whatever they want.” Rafa Mendes

“Physical strength (hard work), mental strength (perseverance), and spiritual strength (love & acceptance) are the keys to continuous growth.” - Rickson Gracie

“A strong body is a good asset. A strong mind is a very good asset.”- Rickson Gracie

2.5. Overcoming Challenges


“Jiu-jitsu puts you completely in the moment, where you must have a complete focus on finding a solution to the problem. This trains the mind to build that focus, to increase your awareness, your capacity to solve problems”. Rickson Gracie

“A truly resourceful mind can overcome the majority of what fortune throws at us and get to goals provided you’re sufficiently mentally robust” John Danaher

“A brave man, a real fighter is not measured by how many times he falls, but how many times he stands up.”Rickson Gracie

“Competition starts the moment you open your eyes in the morning. If you have that mindset, you’ll be closer to victory.”Saulo Ribeiro

“Learn to start over. After a tough defeat, be at the academy the next day to work on your mistakes.”Marcio Feitosa

“Champions seek tough training partners in the academy. They go for the challenge. The power of the will needs to be greater than the fear of losing or the vanity of being seen as a champion.”Carlos Gracie Jr.

BJJ is the art of being prepared for unpredictable things”Rickson Gracie.

“Jiu-Jitsu is like a philosophy. It helps me learn how to face life.” - Helio Gracie

“Anyone can be tough for a season. It takes a special kind of human to rise to life's challenges for a lifetime.”- Chris Matakas

"Life is yours, do not let life's problems have other influences on what you believe. See for yourself." - Carlson Gracie, Sr.

“Jiu-Jitsu provides a place of fellowship that, unfortunately, our society has largely failed to create.” - Chris Matakas

2.6. Self Defence


“The primary purpose of jiu-jitsu is self-defense, teaching them a complete self-defense system, but also wellness. And when we talk about wellness we refer to physical wellness, mental wellness, and spiritual wellness.”  Pedro Valente Jr

“You can train a martial art, or a martial sport, such as jiu-jitsu, which is both, for sportive uses. But while you’re doing this you always have to think about reality. You have to train the sportive methods, but then always keep adapting them and yourself to be able to use them in real situations. You can’t lose sight of that or you lose sight of jiu-jitsu itself. That is the base idea of Brazilian jiu-jitsu – practice for sport, but be able to apply it for real.”   Rigan Machado

“We seek to understand Jiu-Jitsu as a vehicle to understand ourselves. We have different explicit goals, from getting in shape, learning self-defense or competition, but tacitly we all seek mastery of ourselves.” ― Chris Matakas

“I’ve learned to fall like the BJJ player, to protect the body through controlling the distribution of force by slapping the mat with hands open. With hands open. Hands open. Open. “― Cameron Conaway

Self-defense is not a set of techniques, it’s a state of mind and it begins with the belief that you are worth depending.  - Rorion Gracie

This is the art of self-defense created by monks and involves intelligence and sensitivity at a high level. It teaches us to defend ourselves and to attack; jiu-jitsu contains the most logical movements to put into practice.” - Carlos Gracie Jr.

It’s an art where we control an opponent without hurting him, using a small part of our power”Jose Mario Sperry.

BJJ is an art with many offshoots. Many use it for self-defense, others as a sport, and some as a way of self-knowledge. It takes 50 percent training and 50 percent persistence to learn BJJ. However, to truly experience this art, you need to create a connection between you and BJJ, up to establishing a partnership in every aspect of your life.”Vitor Shaolin

“A real jiu-jitsu fighter does not go around beating people down. Our defence is made to neutralise aggression.” - Helio Gracie

“The discipline of BJJ is for the protection of individuals, the older man, the weal, the child, the young woman, and anyone who does not have the physical attributes to defend themselves”. Helio Gracie

3. Conclusion

It is a proven fact that when we are passionate about something then we tend to spend our 40% to 70% percent time on it. It might be possible that you just started BJJ as a hobby and then it turned out to be your passion and dedication. So, whatever the scenario, you are dedicating your most precious time to learning BJJ. You also know that it is a lifelong journey that helps you in many ways, enhancing communication skills, building a powerful community, and strong cultural values/ethics.

As soon as you step out of your comfort zone, you get surrounded by many hurdles and challenges that may lead to depression or frustration. So, this article will always give you a good dose of enthusiastic, inspirational, and motivational quotes to continue with BJJ training which is necessary for gaining self-confidence and esteem.

In short words, BJJ is a complete philosophy to get trained with a dedication to helping others in improving by using all physical and mental attributes.

Photo credit: @egjjf

Reading next

Why doesn't BJJ Work in the Street Fight?
Best Warm-Ups For BJJ Training

Leave a comment

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.