No Cavemen Allowed: The Danger of Instincts

Whenever I introduce a new student to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I gently temper expectations. I try to explain that jiu-jitsu is a long journey. I talk about how the learning curve may feel impossibly steep and I let them know that the nature of experimentation is that they will fail; so anyone new to jiu-jitsu should understand that failure is a part of growth. Once the student starts to struggle on the mat, I can explain to them why jiu-jitsu is hard.

As humans, we seem to have a general sense for what it means to throw a punch. We may not be technical. We may not be accurate. We might not even be effective, but we know how to sling a fist-shaped missile with nefarious intent. Learning how to strike could then be described as refining and expanding upon this already existing instinct. It’s still difficult, but you have some foundation to build upon.

You don’t have that starting point for jiu-jitsu. You might understand the basic goals of a punch, but a shrimp is completely alien. Your body has never moved like that before. You have no foundation for this coordination. Worse yet, your natural instincts will work against you at every turn, telling you that there are better options than shrimping for dealing with a problem.

You are programmed to be bad at jiu-jitsu. To learn jiu-jitsu, you have to conquer deeply ingrained evolutionary tendencies and rise to a higher standard of human performance. If you can become aware of these instincts, you can overcome them.