Humility in Jiu-Jitsu /// By: Vincent Inoncillo

In life there are people we admire, look up to and draw inspiration from. The first word that comes to mind is, hero. A hero is defined as someone who is courageous with good qualities. To every yin there is their yang, and for a hero their yang is a villain. A villain is someone who antagonizes others or challenges them and has bad intentions. Whether someone is a hero or a villain is matter of opinion. In any aspect of life, there will one, the other or both. In the movie the Godfather, Michael Corleone disposes of his enemies for the good of his family and business. Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Terrorists attack to make statements. Their intentions may be good or bad, but in their eyes its for a greater good or purpose.

In jiu-jitsu there are people who we admire and others whose antics we disagree with. When we think of jiu-jitsu heroes we think of our professors, guys with cool techniques or those who have won big events. Then there are guys that are viewed as bad guys in the game because of the way they carry themselves on and off the mats. Just because of your level in the art, where you train or whatever the case may be, the way you portray yourself is the way others will view you. This is why it's important to have humility in jiu-jitsu.

Conveying humility in every and any interaction, on or off the mat and even when you're at home should take place. We are the sole purveyors of our safety for ourselves and training partners, as well as our journey in jiu-jitsu or life in general. There are some who start out training and go all out in their sparring matches, treating it like life or death. Then they get tapped out because they were getting out of hand. Jiu-Jitsu is a humbling experience in itself. Leaving your ego at the door is an important element when you commit yourself to this art. Just because you might be the cream of the crop in a different area in life outside of the mats doesn't necessarily mean it will translate to jiu-jitsu, at least not for everyone. There will be days where you will be bested by the next person and it is a naturally occurring ingredient in our journey to getting better at jiu-jitsu.

Trash talking others in jiu-jitsu can lead to an edification of humility. It happens all the time in boxing and MMA leading up to the event event, but it also is prevalent in jiu-jitsu today. Maybe one or both parties take part in exchanging words with each other prior to an upcoming tournament or super fight, but the truth is the if it's not a draw there will only be one hand raised. As good as they are, all that boasting will be for nothing. Being able to back up your words is a good thing, but maybe just being humble and silent could be better. You will get tapped by lower belts, someone with less experience or just someone that took advantage of the opportunity you gave them in your match. It's an inevitable thing.

From my own personal experience I display humility everyday. With my training partners I allow them to play their game and put me in some of the worst positions possible. I use this is an opportunity for myself to improve and to allow them to work on their own improvement. There are moments where I capitalize on where they should be taking advantage of what I'm giving them, but also there are times where they succeed and pass my guard or tap me out. 

It's natural to be proud of your accomplishments and share them, but to be boastful and otherwise aren't traits of people we look up to. Those are characteristics that can ignite negativity and other chaos. We are all human and we act different, but as practitioners of jiu-jitsu we should be examples of good humans and role models for all.