Research into starting BJJ

I won’t write too much here, I just want to collect the various pieces of info I’ve found helpful in researching BJJ.

Specifically, this is a collection of information aimed at starting BJJ that I found useful. I did a post-grad degree and my current job requires a lot of research so when I’m interesting in something on a personal level, my instinctive response is to unleash my finely honed (not really) google-fu skills upon it. I’ll write something later about resources that I’ve found helpful as a beginner… you know, once I’ve actually begun training.

This is by no means extensive, but a good, basic starting point:

• Reddit.com/r/bjj
• Why train BJJ? (by the awesomely named Jiu-Jitsu Vortex)
• Joe Rogan talking about BJJ (and here’s part two and three)
• Slideyfoot’s ridiculously extensive BJJ Beginner FAQ (if you think that’s extensive, check out his training log)
• A couple by Sam Harris: The Truth about Violence & The Pleasures of Drowning
• 5 things you know if you’re interested in BJJ (by Kesting)
• What to expect the first day/lesson (by Aesopian)
• More advice (in nugget form, by Aesopian)
• What to expect your first class (by Kesting)
• Getting started (by The Masters Division)
• The BJJ Mind (a few good posts about the ‘why’)
• My instructor’s blog, which I read through to try to get to know him before I took my first class

My wife made the comment that BJJ “checks a lot of boxes” in terms of what we were looking/searching for to add to our lives. I think that the information contained in these links shows that BJJ is something that you can get a lot out of if you put a lot into it. It wasn’t any one specific thing that piqued our interest, but the collection of things: fitness, self-defense, mental and physical challenge, etc.

Those, and we finally felt we had the time and head space to take something on.