Branching out: 3 key activities that’ll help your Jiu-Jitsu to evolve

August 17, 2023

While technical training is paramount for a good performance in Jiu-Jitsu, other points also influence how well you do on the mats. Physical preparation, for instance, is also a big aspect of your evolution, as it improves your body's innate abilities and helps you to better develop as you progress in the sport. However, your evolution doesn't need to be restricted to a gym or a single activity.

By pushing the body’s capabilities beyond what it can normally achieve, sports are well-known routes to fitness, and while each one will bring about improvement in your lifestyle, some will help you develop all the right aspects to perform better in the gentle art. If you’re considering branching out to get better results, check out below three suggestions that’ll help your Jiu-Jitsu to evolve.

Yoga and gymnastics

Given the broad variety of movements used in Jiu-Jitsu, it’s no surprise that flexibility is a game-changer in the mats. While properly stretching before training or competing boosts that trait, activities that revolve around it such as yoga and gymnastics will double down on those benefits and further improve your balance, body control, and spatial awareness. During combat, these activities will help you slide in and out of positions more smoothly, making you a slippery target and a lethal warrior.

Surfing and swimming

Since the 1970s, Jiu-Jitsu has had a link to surfing, a very different and non-combative sport. Nowadays, that bond is very much alive, with Abu Dhabi building the biggest wave pool in the world to accommodate both tourists and Jiu-Jitsu athletes that visit the country to compete. Surfing, and consequently swimming, provides a low-impact cardiovascular workout that improves lung capacity, overall endurance, and body recovery. In layman’s terms, it’ll help you fight better for longer periods of time and then recover faster, all great perks to have as a competitor.

Crossfit and agility training

Indeed, your activities don’t need to be confined to a gym, but that doesn’t mean this environment has nothing to offer. Crossfit works on your overall strength, conditioning, and agility, which means you’ll be stronger, tougher, and faster on the mats. Speaking of faster, agility training such as ladder and cone drills, as well as sprinting, will further improve on that aspect and improve your reaction time. If you’re an athlete, especially in the heavier weight divisions, this may prove to be a very useful asset.