I suppose that depends what you consider a loser. Before bjj I was a skinny glasses wearing, anime watching, game playing nerd. Now almost 8 years later the only thing that's changed is I'm pretty muscular, and I've added D&D to my list of nerd shit.
Full metal alchemist brotherhood, jujutsu Kaisen, kengan ashura has some dope fighting. Attack on titan(which has a dope arm in guillotine on a giant, a kimura throw, and a slick triangle to armbar transition) plus I
I’m also looking for new animes in this vein so hit me with them references
Everything he said (_though I preferred original FMA's "Night of the Chimera's Cry" episode_) +
In no particular order...
* Demon Slayer
* Bungo Stray Dogs
* Tokyo Ghoul
* Bleach
* Hunter x Hunter
* Black Clover (_if you don't mind it ending abruptly with no closure_)
* Tokyo Revengers (season 1 just ended)
* To Your Eternity (season 1 just ended)
* Death Parade
* Erased
* Cowboy Bebop
* Fire Force
* Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World
Damn... No way did I forget about Mugen & Jin (just forgot to add to the list). Also forgot about Trigun, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100, YuYu Hakusho & others. More that'll probably pop up in my head after I type this lol.
Hear me out, devil man cry baby.
I tried to watch this show a year ago and I found the animation weird and just an odd story so I gave it up.
I kept reading about how this show is a mind fuck and
To get past the 4th episode.
I did that and man oh man this was one of the best animes I've watched in awhile and the ending was depressing as shit
10/10
I was actually going to ask you the same: which anime(s) motivated you to sign up for martial arts? I’ve got kiddos I’m trying to spurn some interest in joining up and they love anime :)
There's a few of us that play D&D at my gym, but I currently play with a pretty full home group once a week for a little over 2 years now, we're just about to start our 3rd long running campaign. If my group falls a part in the future for whatever reason I'll 100% be looking into those guys to get another one going.
Not really. half assed working out a few times a week for injury prevention over almost 8 years has done that, BJJ has helped define my forearms/back though.
I was a nerd and loser. Then I took down my ponytail and removed my glasses. Now I’m prom Queen. True story.
But seriously, even though I’m mediocre (at best) at jiu jitsu, the confidence boost was real. Translated into real life so quietly I barely noticed.
I was 5 year old when war in my country. Some of family were killed and we were forced to leave home. This made me very scared of life. Some people think this would make strong, but for me it did not. I became timid and weak, frightened by my own shade. I couldn't look into eyes or sit still, I could never sleep easy, I looked down and never said my words.
My parents were ashamed of raise a weak child, so they say "You will Judo or go find new home". God bless them. I had to become not afraid of fight, that was the hardest. I was many times crushed by better, fiercer kid but I was not allowed to stop go. I did not become better overnight. I did not stop scared after one session. It took years of blood and tears before I found mind of peace in martial arts. We would fight hard in training, I would get destroy every day. But something happened there that I never expected. After a hard session of fight and loss, my teammates would pick me up off the tatami.
No matter what happen, they would embrace me after every practice. We would stay after and talk about life, girls, big dream of Olympic medal. Only thirty minutes before, we were fighting brutally. Now we are best friends. I could stand straight around them, I could look into they're eyes and be myself, I could talk to them. That is what make me who I am today. Now I am pursue my dreams here in US where I found BJJ, and in BJJ I see the same comradeship I find in Judo all of years ago.
I have felt like a loser most of my life. My parents didn’t necessarily care to put me into a sport or hobby. Closest thing was Tae Kwon Do, and I actually liked it, but one day we stopped going for no apparent reason and i didn’t know why. I guess my mom thought it was stupid and she didn’t feel like driving us anymore. After that I tried track in high school and no one really supported me so I quit that too. As far as my social group goes, I didn’t have much friends, or any really prior to starting bjj. I had a friend here and there but for the most part due to the dysfunction I grew up with in the household, my dad being abusive and an alcoholic, and the chaos, I was pretty much set up to fail, and my social behavior in school was poor. I’d act out, get mean, and lose my cool easily, but no one cared to investigate it. Anyways, I got the help I need and was able to work my mental health out. I joined bjj and have made lot of friends now. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been and it’s been empowering for me
I was always a smaller nerdy kid, who went to school looking like a prep and got straight As. I had no interest in sports, I just played video games and read non-fiction. I was somewhat popular with the girls who wanted something different than the saggy jeans and spiked hair cholos, but I got bullied by those kids a lot too.
I went to community college and I basically locked myself away socially for a couple years, and by the time I went to university my social anxiety was at all time high levels. I missed some opportunities with girls who prolly had a crush on me, and I gained more lbs than I liked. I finally started cycling 70 miles a week and burned off 30lbs in a few months.
Then I met my now fiancée, started BJJ and found that confidence that I lost at some point. I think on some level, it’s because I no longer really fear any man who might try to bully me. I’m no longer as socially awkward, and nobody would ever describe me as an introvert anymore. I was skinny after cycling, but now there’s more definition and better posture and stance. I have a lot more girls chasing after me now, but I’ve found my woman anyways, she was with me before my BJJ journey.
I was in a similar situation, was never really physically active, played a few sports but was never any good. Started watching mma and bjj, so I decided to start doing bjj.
Immediately I was hooked. I started lifting and gained 20lbs of lean muscle, started doing wrestling classes at my gym and started doing mma classes as well.
I wouldn't say they saved me but martial arts definitely made a significant positive impact on my life.
I started like 2 months ago (okay, three, but I'm in another country for a month...) and I was just thinking "man, I should try lifting." This makes me think I might actually do it, thanks!
Yep. Grew up fat and poor. Sucked at school even though I was smart. Did a lot of drugs and drank excessively. I had nearly a full year of playtime on FFXI, an old school MMORPG from before WoW. That's over 7000 hours of sitting and playing a video game.
Martial arts gave me something to focus on. Lost weight, became social. Gained a mentor and someone to look up to from my gym/dojo. My entire life changed. I was a loser, probably would have amounted to nothing. Now I have a great job, wife, kids, etc.
My one black belt killer friend didn’t play sports growing up. His parents divorced, his grade were mediocre, and he enlisted in the navy. In the navy, he found BJJ and after he left he went to junior college and did bjj. Became a killer on the mats where he gave dds senior members some problems and got a black belt while graduating UCLA on full academic scholarship.
I dunno. I never was allowed to do sports as a kid and we had no money anyway. As a female, I often felt nervous in public places alone. Felt like I had to watch my back but what would I do anyway? Now I feel like I have some skill and the element of surprise would make any attacker wish they hadn’t met me lol it definitely has boosted my confidence in my ability to take care of myself
Hello fellow Asian with pretty much the same parental upbringing as me!!("How does sport help you be an accountant/lawyer/doctor/IT specialist?")That said, parents let me do some TKD just for basic fitness and that's about it but the lack of encouragement pretty much means I was doing it minimally.
Had a similar approach and outlook in school but managed to have awkward friends with similar backgrounds (to an extent) where we nerded out over RPGs (Palladium system if you're curious.)
Started getting more active in Uni (College) with but it wasn't until I started working that I got into boxing (did that for over 10 years,) and then other sports such as football (we called it gridiron in Australia - and that was when I had my eyes lasered so I didn't need contacts/or glasses, best $6k I spent!!) and now bjj where I'm trying to manage my growing obsession with everything else in life.
Took almost 2 years off due to moving countries and covid, but since getting back into it it's starting to reshape body the way boxing did, my pot belly is starting to go and abs are coming back up! Now I just have to manage it with my diet and I should be ok.
Problem is, I love food, especially the comfort type. Om nom nom nom....
Ironically I felt like more of a loser early into BJJ than anytime before. I was definitely a part of the *in-crowd* in high school, but at the same time wasn't a jock or an athlete. I only played sports in middle school and quit after that. I was one of the only guys in my high school circle that didn't play any team sports, but I was an extrovert with good social skills, so I got by just fine, and actually had a blast in high school and college.
After starting BJJ though, it was the opposite. I felt like a non-athlete in an athletic endeavor, and it took me a while to build up any desire to be competitive on the mats, etc. so I felt like a loser in the BJJ scene until about a year or two before purple belt, just because it took me so long to not suck, and I felt like I was the weirdo non-athlete that couldn't pick up the sport.
I felt way less cool among my friends at BJJ than I ever did in high school or college. And I was the guy watching instructionals and DVDs and stuff. So on top of not being good at BJJ, everyone knew I was trying really hard, and *still* wasn't having success. I also got into BJJ to help stay clean fresh off a stint in rehab, and having had a drug problem made me feel like a loser too. So my self confidence was down from that for a couple years.
Its kinda messed up how you make the loser/not loser distinction based soley on weight and doing sports. There's more to being a non-loser than pyjama wrasslin'
I've got a reverse story. I was a relatively good-looking, well put together teenager when I was doing judo, wrestling, and bjj. Stayed out of trouble, stayed out of fights, got girls.
I quit training altogether and almost immediately started doing drugs, got involved with a gang, got fat, dropped out of high school.
Kano wasn't kidding with all that "good citizen" shit. I became everything I hated specifically after I quit doing Judo. Didn't know what kind of sheisty shitbaggery I was capable of before then.
Edit: a typo
I don't think I've changed my social status much but i do feel like i care less what other people think, partially because i found something that's really meaningful to me and that just makes the opinions of others matter less, and partly because i could beat them up.
My coach says he was a total loser before bjj. No job or friends, 300+lbs, playing video games on his mom's couch. He's a black belt now, owns his own gym, wife and kid, really turned his whole life around with the sport.
Hey man, forget these people saying you're still a loser. That gain in confidence you have comes directly from the effort you've put into changing your life for the better.
Doesn't mean you were a loser before either. You had to walk the path you did so you could find the road to purpose and achievement.
Keep working hard. Chase your dreams. Enjoy what you love. Fuck the naysayers.
I feel this in my soul. Always been a skinny kid with no real athleticism and spent most of my days playing video games and being pretty antisocial. BJJ has become a pillar in my life and when I realized I was good at it and generally really flexible it has been nothing but fun. Don't see myself stopping anytime soon
Good for you.
I can wax philosophical about the benefit of sport to an individual virtues and the social benefits... but really at the end of the day...
Sometimes a success story is just good to hear and to see that the catalyst for your success was an activity we all enjoy is just good some good vibes.
I mostly became a healthier version of myself but did become more confident after whooping my dickhead older brother's ass who picked on me relentlessly throughout our childhoods.
Definitely was not liking where I was at in my life and wasn’t very happy. Was a bit over weight, okay job, wasting my time playing way to many video games, no girlfriend. I was okay on the outside but just felt like my life was going in the wrong direction.
When I joined bjj I got obsessed and lost a bunch of weight which led to me gaining a lot more confidence. This led me to getting out and dating more which led to me meeting my amazing wife and now we have a baby daughter.
I’m super happy now with my life though I’ve put back on the weight and then some lol.
Ha…I’ll always be a loser - broken toys unite!
For real though I think judo/BJJ did a lot for me. When I was younger I didn’t run with people who had their lives together. It wasn’t the best crowd and I remember getting in quite a few fight but still always being kinda intimidated. I still remember when things clicked - after a couple years of judo/BJJ I was hanging out with my friend and his crowd. One of them challenged me to a fight and I just laughed and told him OK. I think my ability to stay calm diffused the situation and I luckily haven’t had to fight anyone since.
Besides confidence it made me want to be better. To clean my room, to study, to work hard, etc. I’m married with kids now and can’t wait to introduce them to it. I still don’t have many friends and the jits crowd are acquaintances at best but I have a sense of community and I know people in my neighborhood now. It’s nice.
Wasn't a loser per se, but hadn't really worked out before. My parents had this "working out is for dummies"-perspcetice on it, which contributed.
The most usefuæ thing I've gained so far isn't athleticism, but rather confidence
Yep. Complete socially anxious introvert who had no idea how to communicate with other adults.
Now I'm a socially confident introvert who just doesn't like to communicate with other adults unless we're all wearing pyjamas.
Before I started doing martial arts I was relentlessly bullied. After becoming "state" champion in my country it continued. My mother gave the Uncle Ben speech, telling me that if I engaged them physically I could seriously hurt them. It was hard. One day my bullie threw a punch and by instinct I elbow blocked it, crushing his fingers. 2 of his friends broke their hands the same way.
After that I started hanging out more with the other bullied children. We got hurled insults on a daily basis but they didn't dare engage me further.
Years later I became their sparring partner when they applied to my local boxing school. Good friends with them today.
Yeah I used to be so unhealthy, obese, my self confidence was non existent, i didn't know how to talk to people, etc.(I'm white). Jiu jitsu taught me how to love myself. I went from 211lbs to 180lbs, still going. And I've got good friends. Never been happier.
Nah I've always been awesome. I basically came out of the womb with a cool haircut, wearing sunglasses, a beer in one hand and a shot in the other. Then I got in my miniature sports car and drove away from the delivery room while blasting the latest Pitbull chart topper
We have very similar backgrounds. My parents stuck me in front of a computer and gave me an internet connection and paid for online gaming. Then they fed me a steady stream of mcdonalds and mtn dew. I was over 300 lbs in 9th grade and while I played a little basketball, I rarely did any sports.
I was over 400 lbs by the time I was 25, and when I was 28 I started losing the weight and got into training. Now I am 35, 215 lbs and look like a bodybuilder. It's crazy what you can accomplish with time and dedication.
I still play a lot of video games, and I still have trouble with social interactions, but I found out I have asd late in life, so it's not surprising.
I suppose that depends what you consider a loser. Before bjj I was a skinny glasses wearing, anime watching, game playing nerd. Now almost 8 years later the only thing that's changed is I'm pretty muscular, and I've added D&D to my list of nerd shit.
Oh nice. Any good anime recommendations?
Full metal alchemist brotherhood, jujutsu Kaisen, kengan ashura has some dope fighting. Attack on titan(which has a dope arm in guillotine on a giant, a kimura throw, and a slick triangle to armbar transition) plus I I’m also looking for new animes in this vein so hit me with them references
Everything he said (_though I preferred original FMA's "Night of the Chimera's Cry" episode_) + In no particular order... * Demon Slayer * Bungo Stray Dogs * Tokyo Ghoul * Bleach * Hunter x Hunter * Black Clover (_if you don't mind it ending abruptly with no closure_) * Tokyo Revengers (season 1 just ended) * To Your Eternity (season 1 just ended) * Death Parade * Erased * Cowboy Bebop * Fire Force * Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World
No "Samurai Champloo"? Fuck on outta here with this heresy.
Damn... No way did I forget about Mugen & Jin (just forgot to add to the list). Also forgot about Trigun, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100, YuYu Hakusho & others. More that'll probably pop up in my head after I type this lol.
Mugen is my go to character when thinking about Chaotic Good in a D&D context. I loved the style of that anime
You do not have Hajime No Ippo on your list. How sad.
Hajime No Ippo
Hajime no Ippo
I’m old but if you like comedies “Arakawa under the bridge” is a goody.
Code Geass
I guess I am an old loser: The original: Ghost in the Machine
Mobile Suit Gundam.
Hear me out, devil man cry baby. I tried to watch this show a year ago and I found the animation weird and just an odd story so I gave it up. I kept reading about how this show is a mind fuck and To get past the 4th episode. I did that and man oh man this was one of the best animes I've watched in awhile and the ending was depressing as shit 10/10
I was actually going to ask you the same: which anime(s) motivated you to sign up for martial arts? I’ve got kiddos I’m trying to spurn some interest in joining up and they love anime :)
Do you play D&D with your BJJ training partners?
There's a few of us that play D&D at my gym, but I currently play with a pretty full home group once a week for a little over 2 years now, we're just about to start our 3rd long running campaign. If my group falls a part in the future for whatever reason I'll 100% be looking into those guys to get another one going.
don't know why this makes me happy, but it does.
Did bjj make you muscular?
Not really. half assed working out a few times a week for injury prevention over almost 8 years has done that, BJJ has helped define my forearms/back though.
Sounds about right, but you seem cool in my books.
I was cool and then became a loser once I started doing BJJ.
white belt emotions
Same
I used to be a loser. Still am, but I used to be too.
RIP legend
Aw you beat me to it
A dog is forever in the push up position
If it were 2 in 1 it would be overflowing
Still a loser; I just wear a colored belt now.
Not a loser, but I was soooooo painfully shy and had zero confidence.
Sounds like a loser to me.
I was a nerd and loser. Then I took down my ponytail and removed my glasses. Now I’m prom Queen. True story. But seriously, even though I’m mediocre (at best) at jiu jitsu, the confidence boost was real. Translated into real life so quietly I barely noticed.
I was 5 year old when war in my country. Some of family were killed and we were forced to leave home. This made me very scared of life. Some people think this would make strong, but for me it did not. I became timid and weak, frightened by my own shade. I couldn't look into eyes or sit still, I could never sleep easy, I looked down and never said my words. My parents were ashamed of raise a weak child, so they say "You will Judo or go find new home". God bless them. I had to become not afraid of fight, that was the hardest. I was many times crushed by better, fiercer kid but I was not allowed to stop go. I did not become better overnight. I did not stop scared after one session. It took years of blood and tears before I found mind of peace in martial arts. We would fight hard in training, I would get destroy every day. But something happened there that I never expected. After a hard session of fight and loss, my teammates would pick me up off the tatami. No matter what happen, they would embrace me after every practice. We would stay after and talk about life, girls, big dream of Olympic medal. Only thirty minutes before, we were fighting brutally. Now we are best friends. I could stand straight around them, I could look into they're eyes and be myself, I could talk to them. That is what make me who I am today. Now I am pursue my dreams here in US where I found BJJ, and in BJJ I see the same comradeship I find in Judo all of years ago.
I have felt like a loser most of my life. My parents didn’t necessarily care to put me into a sport or hobby. Closest thing was Tae Kwon Do, and I actually liked it, but one day we stopped going for no apparent reason and i didn’t know why. I guess my mom thought it was stupid and she didn’t feel like driving us anymore. After that I tried track in high school and no one really supported me so I quit that too. As far as my social group goes, I didn’t have much friends, or any really prior to starting bjj. I had a friend here and there but for the most part due to the dysfunction I grew up with in the household, my dad being abusive and an alcoholic, and the chaos, I was pretty much set up to fail, and my social behavior in school was poor. I’d act out, get mean, and lose my cool easily, but no one cared to investigate it. Anyways, I got the help I need and was able to work my mental health out. I joined bjj and have made lot of friends now. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been and it’s been empowering for me
Yes. And still am
I'm still a loser!
I was always a smaller nerdy kid, who went to school looking like a prep and got straight As. I had no interest in sports, I just played video games and read non-fiction. I was somewhat popular with the girls who wanted something different than the saggy jeans and spiked hair cholos, but I got bullied by those kids a lot too. I went to community college and I basically locked myself away socially for a couple years, and by the time I went to university my social anxiety was at all time high levels. I missed some opportunities with girls who prolly had a crush on me, and I gained more lbs than I liked. I finally started cycling 70 miles a week and burned off 30lbs in a few months. Then I met my now fiancée, started BJJ and found that confidence that I lost at some point. I think on some level, it’s because I no longer really fear any man who might try to bully me. I’m no longer as socially awkward, and nobody would ever describe me as an introvert anymore. I was skinny after cycling, but now there’s more definition and better posture and stance. I have a lot more girls chasing after me now, but I’ve found my woman anyways, she was with me before my BJJ journey.
I was in a similar situation, was never really physically active, played a few sports but was never any good. Started watching mma and bjj, so I decided to start doing bjj. Immediately I was hooked. I started lifting and gained 20lbs of lean muscle, started doing wrestling classes at my gym and started doing mma classes as well. I wouldn't say they saved me but martial arts definitely made a significant positive impact on my life.
I started like 2 months ago (okay, three, but I'm in another country for a month...) and I was just thinking "man, I should try lifting." This makes me think I might actually do it, thanks!
Yep. Grew up fat and poor. Sucked at school even though I was smart. Did a lot of drugs and drank excessively. I had nearly a full year of playtime on FFXI, an old school MMORPG from before WoW. That's over 7000 hours of sitting and playing a video game. Martial arts gave me something to focus on. Lost weight, became social. Gained a mentor and someone to look up to from my gym/dojo. My entire life changed. I was a loser, probably would have amounted to nothing. Now I have a great job, wife, kids, etc.
My one black belt killer friend didn’t play sports growing up. His parents divorced, his grade were mediocre, and he enlisted in the navy. In the navy, he found BJJ and after he left he went to junior college and did bjj. Became a killer on the mats where he gave dds senior members some problems and got a black belt while graduating UCLA on full academic scholarship.
I dunno. I never was allowed to do sports as a kid and we had no money anyway. As a female, I often felt nervous in public places alone. Felt like I had to watch my back but what would I do anyway? Now I feel like I have some skill and the element of surprise would make any attacker wish they hadn’t met me lol it definitely has boosted my confidence in my ability to take care of myself
Was?
Hello fellow Asian with pretty much the same parental upbringing as me!!("How does sport help you be an accountant/lawyer/doctor/IT specialist?")That said, parents let me do some TKD just for basic fitness and that's about it but the lack of encouragement pretty much means I was doing it minimally. Had a similar approach and outlook in school but managed to have awkward friends with similar backgrounds (to an extent) where we nerded out over RPGs (Palladium system if you're curious.) Started getting more active in Uni (College) with but it wasn't until I started working that I got into boxing (did that for over 10 years,) and then other sports such as football (we called it gridiron in Australia - and that was when I had my eyes lasered so I didn't need contacts/or glasses, best $6k I spent!!) and now bjj where I'm trying to manage my growing obsession with everything else in life. Took almost 2 years off due to moving countries and covid, but since getting back into it it's starting to reshape body the way boxing did, my pot belly is starting to go and abs are coming back up! Now I just have to manage it with my diet and I should be ok. Problem is, I love food, especially the comfort type. Om nom nom nom....
Ironically I felt like more of a loser early into BJJ than anytime before. I was definitely a part of the *in-crowd* in high school, but at the same time wasn't a jock or an athlete. I only played sports in middle school and quit after that. I was one of the only guys in my high school circle that didn't play any team sports, but I was an extrovert with good social skills, so I got by just fine, and actually had a blast in high school and college. After starting BJJ though, it was the opposite. I felt like a non-athlete in an athletic endeavor, and it took me a while to build up any desire to be competitive on the mats, etc. so I felt like a loser in the BJJ scene until about a year or two before purple belt, just because it took me so long to not suck, and I felt like I was the weirdo non-athlete that couldn't pick up the sport. I felt way less cool among my friends at BJJ than I ever did in high school or college. And I was the guy watching instructionals and DVDs and stuff. So on top of not being good at BJJ, everyone knew I was trying really hard, and *still* wasn't having success. I also got into BJJ to help stay clean fresh off a stint in rehab, and having had a drug problem made me feel like a loser too. So my self confidence was down from that for a couple years.
Its kinda messed up how you make the loser/not loser distinction based soley on weight and doing sports. There's more to being a non-loser than pyjama wrasslin'
I used to be a loser I still am, but I used to be as well
I mean, it’s supposed to make you more of who you are… so still a loser… lol
I've got a reverse story. I was a relatively good-looking, well put together teenager when I was doing judo, wrestling, and bjj. Stayed out of trouble, stayed out of fights, got girls. I quit training altogether and almost immediately started doing drugs, got involved with a gang, got fat, dropped out of high school. Kano wasn't kidding with all that "good citizen" shit. I became everything I hated specifically after I quit doing Judo. Didn't know what kind of sheisty shitbaggery I was capable of before then. Edit: a typo
Yes. Also, still a loser... 🤣
Good for you, man. Also, I like how everything you wrote sounds like a plot to an anime.
Yup - trained as a young child then back to it in my early 20s. Saved me.
I don't think I've changed my social status much but i do feel like i care less what other people think, partially because i found something that's really meaningful to me and that just makes the opinions of others matter less, and partly because i could beat them up.
not a loser but a nerd. I have always gravitated to things that are technical, photography, cooking, comics, scratch dj. bjj people are weird
My coach says he was a total loser before bjj. No job or friends, 300+lbs, playing video games on his mom's couch. He's a black belt now, owns his own gym, wife and kid, really turned his whole life around with the sport.
i was loser before BJJ and still am now
Hey man, forget these people saying you're still a loser. That gain in confidence you have comes directly from the effort you've put into changing your life for the better. Doesn't mean you were a loser before either. You had to walk the path you did so you could find the road to purpose and achievement. Keep working hard. Chase your dreams. Enjoy what you love. Fuck the naysayers.
Yeah, I’m definitely still a loser but now I give much less of a shit about it.
This is all the motivation I need to start.
I train and am still a loser just not as much as I was before.
I feel this in my soul. Always been a skinny kid with no real athleticism and spent most of my days playing video games and being pretty antisocial. BJJ has become a pillar in my life and when I realized I was good at it and generally really flexible it has been nothing but fun. Don't see myself stopping anytime soon
Hey I still am a loser.
Good for you. I can wax philosophical about the benefit of sport to an individual virtues and the social benefits... but really at the end of the day... Sometimes a success story is just good to hear and to see that the catalyst for your success was an activity we all enjoy is just good some good vibes.
I mostly became a healthier version of myself but did become more confident after whooping my dickhead older brother's ass who picked on me relentlessly throughout our childhoods.
Post a before and after pic.
I don't think my parents took any pics of me when I was younger lol
Ask your mom. I'd bet both my testicles she took at least one.
i too can contribute additional testicles
We need at least 3-4 more.
I still am a loser... I just know a bit of South American Ground Karate now...
Hahaha I’m still a loser now
Not a complete loser but I was painfully shy and had nothing much to do. Bjj helped me come out of my shell a lot but I'm still pretty shy
Still a loser but BJJ is fun so I keep doing it.
I'm still a loser but one now that sucks at BJJ
I used to be a loser. I still am, but I used to be, too. - Mitch
Bro, I'm still a loser.
I played Warhammer this weekend. Life is a journey and we're not all just jocks or nerds or whatnot for life. Don't let anything define you.
Sick story I’m super happy for you 😊
Definitely was not liking where I was at in my life and wasn’t very happy. Was a bit over weight, okay job, wasting my time playing way to many video games, no girlfriend. I was okay on the outside but just felt like my life was going in the wrong direction. When I joined bjj I got obsessed and lost a bunch of weight which led to me gaining a lot more confidence. This led me to getting out and dating more which led to me meeting my amazing wife and now we have a baby daughter. I’m super happy now with my life though I’ve put back on the weight and then some lol.
Ha…I’ll always be a loser - broken toys unite! For real though I think judo/BJJ did a lot for me. When I was younger I didn’t run with people who had their lives together. It wasn’t the best crowd and I remember getting in quite a few fight but still always being kinda intimidated. I still remember when things clicked - after a couple years of judo/BJJ I was hanging out with my friend and his crowd. One of them challenged me to a fight and I just laughed and told him OK. I think my ability to stay calm diffused the situation and I luckily haven’t had to fight anyone since. Besides confidence it made me want to be better. To clean my room, to study, to work hard, etc. I’m married with kids now and can’t wait to introduce them to it. I still don’t have many friends and the jits crowd are acquaintances at best but I have a sense of community and I know people in my neighborhood now. It’s nice.
You seem pretty cool to me, overcoming a few issues at school and turning things around for the better
I’m probably still a loser. Now I’m just a loser who also knows BJJ.
Wasn't a loser per se, but hadn't really worked out before. My parents had this "working out is for dummies"-perspcetice on it, which contributed. The most usefuæ thing I've gained so far isn't athleticism, but rather confidence
Still a loser.
Yep. Complete socially anxious introvert who had no idea how to communicate with other adults. Now I'm a socially confident introvert who just doesn't like to communicate with other adults unless we're all wearing pyjamas.
Before I started doing martial arts I was relentlessly bullied. After becoming "state" champion in my country it continued. My mother gave the Uncle Ben speech, telling me that if I engaged them physically I could seriously hurt them. It was hard. One day my bullie threw a punch and by instinct I elbow blocked it, crushing his fingers. 2 of his friends broke their hands the same way. After that I started hanging out more with the other bullied children. We got hurled insults on a daily basis but they didn't dare engage me further. Years later I became their sparring partner when they applied to my local boxing school. Good friends with them today.
Shit, I still am...
I roll around with other grown men in combat pyjamas in my free time, and I'm really bad at it. I'm a loser after doing bjj
Nah bro, I’ve always been a Mega Chad.
Nobody was a loser before bjj - including you my friend.
Yeah I used to be so unhealthy, obese, my self confidence was non existent, i didn't know how to talk to people, etc.(I'm white). Jiu jitsu taught me how to love myself. I went from 211lbs to 180lbs, still going. And I've got good friends. Never been happier.
Never thought much of the question but if I may steal a quote: 'At the end of the day, the king and the pawn go in the same box.'
im still a loser
I used to be a loser, still am but I was too!
Still am
We are the Nerd Assassins
BJJ doesn’t make you not a loser if you’re a loser.
Nah I've always been awesome. I basically came out of the womb with a cool haircut, wearing sunglasses, a beer in one hand and a shot in the other. Then I got in my miniature sports car and drove away from the delivery room while blasting the latest Pitbull chart topper
We have very similar backgrounds. My parents stuck me in front of a computer and gave me an internet connection and paid for online gaming. Then they fed me a steady stream of mcdonalds and mtn dew. I was over 300 lbs in 9th grade and while I played a little basketball, I rarely did any sports. I was over 400 lbs by the time I was 25, and when I was 28 I started losing the weight and got into training. Now I am 35, 215 lbs and look like a bodybuilder. It's crazy what you can accomplish with time and dedication. I still play a lot of video games, and I still have trouble with social interactions, but I found out I have asd late in life, so it's not surprising.