Oh, to live as a modern warrior… Traveling around the world to engage in Jiu Jitsu battles in the arenas, piling up victories as you listen to the sweet sound of ovation, conquering the love of the crowd. For some, it’s a dream job. For others, an idea so outlandish that it’s almost impossible to think seriously about.
If you’re still in your 16ths and wondering what to do with life or if you’re looking to change careers a little bit later in life, here’s the truth about professional fighting: it’s neither of those things.
While being a professional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter may still be considered an unconventional job, the process of building a career in this field doesn’t differ much from the process of becoming a lawyer or a teacher or a medical doctor.
At least, not in the sense that, like every other profession, becoming a pro BJJ fighter demands a lot of effort and discipline in order to succeed. And, like every other profession, it has its ups and downs.
So, if becoming a professional grappler is in your plans for the future, first ask yourself: “Am I ready to do whatever it takes?”. We’ll help you answer that question. In this article, we’ll talk about the professional fighting cenario and the routine of a pro grappler.
What’s the ideal age to start training?
First of all, there’s no ideal age to begin your training as a professional.
In sports like football or soccer, the idea of “the earlier, the better” carries some weight and it can work fine for many athletes. And it’s also true that kids as young as 4yo can develop a lot – on their lives and on the mat – by starting early in Jiu Jitsu.
However, to begin in a MA career and adopt the rigorous routine of professional training, it’s preferable that the athlete wait until the age of 15-16, when the body is almost done with growth and development, but there’s still a lot of time to tryout amateur competitions.
But if the train of your teenage years has already left the station, there’s no need to be dispirited. If you’re in your twenties, there’s still time to progress in this career and on this market. Professional fighting is a growing field, with many opportunities for athletes on many levels and platforms.
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How’s the market for professional grapplers?
We’ve talked a lot in this blog about how Brazilian Jiu Jitsu had a rapid growth in popularity and practitioners all over the world. Today, this growth is not only still full steam ahead, but the sport as a whole is becoming more and more professional.
So let’s take a moment and think about BJJ as a regular, traditional, job market. In comparison with 10 years ago, the number and variety of platforms an athlete can build a career upon is astonishing.
Sure, that means there’s a lot of opportunities to enter and progress in this career, with many gyms becoming specialized in the sort of training required to form professionals and many brands willing to sponsor grapplers and competitions.
However, the competition has also grown. Not only are there a lot more professional BJJ fighters today, but their average level of skill is immensely higher. This leaves a very narrow room for amateur fighters – recreational practitioners with only guts and talent, but no professional training – to progress in the career.
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How’s the routine of a pro grappler
With professional Jiu Jitsu reaching its maturity and significantly growing, it’s only natural that this field becomes more and more competitive. Today, the bar for competitors is set so high that, in order to be successful in championships, a rigorous training routine is required even from blue and purple belts.
So, if you`re really interested in a career as a professional fighter, it’s important to have in mind that – like in all professional athletes careers – it’s sort of a full time job. First of all, you must be prepared to spend at least 4-6 hours a day at the gym to keep up with the competitors you’ll face on the mat.
Second, be ready to adopt the lifestyle of a professional athlete as well, with a strict diet and sleep schedule, complementing your Jiu Jitsu training with other physical activities (such as strength training, stretching, cardio yoga…). Those things are extremely important to make you a competitive fighter.
Where to begin as professional fighter
If you already have weighed these points and are ready to start, here’s some things to have in mind while entering the professional fight career. Like in any other field of work, in competitive Martial Arts, the institution where you got trained – most times – have a central impact in how you`ll progress in your career. So, be sure to select a gym and a coach with experience in training professional or high-level fighters.
A good, experienced trainer will assess your performance, prepare a training routine that will maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Beyond that, in a gym with a history of training professional athletes, you probably won’t be alone in that journey. Being surrounded by teammates with the same goals and who are facing the same challenges and rigorous routine is important to push yourself forward.
And, finally, don’t think in terms of losses and wins. That may be counterintuitive, but trust us: no steady career is built over a rollercoaster of glorious victories and vexing defeats. This sort of mindset will only serve to make you either overconfident or discouraged.
Rather, be conscious of your overall performance and progress. Almost no fighter ever retired undefeated and getting beaten once and a while is not only ok, but expected. So take the losses as a challenge to keep training, always face fighters that are better than you and keep improving your skills. This is the formula of a successful professional fighter.
Do you want to be part of a Brazilian Top Team academy? Schedule a free trial at School of Jiu Jitsu and come to our team.