Why do I do BJJ?

I recently spent a day competing in BJJ and it was a culmination of many hours of training that led to a rather hefty silver medal. But after all this effort, a question remains: why do I do BJJ? Is BJJ practised to stay fit? Unlikely because there are much more efficient ways to stay fit, e.g. sprints. So, is it practised to be better prepared in case of a physical altercation? Well, the prevalence of knives in east London means sprinting is also more useful in this regard. Or is it practised, indeed, for the sake of the game? Is it practised for the practise itself? For the inherent enjoyment of learning a new skill, of developing the abilities that are requisite in BJJ? Is it because of the joys of skill acquisition? And this particular skill, to control another human being, is one that holds an intrinsic appeal? This must be the case. The appeal of BJJ is simply BJJ itself.

How do I verify that I am truly motivated by BJJ? That I am truly motivated by the sport and not the accolades? Well, seeing moves executed gives me some sense of joy. And I feel infinitely more joy in successfully executing moves myself (particularly in competition). But is that joy felt for the move, for the application of Jiu-Jitsu, or is it felt because of my own ego? Because of an elevation of myself? Because of dominance over another? The truth is that there is a combination of motivations that contribute to the joys of BJJ. Is the motivation qua BJJ the overriding one? Or is it merely an imagined and irrelevant one?

Whether my motivation for practising BJJ is predominantly intrinsic or extrinsic might not matter. So long as I affirm intrinsic motivations and shun extrinsic ones then the value of BJJ qua BJJ can be vindicated. But one must also affirm that BJJ is a forthright motivation. Is BJJ something that can be moral? And thus, a good in and of itself? Firstly, wrestling is a prophetic sunnah, and thus BJJ (ground wrestling) must hold an intrinsic goodness. Secondly, BJJ engages the mental faculties and thus it is a higher pleasure. The pleasures of BJJ require sacrifice and captures the joy of learning: of trying, failing, and trying again and again and again before one can gain a level of proficiency sufficient to enjoy the game.

Since BJJ is a thing that requires learning to be enjoyed, it is part of the higher pleasures and is thus capable of being a goal in and of itself. The distinction of higher pleasures I am referring to here is rooted in Mill’s theory of higher and lower pleasures. The higher pleasures are ones that speak to our mental faculties and the lower pleasures are ones that appeal to our bodies (i.e. those that can be shared with animals).

Despite BJJ being firmly affixed as an intrinsic motivation, performed for the activity itself and nothing else, it nonetheless comes with a myriad of benefits: keeping fit, more confidence, social prestige. Per the advice of Naval, I have often hoped for an activity I could be intrinsically motivated by that would also make me money (similar to how an intrinsic motivation for BJJ keeps me fit). In clarifying my motivations for BJJ the route to finding more intrinsic motivations has made itself evident: just as it gave me pleasure to see BJJ moves and a process of painful learning lead to the intrinsic, blinding joy of doing the moves myself; so too can anything I see being performed be a starter pistol for a learning that will lead to pleasure if I endure through the painful process necessary to competitively accomplish that thing myself.