What Jiu Jitsu Has Taught Me

Since June of 2020, I have trained jiu jitsu every week at Salty Dog Jiu Jitsu in Wilmington, North Carolina. I am currently a purple belt, and it is one of the most consistent commitments in my life outside of my family and my work. There is something about showing up to the same mats week after week, year after year, that teaches you things a business meeting never will.

I train under coach John Salter, a former UFC and Bellator fighter and a black belt with a background most people would find intimidating on paper. In practice, the gym feels nothing like that. It is a group of guys who show up, work hard, and genuinely want each other to get better. I have also had the chance to train alongside Joe Solecki and Jamie Pickett, both UFC fighters, which is not something I expected to be part of my normal week when I first walked through the door.

What keeps me coming back is not really about the belt. It is what the sport does to you over time. Jiu jitsu puts you in uncomfortable positions on purpose, over and over, and asks you to stay calm and think clearly anyway. You cannot fake your way through that. You either learn to manage pressure or you get overwhelmed by it, and the mats make that distinction very clear very quickly.

It has given me a kind of confidence that is hard to manufacture any other way. Not the loud kind. The quiet kind that comes from knowing you can handle a bad position, whether that position is physical or not. That confidence has followed me off the mats and into how I run a company and how I carry myself day to day.

The bigger lesson has been about control. Jiu jitsu will teach you how to be as aggressive as a situation actually calls for, and not one bit more. Rolling with training partners week after week forces you to learn the difference between using enough force to solve a problem and using more than you need just because you can. That distinction matters a lot more outside the gym than inside it. Most conflicts in life, at work or otherwise, do not need overwhelming force. They need the right amount of pressure applied well, and knowing the difference is a skill like any other.

I am grateful for the community at Salty Dog and for the guys who have pushed me to keep learning. It is a good reminder that growth rarely happens in comfort, and that some of the best lessons come from places that have nothing to do with your actual job.