Abstract
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling martial art akin to wrestling. BJJ has a relatively short history in the United States, arriving in 1993 via the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a sports promotion that has ascended in popularity and cultural influence—bringing this once fringe activity more mainstream. Research shows participation in BJJ positively affects practitioners’ optimism and life satisfaction (Wojdat, et al., 2017), spiritual awareness (Pope, 2019), and well-being outside of BJJ (Chinkov, 2014). As the popularity of BJJ increases, how participants can safeguard against potential pitfalls of participation such as overtraining or neglecting other life priorities is less understood. Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985) provides a framework for exploring how an understanding of participants’ motivations for engaging in BJJ can help them reap the benefits of participation while mitigating the risks. This mixed method study explored BJJ practitioners’ motivations for participating in BJJ in the context of SDT—fulfilling psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence (Deci & Ryan, 1995). We asked the question: How can an understanding of the motivations of BJJ practitioners using the lens of SDT inform healthy participation patterns? Data collection included responses by100 BJJ practitioners to a Likert-scale and short answer survey. Preliminary results suggest (a) BJJ satisfies three dimensions of SDT and positively affects mental, physical, and emotional health; and (b) barriers to healthy participation align with the theme of overreliance on BJJ for a sense of well-being.
Presenters
Valerie WorthingtonCore Faculty, Mind-Body Medicine, Saybrook University, California, United States Devorah Curtis
Department Chair, Mind-Body Medicine, Saybrook University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Self-Determination Theory, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Motivation, Overtraining, Optimal Training Patterns
