Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is often referred to as the great equalizer in martial arts. Unlike many combat sports that rely heavily on size and strength, BJJ emphasizes leverage, technique, and strategy—allowing a smaller, more skilled practitioner to control and even defeat a much larger opponent. This unique aspect of the art has made it a go-to choice for those seeking both self-defense and personal growth, as it builds resilience, adaptability, and confidence in ways few other disciplines can.
The transformative power of Jiu-Jitsu goes beyond physical prowess; it shapes mental toughness and teaches humility. Countless practitioners have experienced firsthand how the mats expose ego, forcing them to either improve or be left behind. It’s a sport where brute force alone isn’t enough, and those who underestimate its effectiveness often find themselves learning this lesson the hard way.
There’s no denying it… Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be a true superpower once you get good at it. It makes you tougher and better able to overcome hardships, both in training and life in general. And it can serve as a surprise factor for those who might be objectively stronger and/or heavier than you are.
One such story is of Kyle Krieger. As Tom DeBlass says, before BJJ Kyle wasn’t really an athlete. However, one day in training, he had served a “humility surprise” to an arrogant bodybuilder.
DeBlass shares the story:
The young man to the right of me is Kyle Krieger. Before Jiu-Jitsu he was never an athlete, never very social, didn’t hang out with tons of people, and school wasn’t really for him. Yet, when he stepped on the mats he truly found himself.
A few years back we had a massive body builder around 260 lbs join our Academy. This dude was deadlifting 750 lbs. He was awesome to me, yet so many others would tell me of his locker room banter, him saying how once he trained live he was going to smash everyone.
Well, his first day of live training after he received his second stripe on his white belt, he was paired with Kyle who was a brown belt at the time. Within two minutes Kyle reversed the monster, mounted him, and made him tap from “pressure”. The body builder walked off the mats and never returned.I even offered him free private lessons, as I wanted him to get over this mental barrier, but he never returned. His friends still think he’s tough I’m sure, but this ninja turtle glasses wearing brown belt (at the time) showed him what tough was.
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Unfortunately, it seems that Kyle hasn’t been training for some time now. Hopefully this awesome brown belt will soon make a return to the mats!
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