Joe Mazzulla is the head coach of the Boston Celtics NBA team – and he trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in order to stay calm during stressful conditions.
Mazzulla’s BJJ coach, Alex Costa, spoke with The Atlantic and explained the benefits of Jiu-Jitsu for dealing with challenging situations:
Once you get in a chokehold, your mind goes cuckoo.
The general idea is that once you get in a position, a submission (with a threat) on your body, you’re going to have to make very rapid decisions.
The first thing we teach students is how to stay focused and control the panic that would be, like, very close to happening essentially under a real stressful, life-threatening situation.Basically, what we do here is maintain the balance and make sure that we keep (your mind firing) to find technical solutions for your case.
It’s most definitely a skill that will be useful to Mazzulla, as the Boston Celtics continue with the playoffs.
He commented:
It’s about problem solving. It’s about you’re in uncomfortable situations, you’re in situations that you have to constantly assess, and decision making.
And again, the (discomfort). There’s a great quote where you’ve gotta seek things to lose that (comfort).
That’s one of the things that I seek: to be challenged and to lose so that I can be humbled and learn more about myself to become better for the people around me.
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