Living on the Mats - Yes, on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Mats
Your comfort zone
Let me start off by saying Yes, it is not the most comfortable experience in the world; however, all choices you make in life come with pros and cons, and in my case, the pros of living on the mats far outweighed the cons. I'm going to let you know, based on my experience, what I have learned so far from spending literally the whole day at the academy from Monday to Sunday.
Cons
Honestly, the cons are not even that bad guys, but then again I'm really flexible and open-minded so I think that has played a huge role thus far. Nevertheless, here are some of the obstacles I have come across throughout my experience:
The Cold - the most satisfying activity of my day is when I take off my Gi from a hard training session and it's soaked in sweat. My second favorite activity of the day is taking a hot shower right after that. The water pressure and temperature when I arrived at the academy I'm crashing at (September 2017) were great. As the year got close to its end, it got colder. My craving for a hot shower after training in the colder days of the year intensified. Most of the time I got out of the shower, I would automatically be freezing before I could dry myself - God I hated this feeling. At first, I thought it was the water temperature, but then I realize that it was actually the outside temperature that made my "hot" shower cold. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy where I currently live is located in a warehouse where there is no insulation and thus, all of the cold air will filter through and reach the bathroom. I don't know about you guys but the reason why I have chosen to live in Florida and southern California is to stay as far away as possible from the cold.
The Noise - I absolutely enjoy silence, period. You can meditate, read, reflect, brainstorm, rest, etc. Throughout the day, I would have blocks of several hours of silence and I would, ideally, get all my work done during these chunks of time. Kids class kicked off around 4:00pm so forget about silence any time past that. I like to drill and train during the daytime and sometimes this would push my work duties back into the afternoon time right around kids class - No Bueno! For the most part, again, the blocks of silence were enough, but if you are a person that loves quiet time then you'll find this aspect of living on the mats to be extremely obnoxious.
No Kitchen - "I like to live off from microwaving meals 24/7", said no one ever. Thankfully, I have a buddy that hooks me up with a meal prep service at a very affordable price; so yes, I do live off pretty much from microwaving meals. The meals are very tasty and healthy but let's be real, sometimes you just crave to cook your own food and that's just isn't possible when you live in a Jiu-Jitsu academy. Also, when you microwave these meals there will be a certain smell that spreads inside the academy that might not be pleasant to others. I literally had this dude yell the other day, "wow it smells like tacos". I gave him the dirtiest look I have given someone in a while because first of all, it wasn't tacos and second, that's just plain rude. I'll see him on the mats sooner than later and let Jiu-Jitsu do the talk.
Laundry - I'm actually lucky in this department since the academy where I stay at has a washer; however, it does not have a dryer. I would wash just my training gear (Gis, shorts, and rash guard) in the academy's washer and then hang my Gis outside to let them air dry - thankfully southern California is on the warmer side year round! For my regular clothes, I would have to go a nearby coin laundry. This coin laundry spot was the bomb; it had free Wifi, great washing and drying machines, and a bar next to it that I could sit and watch football games while I waited for my clothes. This laundry issue wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. With that said, it would have been nice to have washer and dryer at the same place.
Enough of the cons - let's move on to my favorite part, the pros.
Pros
Every choice you made has a positive and a negative. If the positive outweighs the negative then I say you go for it - simple as that. How much weight you put on the positive or negative is based on your wants and desires. This kind of mentality has transformed decision making for me to a simpler degree.
More Training time - this is a no-brainer and it is single-handedly the biggest reason why I decided to forfeit the comfort of having an apartment. The more time you spend inside a BJJ academy, at least for me, the more I want to train. If you are at the academy already, why not get some training in right? At least, this is how I thought about it. Moreover, you get to watch other people train and learn from their game. More training time does not just mean actual physical work, rather everything that encompasses Jiu-Jitsu (physical, mental and spiritual). Being at the academy grants you more time to ask more questions and think more about our favorite thing in the world, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Fewer expenses - depending on the academy's owner, you'll vastly reduce your monthly expenses. Luckily, the owner of the academy where I'm at is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. Thanks to him, I do not have to pay rent or utilities. I did offer him some money to cover the increase in his utilities' bill; after all, I do use the water and electricity, but he insisted that it was fine and rejected my offer - what a gentleman! Can you imagine the amount of money you save from not paying rent, water, electric and trash? I can since I know exactly how much money that is and it puts a smile on my face every day. In addition, I even save money on gas since everything I need it's within a 2-mile radius.
Learn about the biz - When you are at the gym literally 24/7, you get to see first hand the not so pretty side of owning an academy. You get to hear stories about payments, cancellations, marketing, breaking even, student count, training gear, drama, and the list goes on. Owning an academy has been an interest of mine for a very long time so having first row tickets to the show is an eye-opener experience. I get to learn about the kind of software used for billing, storing members' personal and financial info, keeping track of the attendance, ordering new gear, etc.
Long-lasting relationships - There is nowhere to go after you train other than hit the showers. Since you can spend more time at the academy, you get to build rapport with everyone (kids, parents, staff, and adults). What I have learned over the time I have lived on the mats is that everyone has a story to tell. If you pay attention and ask the right questions, you can always learn from everyone's life. For example, there is this young kid that works a regular 9-5 Monday through Friday. He also owns a meal prep company that based on what he told me, is becoming very profitable. I started thinking how I can help him do some marketing to grow his business and in return, I would learn more about marketing itself and who knows, maybe he'll throw in a couple of free meals to sweeten the deal. I'm not looking for anything in return because I genuinely like the kid and do want to help him, but hey, who can say no to free food?
What's next for me
I have lived in the Academy for the past 4 months. It has been a great humbling and learning experience. I have hit my highs (more disposable income) and my lows (cold showers). Thankfully, my parents have chosen to help me pay the rent of a nearby apartment so I'm moving out by the end of February. As much as I enjoyed breathing Jiu-Jitsu 24/7, I cannot wait to have my own bathroom and kitchen once again.
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| The Growth Zone |
Let me start off by saying Yes, it is not the most comfortable experience in the world; however, all choices you make in life come with pros and cons, and in my case, the pros of living on the mats far outweighed the cons. I'm going to let you know, based on my experience, what I have learned so far from spending literally the whole day at the academy from Monday to Sunday.
Cons
Honestly, the cons are not even that bad guys, but then again I'm really flexible and open-minded so I think that has played a huge role thus far. Nevertheless, here are some of the obstacles I have come across throughout my experience:
The Cold - the most satisfying activity of my day is when I take off my Gi from a hard training session and it's soaked in sweat. My second favorite activity of the day is taking a hot shower right after that. The water pressure and temperature when I arrived at the academy I'm crashing at (September 2017) were great. As the year got close to its end, it got colder. My craving for a hot shower after training in the colder days of the year intensified. Most of the time I got out of the shower, I would automatically be freezing before I could dry myself - God I hated this feeling. At first, I thought it was the water temperature, but then I realize that it was actually the outside temperature that made my "hot" shower cold. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy where I currently live is located in a warehouse where there is no insulation and thus, all of the cold air will filter through and reach the bathroom. I don't know about you guys but the reason why I have chosen to live in Florida and southern California is to stay as far away as possible from the cold.
The Noise - I absolutely enjoy silence, period. You can meditate, read, reflect, brainstorm, rest, etc. Throughout the day, I would have blocks of several hours of silence and I would, ideally, get all my work done during these chunks of time. Kids class kicked off around 4:00pm so forget about silence any time past that. I like to drill and train during the daytime and sometimes this would push my work duties back into the afternoon time right around kids class - No Bueno! For the most part, again, the blocks of silence were enough, but if you are a person that loves quiet time then you'll find this aspect of living on the mats to be extremely obnoxious.
No Kitchen - "I like to live off from microwaving meals 24/7", said no one ever. Thankfully, I have a buddy that hooks me up with a meal prep service at a very affordable price; so yes, I do live off pretty much from microwaving meals. The meals are very tasty and healthy but let's be real, sometimes you just crave to cook your own food and that's just isn't possible when you live in a Jiu-Jitsu academy. Also, when you microwave these meals there will be a certain smell that spreads inside the academy that might not be pleasant to others. I literally had this dude yell the other day, "wow it smells like tacos". I gave him the dirtiest look I have given someone in a while because first of all, it wasn't tacos and second, that's just plain rude. I'll see him on the mats sooner than later and let Jiu-Jitsu do the talk.
Laundry - I'm actually lucky in this department since the academy where I stay at has a washer; however, it does not have a dryer. I would wash just my training gear (Gis, shorts, and rash guard) in the academy's washer and then hang my Gis outside to let them air dry - thankfully southern California is on the warmer side year round! For my regular clothes, I would have to go a nearby coin laundry. This coin laundry spot was the bomb; it had free Wifi, great washing and drying machines, and a bar next to it that I could sit and watch football games while I waited for my clothes. This laundry issue wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. With that said, it would have been nice to have washer and dryer at the same place.
Enough of the cons - let's move on to my favorite part, the pros.
Pros
Every choice you made has a positive and a negative. If the positive outweighs the negative then I say you go for it - simple as that. How much weight you put on the positive or negative is based on your wants and desires. This kind of mentality has transformed decision making for me to a simpler degree.
More Training time - this is a no-brainer and it is single-handedly the biggest reason why I decided to forfeit the comfort of having an apartment. The more time you spend inside a BJJ academy, at least for me, the more I want to train. If you are at the academy already, why not get some training in right? At least, this is how I thought about it. Moreover, you get to watch other people train and learn from their game. More training time does not just mean actual physical work, rather everything that encompasses Jiu-Jitsu (physical, mental and spiritual). Being at the academy grants you more time to ask more questions and think more about our favorite thing in the world, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Fewer expenses - depending on the academy's owner, you'll vastly reduce your monthly expenses. Luckily, the owner of the academy where I'm at is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. Thanks to him, I do not have to pay rent or utilities. I did offer him some money to cover the increase in his utilities' bill; after all, I do use the water and electricity, but he insisted that it was fine and rejected my offer - what a gentleman! Can you imagine the amount of money you save from not paying rent, water, electric and trash? I can since I know exactly how much money that is and it puts a smile on my face every day. In addition, I even save money on gas since everything I need it's within a 2-mile radius.
Learn about the biz - When you are at the gym literally 24/7, you get to see first hand the not so pretty side of owning an academy. You get to hear stories about payments, cancellations, marketing, breaking even, student count, training gear, drama, and the list goes on. Owning an academy has been an interest of mine for a very long time so having first row tickets to the show is an eye-opener experience. I get to learn about the kind of software used for billing, storing members' personal and financial info, keeping track of the attendance, ordering new gear, etc.
Long-lasting relationships - There is nowhere to go after you train other than hit the showers. Since you can spend more time at the academy, you get to build rapport with everyone (kids, parents, staff, and adults). What I have learned over the time I have lived on the mats is that everyone has a story to tell. If you pay attention and ask the right questions, you can always learn from everyone's life. For example, there is this young kid that works a regular 9-5 Monday through Friday. He also owns a meal prep company that based on what he told me, is becoming very profitable. I started thinking how I can help him do some marketing to grow his business and in return, I would learn more about marketing itself and who knows, maybe he'll throw in a couple of free meals to sweeten the deal. I'm not looking for anything in return because I genuinely like the kid and do want to help him, but hey, who can say no to free food?
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| Pros > Cons or Cons > Pros? |
By now you have a gist of what to expect, but remember, just because I categorized some things as a pro or con does not mean that your personal pro and con list will look the same; it's all relevant to your wants and needs, and everyone is different. If you do decide to make the decision to live on the mats and go through this experience, allow me to shed some light on you.
Things to keep in mind
Have a great relationship with the academy's owner - This is the most important step. A good relationship isn't enough, it has to be great.
Don't be deadweight - There has to be value added to the academy because of your presence. This can easily be achieved by doing things like cleaning the mats, helping with kids' classes, buying water so the academy can sell it at a profit, etc., the possibilities are limitless, be creative and add value.
Venture off to other things - I recently picked up a very relaxing yet active hobby, surfing. It is very relaxing to be surrounded by mother nature since it clears and decompresses your mind. Being at the academy and thinking about Jiu-Jitsu all day long demands a much-needed mental break. Find something that's going to allow your mind to have some downtime.
Be Immaculate - I'm still improving on this one so I'll build up to what I'm preaching. BJJ academies are bound to constantly be cleaned and kept fresh, after all, members go in there to break a sweat, shower, sometimes eat, and etc. A huge component of any Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy is kids, and we all know that as much you think you have the perfect kid, they are messy. Therefore, the last thing you want is to add to this burden and make cleaning harder.
Shower - If the academy does not have a shower you are pretty much screwed. In that case, I would ask the academy's owner if he knows anyone that is looking for a roommate and try to work that out.
Fridge - You are going to need a fridge to store your food and drinks. Most of the academies I have trained at have some type of fridge. The fridge might not be the fanciest one, but it's a fridge and it will keep your meals from going bad, period. If the academy does not have a fridge, ask the owner permission to buy one and store it in an area that's only accessed by staff. You can find a decent size fridge at Walmart for around $150.
Microwave - A hot meal is tastier than a cold meal if you ask me. If the academy does not have a microwave, go buy one at Walmart for around $45 - don't be cheap.
Have a car - Straight up guys, without a car you have no hope. You will always have to ask people for rides and I don't know about you, but I don't like to ask for favors. Being able to move from point A to point B at your convenience is indispensable.
Remind yourself "Why" - Besides having a great relationship with the Academy's owner, I'll put this one right up there with it. The "what" and the "how" are less important than the "why". Make sure you never lose sight of why you decided to live on the mats; this is what you can solely rely upon when you begin to doubt your decision of living on the mats and trust me, you will doubt.
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To sum it all up, if this is something you have been thinking about of doing or wondering how people do it, then I hope after reading this blog you have gotten a sense of how things really are when you live inside the academy. I considered myself lucky since the academy where I'm crashing at had a few couches I grouped and slept on; others who have chosen this life, literally sleep on top of the mat...
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| My Suite |
I have lived in the Academy for the past 4 months. It has been a great humbling and learning experience. I have hit my highs (more disposable income) and my lows (cold showers). Thankfully, my parents have chosen to help me pay the rent of a nearby apartment so I'm moving out by the end of February. As much as I enjoyed breathing Jiu-Jitsu 24/7, I cannot wait to have my own bathroom and kitchen once again.
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