Scott MacMillan

This paper looks at the experience of Brazilian Jujitsu through an existential lens. Jujitsu has grown exponentially in popularity since it was showcased at the 1993 Ultimate Fighting Championship and has now become a mainstream activity appealing to all genders and ages. The main attraction, perhaps initially, is for self-defense training but for many people jujitsu becomes a long-term activity, as membership in the “club” becomes an all-encompassing and meaningful component of the individual’s life. To understand how and why jujitsu has developed such broad appeal, I have turned to Existential philosophy for its insights into the nature of the individual, the quest for meaning, and the dilemmas of human existence. Existentialism has been used as a way to interpret the predicament of people in modern Western society, especially the challenge people face of alienation from both others and oneself.  There are a number of Existential themes (such as anxiety, authenticity, bad faith, and death) but in this paper, existentialism provides a way to view the creation of meaning in life with its focus on the self: how people can be transformed through their choices; their subsequent experiences (because, according to existentialism, people create their nature by what they choose to do), and their self-reflections. Finding meaningful pursuits is arguably more challenging than ever in today’s unpredictable and turbulent world. The practice of jujitsu can help people deal with the existential alienation they feel and provide a long-term meaningful “project” of life outside of the regular routine of human existence.