igh school when I started studying BJJ. At the time I was wandering through day-to-day life with no hopes or aspirations about my future. Unable to make sense of much, I raged at the irrationality of the world around me. It was a very difficult time in my life.

Then one day my mother showed me a magazine advertisement for a Brazilian jiu-jitsu dojo. I was highly skeptical at the time…“BJJ” sounded like a very odd name to me...and I nervously took a trial lesson by myself to see what it was like. I can remember what that felt like as if it were yesterday, but the experience was electric. I was in love from the beginning.

There are a number of reasons why BJJ held (and still holds) such an attraction for me, but one stands out in my mind: BJJ techniques are utterly logical, and for someone raging at the irrationality of the world, that is a powerfully emotional thing. BJJ attracts people of all origins, genders, ages, and vocations who seek the truth BJJ can reveal. I see these people as kindred souls and true companions, and I felt like I found the one place where I belonged.

At the time, BJJ was a minor competitive sport, and the more I got into it the more isolated I felt from the people around me. That’s when I first encountered Carpe Diem BJJ. “Carpe Diem” means “seize the day” in Latin, and I feel like the concept saved me at a time when I was worried about that isolation on top of my own past and future. “Seizing the day” should be a key concept for everyone, everywhere, and in my case training in BJJ is how I get it done.

Today I teach jiu-jitsu techniques at Carpe Diem BJJ, and in the course of doing so I’ve met probably hundreds of other people leading extremely different lives than my own. BJJ is still life for me, but because of that experience I no longer feel isolated. Quite the opposite, I feel happier each day and as though my world is continually expanding.

https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/tomoyuki-hashimoto