Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy. As a school of thought, its primary goal is to enable the individual to achieve happiness. It does this primarily through emphasizing the distinction between what is within our control and outside of it. The good Stoic focuses on what is up to them, and stops worrying about what they cannot control. But such a perspective can be difficult to obtain, and requires training, or askēsis, as the Stoics called it. I will argue that the contemporary martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is perfectly suited to be a modern form of Stoic askēsis, one that can train the individual to focus on what matters and become a better Stoic.

Stoicism was established by Zeno of Citium in 301 BCE. Like other philosophical schools founded in this period, such as Epicureanism, Stoicism is concerned with explaining the nature of happiness, or eudaimonia, and how the individual is best suited to achieve it. What set Stoicism apart from its contemporaries is that it considers virtue to be the only source of true worth in a human life, and as such, Stoics believe that possessing virtue is sufficient for happiness. In other words, Stoicism holds that one needs only internal excellence, not external possessions or pleasure, to be happy.

So how is Stoic virtue attained?

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This article first appeared in issue 2 of The Side View Journal. Purchase your own copy here. 

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For the Stoics, virtue is attained through wisdom. Human excellence is achieved by knowing the real worth or value of things in life. A virtuous individual is one who recognizes that their internal choices are what have true value, and that external events—those things not within the control of the individual—are indifferent or irrelevant to if we can live a good life or not. The reason virtue is thought to be caused by wisdom, rather than by acting in a certain way, is that the Stoics think all of our actions are caused by our judgments. In other words, our wisdom, or lack thereof, determines how we act.

The Stoics of ancient Greece argued that human motivation was reducible to our value judgments about the world. If I judge something to be good or harmful I receive an impulse to pursue it or avoid it accordingly. If I think that money is required for happiness, and if I am put in a dire circumstance, I may steal from someone else to acquire the money I need to be happy. Likewise, if I think pleasure is the true cause of happiness, I may betray my friends and family if I am threatened with great pain. A philosopher like Plato would explain these behaviors with reference to the irrational part of the self, which overpowers reason in pursuit of pleasure. But the Stoic contribution to human psychology is to suggest that all our behaviors are a result of judgments. If I remove the judgment that pain is a bad thing and pleasure is a good thing, and recognize virtue as the only good, then I remove the impulse to avoid pain and can no longer be compelled by the threat of suffering.

Askēsis

While all ancient Greek schools of philosophy had a theory of happiness, they also had a theory about how to achieve it. A central part of this theory was askēsis, or training. Askēsis is an active practice the individual undertakes to transform their character into a virtuous one. It can consist of a variety of exercises or forms. Some forms are physical. For example, the Stoic Epictetus encouraged his students to practice spitting out water on a hot day, just to prove to themselves that their self-control is stronger than their desire to drink. Other forms of askēsis are mental. Seneca encouraged people to visualize negative situations that might happen. By doing so, we prepare ourselves to deal with them if they ever should occur. Despite these different forms, all types of askēsis share the same goal of developing a virtuous and self-controlled mind.

Now, it may seem paradoxical that the Stoics advocated for askēsis. If wisdom is sufficient for virtue, shouldn’t Stoic progress consist in studying theory and learning what objects are without true value, or are indifferent, and which are good and bad? Not necessarily. The Stoics recognized the value of askēsis for two main reasons.

(1) There are kinds of knowledge or understanding that we are better able to gain through training, habituation, and practice.

Seneca famously advocated that we spend some time living in the conditions we fear the most. If we live in poverty for a time, Seneca argued, we will realize poverty is not as bad as we might have feared. There is still much to enjoy and appreciate in such a life. Askēsis is necessary here, because this kind of personal knowledge—that poverty is not an evil—is better gained through practice than by reading arguments for the idea in a book.

(2) We must train ourselves to cultivate a kind of mind that is vigilant, attentive, and receptive to learning.

Wisdom is sufficient for happiness, but not all individuals are equally prepared to learn. Through training we can develop a capacity for self-awareness of our own judgments, and the ability to be vigilant of how we are thinking and if our thinking has gone wrong.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as Stoic Askēsis

Stoicism has gained popularity as a modern way to improve our lives. Books such as William Irvine’s A Guide to the Good Life and Lawrence Becker’s A New Stoicism have combined Stoic scholarship with an emphasis on its current applicability to our lives. Ryan Holiday has also popularized Stoic concepts in his books Ego is the Enemy and The Obstacle is the Way. Further, cognitive behavioral therapy is intentionally based on Stoic principles.

People are recognizing the value Stoicism has as a tool set for approaching current problems. This raises the question of how we are to best go about becoming good Stoics. After all, contemporary Stoics also require modern forms of askēsis. I argue that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), a modern grappling martial art, can be one of the best contemporary forms of Stoic askēsis for those wishing to improve themselves. I think there are three main reasons for this.

(1) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu confronts us constantly with pain.

BJJ is a hard sport. The student is constantly put in uncomfortable situations, as their opponent actively tries to choke them or attack a ligament. However, the martial art is performed in a safe and consensual context. BJJ is a way of imitating real danger to our livelihood, of experiencing real pain, without the risk of being severely harmed.

The imitation gives the individual a laboratory in which to test and examine the concept of pain. How much pain am I able to take? How uncomfortable can I be, and still be okay? How long can I survive in this position without panicking? BJJ gives the student the opportunity to test these questions in a safe and supportive environment.

In doing so, the student learns about the nature of pain. Namely, they learn that pain is not as bad as we might assume it to be. They learn that pain is a sensation, which indicates something, but this stimulus does not have to determine how we act. In other words, a person can learn to acknowledge the stimulus of pain, without categorizing it as a necessary evil or harmful thing.  In learning to make this distinction, the student discovers that they do not have to give up just because something hurts, or because it is hard to do.

This is a kind of first-hand knowledge about pain that is invaluable to the student. The student of BJJ learns that pain, or often even just the fear of pain, does not have to control how they act. The BJJ practitioner learns that they are capable of developing a toughness that allows for proper action, even in the face of physical danger.

(2) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu challenges our ego.

BJJ is not just a place to experience physical pain. It is also painful for our ego. BJJ is a one-on-one sport, in which you are constantly testing yourself against another individual. And if you lose, all the responsibility falls upon you. You have no teammate to blame. This means BJJ constantly reminds us that there is someone better than us. And the individual is given two choices, just like when they feel physical pain: They may either give up, or realize that they are able to endure this experience and transform it into something positive.

BJJ also teaches us that we are not perfect. We have flaws. There are techniques we do not know. There are things that our bodies cannot do. But it also shows us that this is okay. Lack of perfection does not prevent the individual from trying, learning, and improving. BJJ thus puts the emphasis on what the individual can become, and it forces them to grow less concerned with who they currently are.

(3) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu requires us to be vigilant and self-aware under duress.

Finally, BJJ is highly technical and intellectual. It is often compared to chess. But unlike chess, it is also performed under the stress of having someone try to submit you. By training BJJ, the individual is given a unique opportunity to practice their capacity to deal with information under stress, with controlled consequences. Most people do not get to do this. They transition from a situation where performance matters to them, like business, to somewhere where it does not, like relaxing.

The physical stress of BJJ makes it seem that winning and losing matter, but in actuality neither is of consequence. The student of BJJ operates in a safe environment where they can learn to process information by selecting between hundreds of techniques in a situation that is unique, constantly changing, and stressful. This is exactly the kind of competence required in Stoicism. This skillset allows us to process our judgments and emotions in real time situations, and to realize the correct responses.

Conclusion

There is no denying the benefits of Stoicism. But if people are to get the most out of Stoic philosophy, then they must not neglect askēsis. I have argued for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a way to practice and train in Stoicism. That being said, these benefits are available from many other sports, and crafts. What matters is the individual recognizing that Stoicism must be actively trained and practiced, and I recommend Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as one of the best ways to do just that.