A Better Man: Self-Control, Anger, Health Habits and Purpose

Can jiu-jitsu make you calmer, healthier and better at keeping your temper? Maybe. The studies point that way, but none of them proves it, because they are mostly surveys and not trials in men. They show links, not cause, and several used other combat sports. We say which sport each one used.

What the studies found

Do Men Who Train Jiu-Jitsu Have More Self-Control?

No study compared men who train with men who do not. Among 420 jiu-jitsu practitioners aged 18 to 60, though, men with more self-control, resilience and life satisfaction, and less aggression, were more likely to report better mental health.^[1]

The same team also compared belts. Black belts scored higher than white belts on mental strength, resilience, self-control and life satisfaction.^[2] They were no more aggressive.

Be careful with what this means. Both studies are one-time snapshots, so they cannot tell you whether training built the self-control or whether people with more self-control simply stay longer. What we see in class is that a roll is a long lesson in not reacting: you get squeezed, you breathe, you tap without a fight. That is our view, not a study result.

Does Training Make Men More Aggressive, or Calmer?

Probably not more aggressive, but no trial has settled it. In a Swedish follow-up of 113 young people over 5 months, aggression went down in the jiu-jitsu group and up in the MMA group, and both groups said they had more self-control.^[4] They chose their own sport, though, and the MMA starters were already more aggressive, so the sport may not be the whole story.

A 2026 survey asked 277 athletes how they handle their emotions and how aggressive they are. Mostly it found little: the links were small or absent. The one exception is worth knowing. Wrestlers and MMA fighters who reframed a situation tended to be more hostile, and jiu-jitsu and karate athletes did not.^[3] Nobody’s behaviour was measured, so treat it as a hint.

Adult beginners interviewed in Brazil and Spain put it in their own words. They described learning to face fear and frustration, and to control their force so a training partner stays safe.^[5] They also said this growth is not automatic and depends on the coach, the partners and how hard the training is.

Do Men Who Train Look After Their Health Better?

In one survey, they did. Among 561 men aged 17 to 35 split into three groups, the men who practised combat sports and martial arts had the best everyday habits, covering eating, prevention and a positive attitude.^[6] The survey does not name one sport, and it cannot show that training caused the habits.

It is easy to picture why. It is hard to roll well on no sleep and a poor diet, and you find that out fast. That is what we see in class, not a study result.

A small pilot of US service members and veterans, all men and with no comparison group, reported drops in PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety and alcohol use after 40 jiu-jitsu sessions over 5 months.^[7] If you are struggling, jiu-jitsu is not a replacement for a doctor or a therapist.

What About Being a Father?

We could not find a study that tests it directly. The closest is small: 18 parents trained judo beside their child, who has autism, for 14 weeks, and said they felt less stress and were more active.^[8] It only compared before and after, and it was about judo.

For the family side of the mat, read how jiu-jitsu helps raise calm, confident kids.

And What About Purpose?

Nobody measured purpose directly, because it is hard to measure. The closest thing is life satisfaction, which was higher in the men with better mental health^[1] and in black belts.^[2] Beginners also described growth as learning to keep going under pressure.^[5]

We would not turn that into a promise. A man finds purpose in many places, and the mat is only one of them.

What the research does not show

None of this proves that jiu-jitsu changes men. There is no trial in men, and the best jiu-jitsu data come from surveys. A survey of people who train cannot include the men who quit, and some of the beginners in the interviews did.^[1][2][5]

Most of it also rests on what people say about themselves, because questionnaires are how aggression was measured. The 2026 survey saw no actual behaviour, and one of its aggression scales was unreliable, so it was dropped.^[3] Several studies used other combat sports, wrestling or martial arts in general, and in the Swedish study the young people picked their own sport.^[3][4][6]

Two gaps matter if you are a father or a veteran: there is no study of fathers, and the veterans’ pilot has no comparison group, and its authors say a larger, more rigorous study is needed before recommending it.^[7][8] And nothing here shows that a man who trains is a better person than one who does not. These studies measure habits, feelings and questionnaire scores, nothing more.

Keep reading

Related reading:

• Raising calm, confident kids with jiu-jitsu
• Jiu-jitsu for military veterans in Laval
• Calmer, steadier, harder to rattle: anxiety, mood and resilience

When are classes?

Classes are taught in French and English. Come ten minutes early to your first class, and we can lend you a gi for the first 2 weeks, so you can try a few classes before buying one. First time? Here is what to expect at your first class.

Ready to join? Register online. Thinking about your kids too? Read what the research says about children’s confidence and self-control.

References

We chose the studies that measure men or athletes directly, and we kept the results that do not go our way. Each link opens the study’s official summary in its journal or in PubMed.

1. de Lorenco-Lima L, Gaines SA, Waterbury EM (2025). Aggression, self-control, life satisfaction, and resilience as predictors of mental health in Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 7:1692536. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2025.1692536
2. de Lorenco-Lima L, Gaines SA, Waterbury EM (2025). Rank-Based Psychological Characteristics in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Athletes. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology 10(2):100. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10020100
3. Kusnierz C, Cynarski WJ, Rogowska AM (2026). The moderating effect of combat sports discipline on the relationship between emotion regulation and aggression among athletes practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, wrestling, and mixed martial arts. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 18:490. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-026-01898-0
4. Blomqvist Mickelsson T (2020). Modern unexplored martial arts - what can mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu do for youth development?. European Journal of Sport Science 20(3):386-393. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31167632/
5. Lazaro Santos Y, Gutierrez-Garcia C, Barreira CRA (2026). Becoming a fighter: phenomenological dimensions of personal development in beginner martial arts and combat sports practitioners. Frontiers in Psychology 17:1910206. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1910206
6. Boguszewski D, Adamczyk JG, Bialoszewski D (2019). Assessment of the Health-Related Behaviors of Men Practicing Combat Sports and Martial Arts. Iranian Journal of Public Health 48(10):1794-1801. https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v48i10.3485
7. Willing AE, Girling SA, Deichert R, et al. (2019). Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Training for US Service Members and Veterans with Symptoms of PTSD. Military Medicine 184(11-12):e626-e631. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31004163/
8. Garcia JM, Hahs-Vaughn D, Murray M, Perry C, Brazendale K, Rice DJ, Fukuda DH (2024). The physical and psychosocial benefits of a family judo program for parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A pilot study. Disability and Health Journal 17(3):101631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101631