It has been approximately 4 years of work on our effort to build a community and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon. One thing we have realized along the way is that outreach is difficult and despite that fact that people “need” the support network its often hard to bring them out of darkness. The question that remains is, “How do we spread awareness and how do we encourage people to participate and help build the community?”

There of plenty of examples of the potential Jiu Jitsu has to drive change, we simply need to refocus our perspective.

Go Fund me campaigns come and go (often unchecked) while hitting their targets and Jiu Jitsu technique channels get views well into the hundreds while non-profit foundations built to give back to the community often receive little support. Where are the subscribers and followers?

People in the Jiu Jitsu community drop $20 -$200 on a seminar (some simply to support someone’s personal travel) or a private lesson but won’t support a non-profit event with a $20-$25 donation. Most of the time it’s only in support of their specific home academy yet they are all claiming “unity/ community and changing lives”.

People spread Jiu Jitsu memes and self defense “fail videos” like hotcakes but rarely share an article about mental health issues or an event designed to support the community or a nonprofit.

These are just my observations and maybe they are just generalizations. Maybe people just don’t like Work Play Obsession and that’s fine. Please support the community in whatever way makes you feel comfortable but please support. Too many people are suffering in silence and we are losing those who choose to no longer suffer. We need an inclusive community tirelessly building a team that serves to provide a sense of purpose for those we care about.

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Rant over.