CAPACITY AND CONFIDENCE: WHAT CAN BE GLEANED FROM THE LINK BETWEEN PERCEIVED AND ACTUAL PHYSICAL ABILITY IN BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU PRACTITIONERS?

Abstract

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is one of the most popular modern iterations of grappling-based combat sports. Progression in BJJ involves persistence in the face of repeated defeat in training, which may require certain psychological characteristics, or at least the ability to cultivate them. Although BJJ is highly technical, performance is also influenced by physical fitness, which in turn may be associated with the practitioners’ psychological approach and adherence to the sport. Through exploratory data analysis, this paper sought to elucidate the relationship between perceived and actual physical ability in BJJ practitioners. Both aerobic and muscular endurance appeared to be associated with perceived physical ability independent of factors such as rank and training experience. Conversely, maximal strength did not correlate with this construct. These findings indicate that physical fitness may be conducive to both BJJ performance and adherence through its relationship with self-efficacy. Since self-efficacy is concerned with belief in the ability to produce a subjectively desired outcome and does not necessarily reflect actual skill, the potential psychological advantage of physical fitness is likely applicable to practitioners at all levels of competence.