Why sometimes it’s OK to just quit

Why I resigned from jiu-jitsu, and other things

Hi! This is Leyla from A Day Well Spent, a newsletter seeking pathways to more purposeful living.

What subscribers received recently:

• This is how, and what, I eat — my food manifesto (the how) and 7-day food diary (the what)

• The rural life of self-sufficiency: why I want it — and if I’m cut out for it. I worked on farms in Portugal to find out

You can subscribe with your email to ensure you never miss my posts:

Why I started jiu-jitsu

I had my first ever Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) lesson in August 2021. The idea of learning to move my body in new ways had been something I’d wanted to do for a while. After the claustrophobia of lockdown, the desire became stronger and I narrowed it down to either dance or a martial art.

I settled on the latter as I thought it would be more ‘useful’ as a woman in today’s world. And who doesn’t want to get someone in a head lock like a total badass? I knew of a few women who had taken up BJJ. I looked into it and I liked what I saw. 

I learnt there was a martial arts gym only a 15 minute walk from my front door — this was meant to be! During my first lesson I ended up sparring with the Kung Fu teacher, not having a clue what I was doing but loving the general physicality of it and the aftermath of mullered muscles.

‘We’ve got a feisty one here,’ he said.