This post has laying in wait for quite a while now. As I mature as a rock climber and still retain a heartfelt connection to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu I become increasingly mesmerized and awe-stricken by the similarities between the two. Initially there is an obvious overlap of physical demands but also a seemingly subliminal shared ontology. The physical components of the two sports make either one a great supplemental or cross-training activity for the other. However, as I reach what I'd call the "blue belt" level of climbing I realize how I've only just begun to tap into the richness of experience that both activities elicit when one is becomes involved beyond the "beginner" (say... < 2 years) level of each sport.
Lets start simple, with the physical comparison. Perhaps the most obvious commonality is grip strength. Elbow-down strength is crucial in both sports. Pick your poison; a hangboard or pullups from your gi draped over the pullup bar to practice your cross-collar choke. Climbing demands more of the tendons and fingers and thus climbing-grip probably has more benefits to BJJ than the other way around. But moving on... Balance and flexibility are also extremely important in both sports. You don't have to watch too many YouTube videos to realize that you're body can get contorted into some pretty funky positions either at the crag or on the mats. There are also a couple siblings to that point. Body positioning and awareness and core strength. Flexibility suffers a loss of practicality when it cannot be functionally applied. It is much less a matter of being able to touch your toes than it is knowing when to shift your weight this way or that way. One expression that I really like is "There is no 'core'. The body is one piece, treat it that way." Here's a nice video illustration. Regardless of the words we use, sending hard projects and high-level grappling highlight the impracticality and functional waste of isolated or aesthetic muscle mass. Furthermore, relative strength, or strength-to-weight ratio, is also important.
Moving on from there, both climbing and jiu jitsu require similar use of oxygen systems. That is, interval-type efforts. This similarity is weaker than some of the others, there is validity to it. A hard boulder problem will probably take less than one minute to complete, but the intensity is cranked way up. There are many a sparring and competition rounds where a grappler may find that the round alternates between an all out flurry (be that a controlled and intentional effort or not) and long minutes of regaining your composure.
Mental Comparison
Beyond the physical components, there lies the technical and mental aspects. I would say that jiu jitsu is probably more generally physically demanding than rock climbing, but climbing is more technical by nature. HOWEVER, there is a place for both. At the extreme end of each sport (the extremely poor physical condition and the elites, the one-percenters) general strength can be very beneficial to one's performance. In BOTH sports well honed technique and keen tactical decisions will take you miles further and faster than general non-sport-specific strength. It's always worth a good chuckle when a jerk of a meat-head rudely and pompously asserts his hypothetical "mad skillz" only to be completely shut down and flee minutes later only to try and resuscitate his wounded (and now put in perspective) ego. This is as true on the mats as it is on the rock.Another mental aspect of both sports is that, by far, the greatest rival you will ever face in either will be yourself. Your stiffest competition and staunchest limitation will be proportional to your fear, your ego, and willingness to learn. All of this is evidenced by the fact that it takes a very long time (more than a lifetime) to "master" either of these sports. I can't help but be a little skeptic of the 5 year black belts (in any martial art). I suppose I'm a bit jaded and my ethical standards are different than others' though. I'd say the 10,000 hour rule is A) a pretty liberal aggressive estimate and B) only counts as hours of actual movements, not chillin' and shootn' the breeze with your bros and broettes. Similarly, there are plenty of people who are 50+ and easily outclass many practitioners of their sport.
"Spiritual" Comparison
If you're still reading, hopefully you're getting the idea so far. Both rock climbing and jiu jitsu will, eventually, challenge and change the way you thing about and interact in the world. Credit there, and to the title of this post, goes to Arno Ilgner's The Rock Warrior's Way. While it has been at least a year since my last good roll and several years since I was regularly training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it was, and still is, a large part of my life with a lot of resonance that still finds a way to play out in my life. Climbing is my things, for now, and I love both sports and hope to continue them (both, though perhaps not at the same time) for many years to come. I realize that when I finally get back on the mats I'll need to get reoriented, re-learn, and remember a lot of things. However, this is the final and most beautiful point of this comparison or brethren warriors. Once you've settled into your dirt-bag lifestyle or local gym you majestically, slowly, and surely begin to realize that both rock climbing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are far more than a prescription of methods, moves, and techniques. They are "art", no, more than that. They are a philosophy of movement, a way of being, a challenge of interaction, the "physical manifestation of your character."source
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