Under Pressure: How Jiu-Jitsu Trains Me for the Battles of Nursing

Brandon Violante

Similar skills different battlefields.

For many nurses, the profession is a calling. Sometimes loud and obvious, other times something that quietly reveals itself through the experiences that shape us.

For me, that calling came from watching the love, patience, and compassion nurses showed my sister; caring for her at home, in the hospital, and at school.

For others, it may have been watching an ICU nurse care for a loved one in their final hours, or being the patient themselves, vulnerable and afraid, while an ER nurse worked tirelessly to bring them comfort.

Make no doubt, we all take different roads into nursing, but one thing tends to unite us along the way: we’re fighters

We’re Fighters.

We fight for our patients.

We fight for safer working conditions, better care, and fair compensation.

We do all this fighting, while simultaneously fighting our own battles, and yet, we muster up just enough to show up for another shift, another fight, and give people the very best of ourselves in their most vulnerable and challenging moments.

There are no gloves, no ring, and thankfully no weigh-in before clocking in. But make no mistake, we step into battle every day.

And that makes nurses some of the toughest fighters in the world.

Brandon (bottom right) with his team.

Under Pressure.

At first glance, nursing and jiu jitsu may seem worlds apart, but the qualities required to succeed in both are remarkably similar. Both demand patience, perseverance, adaptability, and an ability to remain calm when circumstances become uncomfortable or unpredictable.

In jiu jitsu, panic wastes energy and creates mistakes; the practitioner learns to breathe, assess the position, and navigate adversity with intention, precision, and composure.

Nursing requires much of the same. Whether navigating an emergency, advocating for a patient, or simply making it through a difficult shift, nurses must learn to remain present, analyze with clarity, and respond deliberately, even when the pressure is anything but calm.

Yet what is frequently ignored in both disciplines is the raw honesty they require. Each forces an individual to face their vulnerabilities, accept their errors, set aside pride, and uphold true integrity when nobody else is around.

There is nowhere to hide when something goes wrong. The mat has a way of exposing weaknesses in your technique, conditioning, preparation, and ego, just as the bedside can expose gaps in judgment, communication, or attention to detail. The latter, however, carries stakes no black belt can truly replicate: the sanctity of life.

Neither allows you the luxury of blaming circumstances forever. You have to assess what happened, take ownership of your role in it, make the necessary adjustment, and move forward. The lesson is rarely comfortable, but discomfort is often where the greatest growth takes place.

If you’re reading this, consider this my challenge to you. Step onto a mat where your title, experience, and skill mean very little if you cannot maintain your composure, think clearly, and adapt under pressure.

Breathe, Assess, Try Again.

Put yourself in situations where you’re uncomfortable, exhausted, humbled, and occasionally defeated, and savor those moments as reminders to breathe, assess the problem, and try again.

Jiujitsu won’t teach you how to insert an IV or a catheter, but it will strengthen the many qualities those responsibilities demand: patience, resilience, humility, discipline, composure, and a willingness to confront your own shortcomings without excuse.

The role we play when we walk into work will always be the fight with greater stakes, but perhaps another way to prepare yourself for that fight is to willingly throw yourself into another.

Step onto the mat to become a better fighter.

Walk off of it a better nurse.