How jiujitsu was instrumental for Emirates' rookie astronaut

In early March 2023, four astronauts from three countries successfully headed to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

The big news was the participation of an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates, a country with no tradition in cosmic travel, who accompanied the veteran Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg (also an American) and the Russian Andrei Fediaev—yes, despite the war in the Ukraine, international space cooperation goes on just fine, thank you.

Sultan al-Neyadi took off excited for his first six-month mission aboard the ISS. Shortly before, he told Emirates TV how his jiujitsu training was essential during his preparation for the space journey.

"I have trained in jiujitsu for almost seven years now, and the benefits that the sport brought me were clearly visible during our training process," said Sultan, who gave as an example the tests in which astronauts experience the impact of gravitational force during space flight, in rotating machines called centrifuges.

"I had a load which weighed eight times my body weight sitting on my chest, and it was very similar to passages in jiujitsu where the opponent has side control or is in the mount position," he said. "In the centrifuge test, the feeling was very similar to a struggle in a jiujitsu fight, but my training helped me pull through and I completed two runs of the centrifuge test successfully."

As it turns out, when someone says jiujitsu can help you in any situation in the world, they're underselling it. 

Having troubles with side control? Click here and check out this Master Class on being comfortable in uncomfortable positions.

Here is an excerpt from the complete class: