Unexpected Parallels Between Product Development and Jiu Jitsu

Twice a year, DISHER holds team offsites to evaluate progress, make improvements, and build connections. At one event, I mentioned wanting my three kids to try martial arts. My colleagues, Collin and Jeff, recommended Jiu Jitsu, emphasizing how beneficial it is for kids due to its complexity and cognitive benefits. 

My middle child asked if I’d join him, easing his anxiety about starting something new. I thought that “a little movement” in my day could only benefit me, right? So, I searched for local academies and found Kraken Jiu Jitsu, which offered adult classes and was conveniently located between home and work. After connecting online, Professor Tony invited me for my first early-morning session.   

What started as a personal and family endeavor quickly became a three-year journey rich with insights relevant to my professional life. So, I wanted to share some connections I’ve made between Jiu Jitsu and the principles that guide effective product development. 

3 Product Development Principles Reinforced in Jiu Jitsu

1. The PDCA Cycle

In product development, we rely on the PDCA cycle: Plan, Do, Check, Act. It’s the foundation of problem-solving through iterative learning. In Jiu Jitsu, I found the same rhythm in our class structure. 

PLAN – Technique Demonstration
Class starts with a warmup, then the Professor demonstrates a technique or two, outlining key details. This becomes our plan for the session. 

DO – Active Drilling
Next, we pair up and drill the technique. This is where we get the motions into our muscle memory so we can apply them later.

CHECK – Situational Training
Then we move into “King of the Mat” style drills. We apply the technique against resisting opponents. If your execution is better than your partner’s defense, you stay in. Otherwise, it’s back of the line. You quickly learn how important the details are. 

ACT – Live Rolling
We finish with rolling. This is where we apply the techniques in a live setting, adapting based on our opponent’s size, speed, and skill. Every round brings micro-adjustments, sharpening our game. 

The same approach applies in product development. We build quick and dirty PDCA cycles into our larger, tidier Gantt-chart project timelines.  

Everyone inexperienced in product development likes to think that it looks tidy and futuristic like Tony Stark’s garage—like engineers just know the correct answer right away and bestow that knowledge to manufacturing. The reality is that true product development looks a lot more like your grandfather’s attic, with broken parts, failed experiments, partial hobbies, and side efforts that aren’t display-worthy enough to be brought down into the house or the yard (i.e. what is seen).  

We need these failures, half starts, and lessons learned packaged into PDCA cycles that fit within the “neat blocks” of program management timelines. The key is making sure the cycles we choose answer the most important questions, because we can typically only fit a few in. 

So, we ask ourselves:  

• Which questions must be answered before moving on?
• Which ones should be answered?
• Which questions would be nice to have for curiosity’s sake, but not necessary for the project?

Use these questions to help determine your learning cycle priorities in each time block. For a more formal, in-depth process, I recommend watching Katherine Radeka’s presentation on rapid learning cycles.   

2. Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)

At first, I did not like Jiu Jitsu. I was getting smoked every day by opponents who were stronger, faster, and younger than me. I got winded just trying to complete the warmups and quickly realized I wasn’t going to master it overnight.  

But with time and consistency, I could become less vulnerable than I was yesterday. As I improved, teammates started asking ME questions. Three years in, I earned my blue belt and regularly helped others. That responsibility gave me motivation to keep learning. The only rule? Keep showing up. 

In Lean product development, we call this “Kaizen” or continuous improvement. It’s a core principle established by the Toyota Production System, which helped them grow into the world’s largest automaker—not by luck or big breakthroughs, but through small, consistent gains over time. 

In product development, this might look like a checklist that captures lessons learned. Over time, these small improvements stack up and lead to better, more cost-effective products. 

3. Details Matter

One Saturday, a teammate encouraged me to take notes in whatever format worked best. He shared some digital tools he’d used. I started jotting notes in a small notebook, but when I compared entries from months apart, I realized I’d missed or misremembered key details. Cross-facing too soon, cutting angles incorrectly, skipping grip control—all these small mistakes had big impacts on performance. 

So, I switched to digital notes and color-coded changes. I didn’t wait until I had a technique perfected before using it. I tried, failed, updated my notes, and repeated. Over time, my notes became long, detailed records that I could rely on to teach others with confidence. 

In product development, we start with rough ideas. We prototype fast, get market feedback, and refine our understanding. But we also uncover new constraints as we go. We document what we know, fill knowledge gaps, and use PDCA cycles to improve. We rarely have 100% certainty, but for most non-critical decisions, 70-80% confidence is enough to proceed. 

Summary

Many lessons from Jiu Jitsu mirror what I’ve learned in two decades of product development. Whether in the academy or on a project team, growth comes from consistently applying small improvements, paying attention to details, and running tight feedback loops. Mastery doesn’t come overnight—but if we keep showing up and learning, we get better. One round at a time.