Submission Shark Community | Instagram: @chokes_and_more

Full Name: Miko Hytonen

Age: 39

Belt Colour: Purple

Professor: Santeri Lilius and Aron Adamko

Short Term Goals: Train every day and keep myself healthy.

Submission Shark:

It's amazing to see how much of an impact Jiu-Jitsu has made for Miko Hytonen. He's such a positive person now it's hard to believe that he was once a bad person. The energy he has and positive vibes he brings to his BJJ community is something to be adored and his ability to teach potentially life-saving skills is an impressive talent developed over many years of hard work and dedication to the art. Anyone can change for the better thanks to this art and Miko is a great example of this.

In this article, we discuss how beneficial this martial art is for mental health, becoming the best version of yourself, how to use your passions to teach others and more! Make sure to check out his instructional videos throughout this article and follow his Instagram page @chokes_and_more for some of the best BJJ content. His energy is contagious and will leave you with a smile!

How long have you been doing jiu-jitsu for?

I have been doing jiu-jitsu for about 7 years.

Where do you train out of?

I train at Lilius & Barnatt martial arts in Torremolinos Southern Spain

Do you prefer gi or no-gi?

I love both equally much. I started my martial arts journey when I was 4 years old by wrestling so no-gi was much easier for me to adapt in early in my career. Nowadays I focus more on GI training. At the moment I am playing a lot with lapel stuff and I love it. And my training partners hate it! hahaha

Have your instructors helped you in other aspects of life other than jiu-jitsu?

Yes of course. Overall this sport is more than just getting in the gym and train. This is a lifestyle and long term commitment. Eat healthily, be a good man and help others.

I am so thankful that I have the privilege to train with this level BossMan every day. Sweating daily with absolute badass, my Professor @santerililius

What are some lessons you learned from jiu-jitsu that applies to everyday life?

If you want to achieve something you must be able to commit working hard for your goals. Respect others. The more you push yourself the better you eventually feel.

How often do you train?

I train jiu-jitsu about 6-10 times/ week. I usually train 5-6 times in our gym and then I teach 2-4 private sessions/week. And on top of that, I run maybe 2 times a week and bicycle about 100km per week.

What made you want to start training?

I wanted to make sure to be able to defend myself against in any situation- and when you do jiu-jitsu you never need to guess, you know! Watching Rickson Gracie's document "Choke", that blew my mind- and I was sold in the instant.

Do you plan on training your whole life?

Yes. I love jiu-jitsu and my whole lifestyle. This made me the man I am today and I couldn't see any other options than to keep on training.

What’s it about jiu-jitsu that makes it so addicting?

I think there are multiple reasons for that.

Firstly: The community is amazing. When you have the courage to come to train

people in the gym welcome you with open arms.

Secondly: This art challenges your body and mind far beyond expectations- which makes it truly addictive.

Third: You feel the difference what it does to your body and mind. You will get mentally strong and gain natural confidence.

What has jiu-jitsu done for your physical health?

I am now in the best shape of my life because of jiu-jitsu. And I feel stronger every day!

Of course, to be honest, you can`t avoid injuries in this sport- but it is part of the game. Best way to avoid injuries is to maintain your physique by stretching and getting massage regularly if you train a lot. Usually, I try to stretch at least 3 times a week and massage about twice a month or sometimes even once a week.

Has jiu-jitsu benefited your mental health?

Absolutely. Back in the day, I was a depressed and lazy human being. Now I am strong mentally and can stay really calm in extremely stressful situations because of this beautiful art.

(Click The Image Above For The Complete Article) "It has made me more confident mentally, physically I feel like I am 25 being mobile and agile also in the best shape of my life, Spiritually never quit attitude" - Louie Moreno

If you could restart your jiu-jitsu journey, would you do anything differently?

I don't think so, Because in jiu-jitsu there are no shortcuts. If you want to become good you need to train a lot and put your heart into it.

What’s your advice for someone that’s never tried jiu-jitsu before but is interested in trying it?

Come to see one training and you will see what the atmosphere is like and that we all are just normal people, and we are there to help each other to get better. We train to dominate aggressive attacker by controlling them against their will and keeping yourself calm in the dangerous and stressful situations.

The sport gives you the tools to defend yourself and your loved ones, and often without throwing a single punch. Your size doesn`t matter much. A girl of 55kg who knows her jiu-jitsu is able to defend herself against an untrained 80kg man by her technique and ground fighting.

Submission Shark:

Learning how to defend yourself is an important lesson for anyone. You never know when you will need to use those tools to potentially save your life or the life of a loved one. Having the confidence and peace of mind of knowing you can be safe on your own is a tremendous perk to have. Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts have empowered millions of people to live a life without fear. Here's a story of someone that preserved through a terrible experience and proved that past victims can find their form of happiness once again.

Click the image above to learn more about Sundi Bear's BJJ Story!

Do you have any aspirations in jiu-jitsu?

I want to make my living by jiu-jitsu somehow from the near future on.

I love teaching and helping others in their BJJ journey.

My dream is to train, teach and change lives for better with this art.

I once had this dream where we lived in a big ranch and I had training facilities in there with a program for kids+teens with challenges in their life. Call me a dreamer but I really want to change the world to a better place through jiu-jitsu.

What’s your favourite move?

That is changing regularly, but at this point, I am totally hooked with lapel attack in any form.

At the moment my favourite is baseball choke from bottom half-guard using opponents lapel.

This stuff puts people to sleep! hahaha

If you didn’t discover jiu-jitsu, where do you think you’d be now?

With my hand on my heart, I can say that I probably would be dead or in jail without jiu-jitsu.

I was "lost at sea" before I found this amazing art.

Would you like to see the sport become more mainstream?

Yes, I would, but not by the cost of its' efficiency. We should always remember the roots and value of its' heritage.

Vale Tudo and self-defence was the beginning of BJJ back in the day. Jiu-jitsu is growing constantly and that is a really great thing! If I could choose this would be mandatory for all the kids in schools.

Have any of your training partners pushed you to reach your full potential?

Every one of them in their own way. My training partners during the years have been one of the most important supports by pushing me further not only for myself- but for also for their benefit. When I grow together with the sport, so will they. This is why I have such a great passion for teaching, it's kind of the give and get rule that applies here! I love to drill and train with partners who give feedback to me also (how technique feels etc.)

When you were first starting, what was the most difficult concept of jiu-jitsu that you had trouble getting?

Not to go full force all the time. Just learning to relax while been trying to choke somebody or being choked. You feel much heavier when you learn to relax while rolling.

If you could roll with any practitioner, dead or alive, who would it be?

Probably Marcelo Garcia or Chuck Norris! hahaha, actually Chuck is a 3rd Degree black belt in jiu-jitsu also!

What makes you want to inspire and motivate others?

I want to see what this sport of jiu-jitsu does to people when they just don`t quit. I want to encourage people to become the best version of themselves.