What was your prime reason for starting Jiu Jitsu?
Was there a reason you enrolled into the Tōukon Academy™?
Physical fitness, social engagement, self-defence, to build confidence or is it because you have trained some other martial art?
Regardless of the motivation, I guarantee, one preferred outcome is to attain a level of proficiency.
One thing you must be able to do in order to accomplish this is endure.
One value I would argue is lacking in modern society is the ability to endure, life has become too comfortable. Some individuals have no mechanism to understand, relate to and counter attrition.
Attrition or the general reduction in a person’s strength and effectiveness can exist in several forms, but mainly in two forms: physical and emotional. Remember the last time your felt exhausted from a day’s work, from caring for your kids all day? That’s attrition.
Jiu Jitsu is a wonderful platform for many things, it enhances self-confidence, improves attention, and instils discipline but to do its ‘magic’ you must, at some point, be prepared to want to quit.
Jiu Jitsu as a Vehicle.
Jiu Jitsu is a long-term solution, it’s the journey that never ends. One that carries perils and pitfalls along the way and anyone embarking on this journey; a constantly changing progressive endeavour, will experience a multitude of emotions. At times, events will elate the spirit whilst others will leave you totally exhausted and dejected.
As with any personal endeavour your skill and ability evolve over time, this ability is a direct consequence of the choices, decisions, opportunities and training methods you embark upon.
But you must stick with it – got it?
Remember that when you are dejected after being submitted for the seventh time in a row or you have no comprehension of the technique everyone else can assimilate with ease.
Skill acquisition in any form isn’t something that comes easily, the more open a skill, the harder it becomes to learn, to refine. Jiu Jitsu is a theatre made up almost entirely of ‘open skills’, where consistent success or failure can be tracked instantly. Being able to rationalise this, understanding the importance of enduring and realising your early signs of attrition will serve you long-term, the longer you can persevere [with anything] the better your increased ability.
“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
– Winston Churchill
Cultivating Endurance.
Perseverance is the name of the game.
Developing ability over time requires repetition, however, the average novice does not want to drill for 10,000 hours – purported as the benchmark for mastery of any skill – that’s not fun. However, understand there is no secret; hard work, grit and determination conquer all.
Being able to convey this to you consciousness is key.
At some point, every person who has ever tried Jiu Jitsu will want to quit, they will ask themselves “is this really worth it?”
I could recount many times where I have literally questioned my absolute worth. Driving for hours just to get home on many a cold, miserable winters evening after a class where I have had my soul stolen and my ‘best’ Jiu Jitsu crushed.
The way in which you respond to these challenges or articulate a response to yourself is powerful. It’s all about rationalisation, only positive reinforcement will counter any form of attrition.
Constant comparison is not healthy.
In the main, how do we mark failure in Jiu Jitsu?
Getting tapped, right?
With that, it is very easy to readily associate tapping or being submitted in Jiu Jitsu as ‘losing’, however irrational that may seem reading it, if left to manifest class after class it will compound the rate of attrition you experience,
There is a adage associated with Jiu Jitsu, however, that is intended to counter this belief : “you either win or learn”.
There is no losing in Jiu Jitsu.
This is great place to start that rationalisation process but, you must indeed LEARN. Never recite that mantra to the point where it becomes an excuse.
Remember, we are countering attrition not making excuses…
Begin to cultivate a language within you that exemplifies endurance and success long-term – your role in your own encouragement is more important than someone elses manufactured excuse.
Internalise constructively by realising victory came because of patience, persistence, and perseverance. Guide your own personal assessment, there’s ownership in this, a sense of attainment and meaning to your practice.
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
– Benjamin Franklin
This is as simple as analysis in the car on the way home from each session:
- “Where did I feel the pattern of play switch in MY favour?”
- “What were the small wins that led to MY victory?”
- “Was there a particular area of the game where I felt strong?”
- “What should I work on to improve?”
- “Could I repeat that same process again?”
- “How did I feel when I won?”
The above are examples I’ve used myself that breed an element of personal assessment, reflection and analysis after regular class, private sessions I have taken with world-class coaches and after competitions, notice that the ‘height’ of any win is not the focus but the analytical nature of each construct where I attempt to seek methods to repeat the success.
Write all of the above down.
Habitualise an analytical framework to your successes; what get’s measure, gets improved upon.
Dealing with Loss.
Much in the same way ownership is passed across in success, the same is done for a loss. However, positive reinforcement is the key if you are to counter attrition and grow ability.
- “How did I feel during the match?”
- “Was there a part of the match where I felt I had made a mistake or out of my depth?”
- “What switched the balance of play?”
- “How did I feel before the match?”
- “How have I felt all day/all week?”
- “Are MY errors something I can change short-term?”
- “Do I have to factor this into any long-term plans I have?”
- “Where do I think I need to improve MY game most?”
Write all of the above down.
Habitualise an analytical framework to your successes; what get’s measure, gets improved upon and be sincere about it. Mark the emotions associated with each loss. As a rule, spend more time analysing losses and struggles, these are where the real improvements lie.
Compartmentalise.
“What switched the balance of play?” Was my inability to retain or recover guard the catalyst? Is it my constant inability to hold mount that compounds the results and the reason I’m forced to play guard? A guard that then gets passed…
Compare yourself not to you opponent (or the outcome) but to the above, this is YOU we are improving, YOU are the project no your opponent.
Where were you last week, last month and last year – there will be undoubted improvement – remind yourself of it, it should be in your notes that you’ve already rationalised and reflected upon.
Determination is what counters attrition, commitment and perseverance are among the most important values we can tap into they help maintain integrity. If you can adopt this mindset, the commitment will pay off and once it does you will feel it. Your Jiu Jitsu will feel it.
Accretion not Attrition.
Society has a habit of creating serial quitters, individuals abandon tasks far too easy and move to the next expecting greater payoffs. The analogy of shoppers jumping from one queue to another as they demand less and less waiting time is a great example, only to find the checkout chosen is actually about to close. Even certain aspects of school life breed a culture where being the ‘best’, ‘winning’ or even celebrating achievement is subdued.
Mediocracy or simply taking part is far more attainable and thus applauded and as much as “you either win or learn” is a great influencer, it can easily become an excuse for falling short and being ill prepared.
Teach yourself about the remarkable accomplishment on the other side of persistence. Once this perseverance has been met every other facet of development will also become easier to tolerate – understand the payoffs in not giving up!
“Never quit something with long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.”
– Seth Godin.
To many, quitting something is massively attractive. However, this attractiveness only exists in the short-term and thus the benefits are too. An insistence on resolve carries long-term solutions and it is these gains that you must pursue.
Wanting to quit is natural, everyone goes through it because Jiu Jitsu is hard.
Seek it. Suffer it. Sustain it.
At first, the techniques are fun, easy to pick up, surprisingly easy to apply – there is rapid learning and the rewards are easily measured however, by its very nature, Jiu Jitsu provides sticking points, problems and hurdles to overcome; it could be the new technique, the elite rugby player that’s joined, that exhaustive day you’ve had in the office or behind the wheel.
Understand Jiu Jitsu is not dead-end practice and therefore, to quit is to fail.
‘Lean into’ the difficulty, the challenge is the reason you started Jiu Jitsu and facilitating any abandonment will just breed more mediocracy.