I'm sure that I speak for everyone in the #BJJ community, as I cannot think of one single person who hasn't felt frustrated with their progress before. I'm one of those people, and I have a track record of being very hard on myself. I'm writing this post because I'm sure that many of you can relate to this particular feeling.
There are days and days...
Some sessions are great, you move like Spiderman, and somehow it's just a good class with a great sparring session in the end. You are passing and submitting people, feel that you are advancing, and you leave the academy feeling like a million bucks.
Other days are horrible. Your hips are tight, somehow your body is not doing what your brain tells it to do, your back bothers you more than usual (especially in my case) and you just keep getting tossed around by people who are normally your level, or below.
Those are the times that you think about quitting BJJ, that you don't have any talent for it, and that you just plain suck. I have days like that, and yesterday was one of them.
It was my first training session after my 10 day trip to Colombia, and I had been off the mats for about 2 weeks. For some reason, 2 weeks feels like 2 years, and it's like all your knowledge goes down the drain. Add to that the fact that my dog had chewed on my mouth-guard (and I realized when I put it on), and that I got kicked in the nose right in the beginning of sparring. I swear, I almost put on a white belt yesterday, and had to choke back some tears of frustration.
What you can do about this:
- Remember the good days. It's very important to remember them, because it reminds you that at some point in the past you were proud of yourself and your achievement. Tell yourself that today is just a bad day and tomorrow will be a new one.
- Remember that EVERYONE has those days and feels like that sometimes, even Royce Gracie. You are not alone, you are not different than the rest, and you don't suck. Only people who give up suck =)
- Thanks to you having a bad day, your sparring partner feels like a million bucks. Now that sounds funny, but when you train with the same people all the time, you start to know each-other's game. You know their attacks, their favorite guard passes, and there is not much room for surprise. When your partner has a bad day, maybe you pass his un-passable guard, and so thanks to his shortcomings you win this time, and vice versa.
- Don't compare yourself to others! We all have different body types, and we all learn differently. Some take longer to remember a technique, others do so right away. Others need to drill endlessly, and others again just have good muscle memory. Comparing yourself doesn't do you any good. If anything compare yourself to where you were 3 months ago.
- Have fun or go home! BJJ should be fun, and if one day you're not feeling 100% and are just going to train because you feel that you have to, you will not enjoy yourself. If you don't enjoy yourself (maybe you're injured, over-trained, stressed or just tired), your mood will show on the mats. Maybe just go watch a movie with your BF or GF instead, and train the following day.
- It's not a race, it's a marathon. I'm telling myself that a lot. Your worst critic is always you, but remember you're only human. So what if today was a total waste of time, nobody gave you a deadline to get your black belt.
- You don't lose, you learn. Even on a crappy day, you still learn something, even if you don't realize it.
Oh the joys of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a blue belt. :) I feel similar from time to time. My back will act up (be painful as fuck) fairly frequently which will have me miss class for a week or 2 at a time but what helps me to stay "active" is to watch videos. I know that can sound like a cop out but I'm a member of a group called Hidden Jiu Jitsu which was created by Rickson's 3rd ever black belt in the states, Henry Akins, and by watching at least 15 minutes of his stuff daily when I'm not able to train and even when I am it helps to keep me motivated and engaged even while off the mats.
Mental jiu jitsu!
will definitely check it out =) Thank you!
Ohw yeah remember your good days :) what a toughtful strengthing post :)
thank you, @thatindianlady =)
Getting off my a$$ to go train :)
good ahhahah me too!!!
I'll recommend this post to anyone and everyone having some frustration in their lives right now, read this post and I'm sure you will learn from it because I just did.
Thank you @evecab for helping us learn from you. ✌
Thank you @jajdgenius for the nice comment =)
Thank you a lot more for the post and letting us into your world... 😀 😁 😂
I think these points transcend and apply to every area of life. I'm not BJJ, I'm really not athletic at all, but I know how it feels to hold myself to a high standard and fall short some days. I'm resteeming, not only because I think many people will find your 'what to do about it' list valuable, but so I can easily find it and review it myself when I'm having one of those days. Thanks for the great post.
Thanks for your comment, @powellx5! It's true that it applies to all areas of life =). I remind myself all the time too!
Hi Eve, I feel like you. I do a lot of sports, so that I can´t take part in every BJJ lesson and so I miss sometimes a week. Then I feel like a stranger in my BJJ-Moves. If I have a week with 3-4 BJJ lessons I get the flow. I think it´s a matter of training. The more you do, the better you feel. .. and if you once come to Salzburg - join us.
Thank you @fotografsalzburg =) I will definitely visit you guys if I'm in that part of the word!!! It's good to have BJJ family everywhere. Same for you! Come to Bocas del Toro, Panama anytime!!!
Un superbe article comme d'habitude et qui est très passionnant, mais je trouve cela dommage que tu n'as pas assez de popularité tu mérites 100 fois mieux mon ami, j'attends avec impatiente ton prochain article porte toi bien ;)
merci @katouna c'est gentil =) un jour j'espère...=)
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STOPMy husband @freedompoint and I began to learn BJJ for a few months and loved it! Unfortunately, life became too full and complicated and we needed to stop...but I'd love to get back to it! Thanks for making a post!
Thank you, @freedomtowrite =) Don't give up =) Even if you just train once per week, it's better than not training at all
Thank you! We're about 5 years out since we last trained...but every once in awhile I'll get fiesty and put him in guard...maybe with a cross collar choke 😂
Oh dear lord, It's like you are describing exactly what happens to me sometimes, We were preparing for a big competition and somehow the coach decided put our strength and resistance to test by making the round lasts 15 minutes, and for my bad luck i was against one of the most brutal Purple belt anyone can face, merciless... he was like 25Kg above me in weight and about 185cm tall and i'm like 171cm!!
The HORROR !!😱
after about 10 minutes of just utter agony i finally hit the wall and could not resist or use my power anymore, I Literally felt like my soul was leaving my body...
But that's the beauty of BJJ, it makes you dig deep and reach your last drop of your strength, which later on, makes you physically and mentally a superior human being.
OSS 🌟 ✌
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@cyrexxlm/introduceyourself
hey there @cyrexxlm =) It's nice to meet another fellow BJJer! Wow, 15minutes is hardcore lol. But yes it is good indeed and definitely helps with every day challenges we face at work or elsewhere.
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