Nowadays I have a single thought that keeps me motivated to continue my Jiu-Jitsu training. It may sound a bit corny, but here’s my story.
My first days of Jiu-Jitsu practice consisted of trying to learn a confusing array of new movements. And although I couldn’t see past the tip of my nose, there was something about what I was learning that compelled me to keep coming back. Of course I began to progress and eventually realized I was actually learning something. As it is with most Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, the dreaded plateaus began to sink in.
My first instructor was a tall, lanky MMA fighter with cauliflowered ears and a crazy collection of tattoos. He was a good teacher and a great ground technician. Even as I saw myself getting better, I could see him and those ahead of me getting even better. For a brief period, it was somewhat disheartening to see their skill level rising at a faster rate than mine. Whether that was actually true or not, I’ll never really know. Unfortunately perception usually overshadows reality.
This all changed one day when I had an epiphany. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if I was improving and they were still improving, it was only logical that I would continue to improve as well. In fact, I decided at that moment that even though my instructor seemed to me to be an untouchable force, if I continued to train, I would someday be just as good.
So now here it is many years later and I’ve certainly improved. If my first teacher were to come back, and those who came before him, they would surely triumph over me, but to me this is an exciting prospect. Just knowing that someday I will be as good as they are now is all the motivation I need to continue training.
For some of my students it seems to me they become disheartened when they lose a match with me. I would say to them, don’t gauge your success, or failure, or progress based on a single match with a more experienced practitioner. But rather broaden your perspective and see the possibilities of what you can achieve.
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8 comments:
i love that picture of phil. it seems that conan is laughing, as if to say, "you are now in the same prostrate position mirko cro cop was in when knocked out by gabriel gonzaga."
i'm not sure if you're asking what motivates the rest of us to train, but i have the time and want to give a brief answer.
my motivation is simple: i want to develop the skills to be a technical practitioner of the jits game. the art is my hobby. i crave the opportunity to train.
i love drilling technique. i love the technicalities that make jiu jitsu work because of the small details.
what is most rewarding in training is when you feel like you're never going to get a grip on something and one day it begins to click. you find it easy to drill or can even employ it in open mat.
there certainly are epiphany/growth spurt moments that allow you to sometimes spring out of plateaus. that's another reason i live for training.
a third is to have a set of skills to teach my kids how to defend themselves. my dream is to have my kids compete in sport jiu jitsu as they grow up, but they'll probably want to play soccer or baseball . . . :(
To tell you the truth, I don't have a main motivation but rather many little things that keep me going. My motivation changes from day to day, and it is constantly evolving. From a younger age I was hard wired for contact and physical sports. Maybe I'm a little twisted but to do this stuff for fun, we all are hard wired a little different than the typical. It's fascinating for me to learn tiny details that each week help build your skill level. I wish I would have found this sport earlier is life but all I can control are the days in front of me. I have high goals for myself and I am my hardest critic. Maybe in a pinch, it comes down to a need to compete and a fear of failure, that keeps me going.
Andy
What about the prospect of training without ever being better than anyone else, just to improve yourself? I had to come to that conclusion in Karate, I will probably never be able to beat most of my Sensei's, and I may never really be GOOD at it, but the quest for perfection of the art is motivation enough for me. In the process I become stronger, mentally and physically, and hopefully gain some ability to defend myself. The only person I care to beat is my past self, and that's the only person I gauge my success against. If not, I would have quit Martial Arts a long time ago.
Great comments! The plight to better oneself, motivated by the competitive inner drive to succeed over another versus the inner drive to improve oneself for the sake of personal accomplishment. Indeed this is a dichotomy of sorts that many are faced with. I would think the psychological aspect of this discussion would have Brent's interest.
I like how Andy consistantly brings to the table, the competitive aspect of training. In addition, I can relate to how he talks about "...all I can control are the days in front of me."
Gina succinctly summarizes an excellent view point. I like how she says, "The only person I care to beat is my past self, and that's the only person I gauge my success against."
For me, I would like to be able to say I have risen to that level where my sole fucus is on the intrinsic value of training. The reality is that I must admit the competitive drive is still present.
Working towards a higher understanding, as Gina points out, helps keep it all in perspective.
I agree with Andy, I have always been a competitive person and have been drawn to contact sports all my life. The quest to be better, whatever that means is my main motivation. My list goes something like this:
1 Chance to compete in a 1 on 1 situation.
2 Work on improving my skills
3 Get a good work out
4 Learn self defence
5 Be around people I like
When ever I can find 5 Pros to something, I usually stick with it.
I guess my motivation isn't something I think about until I'm in a bad situation. I remember how it was before I learned the triangle escape (not that long ago) and how much it sucked to get tapped out that way. Once I learned it, I do everything I can to get out of a triangle choke. Every time I learn a submission or an escape, I think of it as a way to avoid bad situations on the mat. I guess, aside from a general interest in martial arts and jiu jitsu in particular, my main motivation is to learn how to escape bad situations.
Gina,
Thank you specifically for the response and I respect where you are with your training and how you approach it. I wish I was at that point where my training was more intrinsic, but I still use others to gauge my success. Sometimes the gains are so minuscule in our sports, I 'm not patient enough to not look outside myself to see improvement. I think we all train to improve ourselves in some way or other, but it's interesting to hear how others view their personal reasons. I just talked with Sensei last night, after we rolled awhile, for feedback on how I did and if I had glaring holes in my game. I am either to new to this sport or not wise enough to see my improvements. To a fault Gina, I am still too hard wired on the competitive aspect of this sport. I always check my ego at the door and understand my place in the Dojo however. I also take a vested interest in others, as I will never improve if my fellow class doesn't. As Conan alluded to, the Dojo is truly a fascinating Dichotomy of dedicated individuals.
Andy
Not to say that I have no ego, I enjoy competing, and winning (especially against my husband!), but it is not the reason that I train. Most competition is somewhat arbitrary, one day I may win, the next lose, so I try not to put too much stock in it. As long as I am improving, there is reason to continue.
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