Last time we talked about what advice our instructors would tell the white belt version of themselves. Here’s part two of our hard earned advice. If you’re just dropping in on us now, click here for PART I.
“Other than the 3 technical tips to accelerate your training I also through of three philosophical or attitude based tips to help your learning. Surely these are just as important, or more important than the technical tips. So without further ado, here are my 3 non-technical tips to help improve your Jiu Jitsu quickly.
- It’s not all about winning. Sure I’m competitive, I don’t really like losing, but in this sport everybody loses. Yes you don’t have to like it but you can’t be averse to it otherwise you longevity in the sport will be compromised severely. Everybody in this sport loses and unless you’re Rickson Gracie you don’t have a perfect record. The saying goes ‘You don’t’ lose in Jiu Jitsu- you win or you learn.’
- Sometimes you got to give a little to get a little. Without risk there is no reward. Whether it’s learning to get your balance or trying to get the new submission that you just learnt, resistance isn’t always the best way to understand what’s happening. Sometimes you need to fail, over and over and over and over and over again. Finally once your body is finished with that you’ll have a more innate understanding which may even be subconscious.
- It’s not a race… It’s a war of attrition. Jiu Jitsu is one of those martial arts where time moves very slowly. To test or measure yourself against your teammates, is sometimes counter-productive. Sometimes you accelerate fast, sometimes it’s them. And in any event when they get better they make you better so it’s in your best interests to make your teammates as good as possible. Other times it feels like you aren’t moving at all. At times like these it’s easy to get discouraged and stop training. But remember that it feels like that because everyone is progressing at the same rate, and it’s not till someone new turns up that you find out how far you’ve come.”
-Owen Gee Kee
“My advice to myself would be as simple as this –Don’t give up because Jiu Jitsu will change your life.
Everyone I’m sure has heard this before but anyone who has trained long enough will KNOW what I mean. I always liked the phrase, “A Black Belt is a White Belt that never gave up”. I like that… Jiu Jitsu will teach you things about yourself you never knew. I’ll guarantee that!!”
-Jack Kingsley
“I would tell myself to master the mount. I didn’t really attempt to get good at mount till brown belt!”
-George Atton
“1. Stick with it for at least a month, one bad first class experience can stop you experiencing years of BJJ awesomeness.
2. Sign up with a friend, go to training together, learn together and you are less likely to miss out on sessions as you always have a friend there.
3. If you’re in a big class and you aren’t sure of something you can ask for help if you need it. If not by an instructor then by senior students. They will usually be more than happy to assist.
4. Leave the ego behind as you will get choked by someone a lot smaller than you!”
-Heath McManus
There you have it our Gracie Jiu Jitsu friends! Advice from Gracie Sydney’s best about where they all began as white belts and what they would have liked to know as truth in their practice for the road ahead. We hope you too have gotten something out of these thoughts.
Till next time, happy rolling!