Jiu-Jitsu has it’s fair collection of powerful quotes from some of its leaders. These quotes are a source of inspiration for the BJJ community.
One of the most famous quotes in BJJ, comes from its founder Grandmaster Carlos Gracie. You have probably already heard it…
“There is no losing in jiujitsu. You either win or you learn.”
What does it really mean? It means that you should look at every set back in your Jiu-Jitsu, not as a defeat but as a lesson. It’s a way for life to show you what you need to improve in order to move forward.
This kind of mentality can extend to the way you live your life. This quote can then become “There is no losing in life. You either win or you learn.” This would be a way to bounce back from any hardship in life: getting fired, getting dumped by your partner etc…
Popular BJJ instructor Tom DeBlass, understands the mentality of the quote, but for him, someone saying that they “didn’t lose, they learned…” doesn’t make sense.
There is another famous quote coming from Tennis world champion Martina Navratilova which is just as powerful but has a different mindste:
Whoever said, ‘It’s not whether you win or lose that counts,’ probably lost.
DeBlass is a winner and a perfectionist, so for him, after a tough loss, you need to look into the mirror and say ” I Lost’ and then work towards reaching your true potential.
DeBlass stated:
Attention Jiu-Jitsu folks.
For the love of God, can you stop saying…“There is no such thing as losing in Jiu-Jitsu, you either win or you learn.”
What kind of warped world are you living in if you truly believe this? How about in other aspects of life, is there such thing as losing? Everyone that has competed long enough in Jiu-Jitsu will taste defeat, and it SUCKS.
If you are a competitor and don’t have the guts to look at yourself in the mirror after a loss and say “I lost”, you will never reach your full potential.
You should be learning everytime you step on the mats. Whether it be training, competing, winning or losing. However, there are damn sure winners and damn sure losers every single competition, this is called LIFE.
Deblass recently lost a grappling superfight to ADCC champion Joao Assis by split decision, and his attitude following the match was positive and exemplary and made no excuses:
If you are checking my Instagram or Facebook to see if I’m making excuses, not a chance. Just had a WAR with Joao Assis, one of the best to ever walk the face of the earth. I prepared the best I can, I felt amazing. Joao played the rules right, had more offensive attacks, and earned the hard fought decision. Have a safe flight home monster, thank you for amazing memories. What an awesome time at Fight To Win Promotions thank you Seth Daniels and the rest of the staff for the opportunity.
Sometimes no matter how much we want something, and how great we prepare for it, we simply don’t obtain our desired short term goal. If you are fortunate enough to play among the best in the world in your chosen goal, truly anything can happen. What a great match we had. I did some things really well like framing and defending the guard pass, and I have some things to work on. I get lazy and allow people to attack my legs because I’m so confident in my defense!! One thing we must understand is that if we don’t love being in the fight, we shouldn’t even show up. For me the preparation is the suffering, the fight is the fun. I been at this a long time, won my first trials in 2009!! I don’t know how much longer I will be standing on the front line, but for as long as I am you know damn well I’m going to love it. I heard everyone loved our match last night and that makes me smile!!!
5x World BJJ champion Bernardo Faria has developed the No Gi Half Guard. His submissions and sweeps works just as easily for No Gi, if not easier.
1.In No Gi there are not as many grips you can play. For example, you can’t play spider guard and the whole array of guards that stem from it. His guard works perfectly.
2.There are not a lot of grips your opponent can use to stop your sweep while playing No Gi. They can’t grab your collar, sleeve or pants obviously. Again, his guard works perfectly.
