There’s one destructive delusion that runs rampant among most BJJ practitioners. What is it?

Here’s a hint. Check out the following dialogue. It’s a common conversation that you could hear on almost any typical BJJ mat:

“Say, what do you weigh?”

“How long have you been training?”

“Did you wrestle in college or high school?”

“Have you ever trained Judo or Sambo?”

“How old are you?”

Why would a jiu jitsu student ask another student these questions? Because they unconsciously plug all these variables into their own little “Jiu Jitsu Theory of Relativity” so they can come out with the right answer.

What’s the right answer?

That they are at least as good or better than this new training partner, all else being equal.

JIU JITSU THEORY OF RELATIVITY

This jiu jitsu mathematics is a complete distraction, waste of time, and source of insecurity and anxiety for many jiu jitsu students.

One of the destructive misunderstandings that many BJJ students have is that they should be better than any other student who has not been training as long as they have (all else being equal).

This is an irrational notion.

There’s really no other activity where we would have this same assumption. Driving, swimming, mathematics, chess, baseball, basketball or any other activity. Just because you STARTED learning the activity before someone else, it does NOT guarantee that you will always be better than someone who started after you.

But many BJJ students carry this misguided idea as a key truth.

And when reality shows them that it’s not true, many can start beating themselves up about it. Maybe I should train more. Maybe I’m not training hard enough. Maybe I need to learn the latest, greatest, fanciest moves.

Even the talented and thoughtful Jiu Jitsu competitor, Keenan Cornelius, has entertained this same train of thought. He expounds on the topic in his video that you can see here:

I have much respect for Keenan Cornelius. He is a very accomplished and talented BJJ competitor. And he seems like a very considerate and bright person.

But my advice to you is to just drop this entire line of thinking. It simply DOES NOT SERVE YOU.

Go to class and to the mat in order to learn and improve. Go to class to be a good teammate. Stop measuring yourself against others (whether you use the filter of The Theory of Jiu Jitsu Relativity or not).

We all learn and develop at different rates depending on many factors (some that are completely out of your control). Just keep developing YOUR Jiu Jitsu.

One of the beautiful things about Jiu Jitsu is that there is NO FINISH LINE.

That’s right, you’re not done when you earn your black belt. That’s actually where a lot of profound learning STARTS.

You’re not done either if you happen to be one of the few who become a Black Belt World Champion. Even then, you can still learn. Still improve. Still make finer distinctions in your understanding of Jiu Jitsu.

Jiu Jitsu is an endless road. It doesn’t matter if someone else is in front of you or behind you. It doesn’t matter if someone passes you on the road or you pass someone else.

The road never ends, so enjoy the journey while you can.

Coach John Connors
www.FightersConfidence.com