Nobody likes to be submitted in training or in competition, but there is a famous saying “There is no losing in Jiu-Jitsu, you either win or you learn”.
BJJ black belt Josh Vogel, gives some good advice on how to positively react the fact of losing in Jiu-Jitsu:
I’m no sports psychologist, but here are some things that help me deal with some of the ego bruising which I’ve felt in losing competition matches and getting tapped in training.
I know it’s not supposed to matter what happens in training, but if I’m being truthful it bothered the hell out of me getting caught by people when I was a white, blue and purple belt. I still don’t like it but the stuff in the video has helped me take the sting out of it and use my ego to improve, rather than being a destructive or unhealthy thing.
For Vogel, he deals with defeat in the following 2 ways:
- Have a clinical approach to Jiu-Jitsu. If someone tapped you, they did you a favour because they exposed a flaw in your technique and it’s something you can work on to fix.
- Channel that into something productive. Use that energy to study footage, to go to the gym the next day, drill harder, and do the things you need to do to solve that problem.
Here are some motivating quotes from the Miyao brothers:
– Nothing is impossible. Life is hard for the lazy.
– The law is to train , train, train – until the lamb becomes a lion .
– Never let anyone tell you cannot do something . If you have a dream, go after it. There are people who cannot win and say that you also will not win. If you want something, go after it.
– The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants in life is merely the will to try and the faith to believe that it is possible.
– So you lost ? Shut up and train more.
