Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated BJJ gym in Singapore.
Do you feel like you’re in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ‘slump’?
More precisely, do you feel as though you aren’t improving as much as you should be?
It happens to all of us. Maybe you were recently promoted to blue belt and are experiencing a struggle with progression. Or, you might be wearing a white belt that has been with you for a very long time now.
No matter the case, the first step of overcoming a BJJ ‘slump’ is to become aware of it. To understand and resolve this issue, you must first become aware of what the problem is.
It is important to recognize that ‘slumps’ are common. In fact, progression is never just an entirely upwards trending line. Instead, it more closely resembles the long-term rise that is similar to a stock portfolio. It may look as though that black belt (or your favorite stock) has risen without problems over the years, but upon closer inspection, you might notice that there are many bumps along the way.
Today, Evolve Daily brings you Four Ways To Get Out Of A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Slump.
1) Talk to your instructor
If you are experiencing a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu slump, your first call to action should be to talk with your instructor.
The benefit of BJJ, especially when compared to other sports or hobbies such as weight-lifting, is that we are learning from an instructor who has an immense passion and love for the sport.
If you are learning from a black belt in BJJ, these people are more than willing to assist you. Whether it be in the form of sharing their advice, experiences, recommendations, or simply working with you a little bit extra to get that over that ‘hurdle’, you will soon wonder why you never mentioned it to them sooner.
It is important to remember that your instructor has experienced the exact same feeling as you many times before. The path to becoming a black belt, and eventually an instructor, is a long and difficult one.
Talking to your instructor is beneficial for many reasons. Most importantly, however, you have now taken action to overcome your ‘slump’. If there is no action, there is often no change. By taking action, you are already making that important first step to get back on track.
2) Change your training
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu doesn’t require you to follow a fixed schedule or approach to your training.
In fact, despite being in the same class with many other people at the same time, you can be sure that the people around you all have mixed objectives. For some, they are looking for an enjoyable hobby. Other people may be focusing on improving their BJJ before a competition in the future.
If you are confused as to why you are in a BJJ ‘slump’ because your approach to training has not changed in months, that might just be the reason why you are in the ‘slump’ after all.
Just because you have enjoyed success training at a particular time or focusing on a particular set of techniques in the past doesn’t mean that this will continue for the years to come.
Life is rarely consistent. You might experience sudden changes in your career, relationship or acquire different friendships which change the entire landscape of your life.
It could be time to mix it up. Try training in the morning instead of at night. Instead of focusing on every submission in the world, you might have success by exclusively focusing on working your way to the back of an opponent when rolling, or practicing a particular submission.
Change things up. If you don’t, you might just continue down this same path.
3) Enter a competition
A competition is the best place to test your skills.
Of course, competing isn’t for everyone. But, signing up for a tournament or joining a competition is a great way to improve your passion and motivation for training again.
Some BJJ ‘slumps’ can be attributed to feeling like there is no purpose to training. With a competition or a clear objective in front of you, you may again start to feel like all of your hard work and small improvements will be significant.
By having a clear goal or finish line outlined in your mind, you can ensure that you are actively working towards this every time you attend training. This will also encourage you to learn new things and further develop your existing skills, as well.
4) Just have fun
The friendships made through martial arts are priceless.
Sometimes we take BJJ too seriously.
Because it is a hobby just as much as it is a sport, we should always enter BJJ class with a positive attitude and excitement to learn and progress our skills. It can easy to fall into the trap of becoming so serious that it takes away some of the enjoyment that can be found in BJJ.
Partner up with one of your great friends and enjoy training together. When it comes to rolling, have some fun and try some crazy things to see if they work. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter. You can experiment with a smile on your face rather than frowning because you haven’t locked in that triangle choke you have been attempting repeatedly.
Strangely enough, you will find that you roll better when you are relaxed and enjoying it, rather than engaging with a serious and competitive approach.
What are you waiting for? Go ahead and get out of your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ‘slump’ right now!
