There’s an old saying: “Fall down 7 times, stand up 8 times.”

Also Napoleon Hill said: “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits! Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.”

Wayne Bennet said: “The only individuals who fail are those that give up, or stop trying. If you quit, you will never know what you are capable of.”

Geoff Marsh: “Individuals need to be patient and wait for the opportunity- but whilst you are waiting for that opportunity, you must work hard to make sure that you’ll be ready when the opportunity presents itself. The key is making sure you are ready”.

In a great story of persistence, Ryan Walsh, a student of Caio Terra went one whole year without winning a single match in Jiu-Jitsu competition. He was competing very often but kept losing. Most people would have quit or taken a break, but not Ryan. He kept training hard and pushing. His persistence paid off as at this year’s Pan,one of the highest level BJJ competitions in the world, as he won gold at purple belt adult.

Training is not easy for Ryan, he drives 1 hour each way everyday to come train at Caio Terra’s academy.

Caio Terra talked about on social networks about the changes they made at the academy in their training method, results taking time and about Ryan’s persistence:

In late 2013 I felt that a change was necessary. The culture inside my gym, my team, and my own life needed improvement.

As a competitor I used to believe that we had to be a little selfish. We had to get our reps in, we had to push ourselves to the limit, and I believed that the best person to rely on to make those things happen was ourselves.

This type of thinking produced results, but it wasn’t healthy.
So I made the change, and believe me, it was a hard transition for everyone!
We would no longer get our reps in. Our concern wasn’t ourselves, but those around us. When the tide rises all boats float.

When the team finally accepted that, in 2014, everything started to change. Not just in Jiu Jitsu but in our lives.

The group that best embraced what I was trying to do was my group of blue belts (who are now all purple belts). I’m really proud of them, because I know it wasn’t easy. The results didn’t come right away but they did come this Thursday.

Ryan Walsh who drives an hour each way to learn from me had the longest road: In 2012 he lost his first match at Pan’s, but kept on believing. As a purple belt, he went almost a year without winning a tournament. When most people would make excuses Ryan kept at it. Yesterday he was crowned the 2016 pans champion! I’m so proud of you @rwalsh831 not for winning but for the person you’ve become.

2016 Pan Champion Ryan Walsh @rwalsh831
If you don’t do it for the love why do it? People always ask me what to do because they keep on losing every tournament. When I promoted Ryan to Purple Belt he lost so many tournaments. In fact he didn’t win a match for over a year, competing almost every weekend. That never stopped Ryan from trying again. That never made him quit. Ryan was just happy that the next day he could train again. Now he’s the current Pan American Champion, yet nothing changed, he’s still happier for the fact that today he will be on the mats. Perspective is everything. If you want to be happy, be happy.