It’s completely natural to encounter ups and downs throughout your BJJ journey. There will be a lot of great days, during which you’ll enjoy every step – every drill, every roll, every win and loss – you take. But likewise, there will be plenty of lousy days; where your progress will seem inexistent, where you’ll scarcely ever win… And where one of the only things that’ll orbit around your head is going to be: „I am so bad at Jiu Jitsu!“
But hear us out: this shouldn’t bother you one bit! After all, being bad at Jiu Jitsu is the first step to being good at it.
EVERYONE STARTS OUT BADLY
Yup! You can’t become good at something if you aren’t bad at it to begin with. In the end of ends, unless you’re some sort of a miracle of nature, you’re not going to do something for the first time and do it well. It’s way more likely that you’ll crash and burn!
It’s the same thing with Jiu Jitsu. Everyone starts out by sucking at it. Sure, some make progress faster than others, but that’s irrelevant – because you, too, are making progress! You’re improving with each day you spend training, and that’s what matters. Small, incremental steps towards one day becoming the greatest Jiujiteiro you could be.
And that’s exactly why you shouldn’t stress yourself out when you’ve just began training! That would be like getting mad at yourself for not knowing quantum physics right now… How could you expect yourself to know anything so complex if you weren’t introduced to the material beforehand; if you didn’t spend a lot of time studying it?
Furthermore, did you immediately know how to tie your shoes? Even something as simple as this can be extremely difficult if you’ve never practiced the motion.
Therefore, stop telling yourself lies about „being bad“ at BJJ when you’re just beginning. You’ll become good, that’s a promise; but you have to keep showing up.
STILL NOT QUITE GOOD AT IT? YOU WILL BE!
But even after quite some time had passed since your first roll, and you feel as if you’ll never become good at BJJ, there’s still no reason to overthink. That is if you’re still training.
You see, the feeling you have about your Jiu Jitsu can be very misleading. Just think back to all the times you felt as if something will go one way… And when it went another way. Or when you felt overly confident about a thing, only to have your confidence backfire. Likewise, think back to how there were days when you felt horrible coming to BJJ training. You felt as if you wouldn’t be able to do anything; and yet, you obliterated everyone on the mats!
What all of this means is that just because you think or feel that you’re bad at something, it doesn’t necessarily have to mean it’s true. Your perception could be drastically skewed and you’re quite likely overthinking things!
However, even if you truly aren’t good at it, there’s no reason to worry. Every time that you’re on the mats, you’re making yourself a little bit better. Whether you notice that or not, that’s a fact.
Therefore, your only focus in BJJ – bad and good times alike – should be to continue training. To show up on the mats, to learn as much as you can, to drill techniques, and to roll.
That’s all there is to it. Focus on the journey, not on the destination. And you will notice that becoming good at Jiu Jitsu is only a matter of time and enjoying yourself.
You will also want to take advantage of the new instructional series by the legendary Bernardo Faria, Foundations of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Bernardo is a five time world champion and one of the most sought after instructors in the world. As one of the sports most accomplished competitors, he has done something that many athletes are unable to do. He has been able to translate his BJJ knowledge in a way that is applicable to EVERYONE. You do not need to be a gifted athlete to benefit from Bernardo’s knowledge. Do not miss this one. You will not be disappointed.
