So you’re serious about improving in Jiu-Jitsu, but you still consider yourself as a hobbyist…
What are some of the things you could do to ensure that you’re making lots of progress?

Nicky Rodriguez, Nicky Ryan, and Craig Jones discussed this topic on a recent Lex Fridman podcast episode.
Here’s Nicky Rod‘s advice for BJJ hobbyists, for example:

I think being consistent… Like, find a schedule that you can consistently train. Maybe it’s 3-4 times per week, maybe it’s a little bit less… Just be consistent over the years.

I think that people are too often like: “Oh, I wanna get really good really fast”, but it definitely takes a long time to get where you wanna be.

Nicky Ryan also had great advice – and it’s got to do with filming yourself:

One big thing for me, that I started doing once B-Team was formed, was – filming all of your rounds and then watching it every day. Because you can see what specific problems you’re having and base your positional rounds around those problems.

And what about Craig Jones? Well, his advice is more for those BJJ hobbyists who want to train at 110% all the time:

Not every round is to be a fight to the death. I feel like you’re going to get injured, burnt out that way.
You’re not going to learn as much.

But what happens if you’re an older practitioner, who’s also a higher belt…
How are you supposed to “justify” it to yourself that you’re a hobbyist and now getting challenged by up-and-coming blue belts?

Jones has a simple word of advice:

Reframe the victory, you know? If it’s a young, upcoming guy and he cannot submit you… You know, that’s a moral victory.

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