Despite becoming one of the biggest names in modern grappling, Adele Fornarino says one of the toughest places for her to gain support is her own home country.
Speaking on The White Monster Podcast, the reigning ADCC absolute champion opened up about what she sees as a cultural issue within Australian jiu-jitsu – one that affects how athletes are viewed and valued domestically:
I think I struggle the most selling seminars in Australia than anywhere else in the world.
People have this false sense of they have access to me when they want it but they never use it.
It’s like: “Oh, they’re Australian but I’m Australian so I’m just as good.”
For her, that mentality creates barriers not only for athletes trying to build careers, but also for the people missing opportunities to learn from them.
Rather than asking questions and seeking insight, she believes many athletes become defensive or dismissive:
When you have Australians that succeed on the international stage, instead of creating excuses about why it’s not you and why it’s them, have the conversations and ask them what they’ve done.
Fornarino also emphasized that receptiveness to information is often one of the clearest indicators of long-term success:
It’s very noticeable when people are very receptive of the information.
You can tell who’s going to be successful on an international stage based off how many questions they’re willing to ask and how big their ego is.
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