Tom DeBlass recently shared a message aimed directly at middle-aged, non-competitive grapplers…
The people who make up the backbone of most academies, but often feel overlooked:
My middle aged, non competitive grapplers, please hear me.
You do not need to train every day. You do not need to train twice a day.
You do not need to keep up with 22 year old competitors whose entire lives revolve around recovery, training, and winning medals.
Instead, he emphasized the reality most practitioners live in – balancing BJJ with real-world responsibilities:
You have careers. You have children. You have bills.
You have real responsibilities outside the mats.If you train 1 to 3 times a week while balancing all of that, you should actually be proud of yourself.
DeBlass also challenged the habit of constant comparison, urging grapplers to view their journey through a more realistic lens:
Please stop comparing yourself to people living a completely different life than you.
You’re not failing because you cannot train like a full time athlete at 43 years old after working 10 hours and helping your kids with homework.You’re winning because despite all of that, you still show up. That matters.
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