Thanks to Ken Primola for letting me check out his new video series!

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I have seen it time after time, not just in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but in all sports where the athlete looks at training and practice as a mean of punishment, or something that is an inconvenience.  It becomes the thing that stands in the way of your off days and game/competition days.

Sadly, this is a common issue that arises on a daily basis.  There were times—as much I don’t want to admit it—where I just didn’t want anything to do with the “hard work” part of training, and just wanted to compete.  Needless to say, that’s the old me.

As an instructor who travels the country for seminars as well as the owner and head instructor at my own Brazilian Jiu Jitsu/Mixed Martial Arts academy in Rhode Island, my fixation on skill development and drilling has grown by leaps and bounds.

Without proper time on the mat practicing, there is no way that you can see sustained success.  I can’t think of any truly elite grappler that just walked into a gym and owned it without having adequate training time.

A close friend of mine, Ken Primola, is also an advocate in drilling, and today I’m going to dive into one of his drilling videos.

No Better Time Than The Present

What makes this write-up different than most of my breakdowns, is that while you can see a clear drill in the video, I’m not here to analyze it.  It was more so the title of the video that made me gravitate towards it; “BJJ After Spar Drill Session.”

In the video, you can see Ken and his rolling partner putting in a good amount of work after.  The pursuit of improvement is amazing; given the fact this was after they rolled for an undisclosed amount of time.

Anyone that rolls, knows just how intense it can get, now just imagine putting in a little overtime after the fact with a high level grappler like Ken!  That’s dedication.

This speaks volumes to me, because for those who want to be the best they can, they don’t let a schedule dictate when they practice, it’s on them to hold themselves accountable and to put in that extra work.

Becoming A Better Grappler Daily

There is a quote that’ll I paraphrase and it says that every single day you have to compete no matter what.  If you’re sick, “too busy”, the weather is poor…it doesn’t matter, because somewhere out there, someone is doing more than what you are, with less resources.

Improvement and practice should be a habitual habit that occurs daily in order to see success.  This video that Ken posted spoke volumes to me because it’s all about going that extra mile to be the best you can be, which is something everyone can relate to.

So, what is stopping you from progressing right now?  Whatever it is, brush it off and laugh at it because in actuality, there is nothing stopping you.

There is a great article on organizing your own drilling class at GracieMag.com.

Dan Faggella