Everyone practices BJJ for different reasons. Some train to
compete and become world champions; some to learn self-defense, others for
recreation, and some train to get in shape. Whatever the reason for training,
all BJJ practitioners have the same desire- improve their game.
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Oceanside Jiu Jitsu training |
So how do you improve your game and gain mastery in BJJ?
According to Daniel H. Pink, business expert on workplace and personal
transformation, mastery in any endeavor follows three laws:
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First, mastery is a mindset
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Second, mastery is a pain
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Third, master is an asymptote.
Mastery as a mindset requires that we see our abilities not
as finite, but as infinitely improvable. We have to have the mindset and
determination to know that we can improve.
Part of this mindset is knowing, accepting, and willing to
endure the journey to mastery. Master is a pain; it is difficult; it is not for
the faint of heart. On average it takes a BJJ practitioner 10 years of
consistent training to earn their black belt. Earning the BJJ black belt is not
the end; many say it is the beginning of mastery. A BJJ black belt has learned
the game, learned transitions, and timing. Now they need to master everything.
This journey can be daunting.
Mastery of BJJ, sports, music, business, or any endeavor in
life requires difficult, painful, excruciating, all-consuming effort over a
long time. Not a week, or a month, but a decade.
Research has shown that this journey to master requires
deliberate practice. The theory of deliberate practice is that scientific
research has shown that the quality of your practice is just as important as
the quantity. That in order to achieve expert-level performance is primarily the
result of expert-level practice, not innate talent.
In the bestselling book Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell research shows that quality practice time is the defining
factor between athletes and artists. His research showed that the artist or
athlete that put in the most quality practice time ended up being the most
talented. Furthermore, according to Daniel Levitin, “the emerging picture form
such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the
level of mastery associate with being a world class expert-in anything. In
study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice
skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you,
this number comes up again and again.”
Let’s think about this concept for a bit and apply it to
BJJ. In order to become a master at BJJ you need to have 10,000 hours of
rolling, performed 10,000 triangles, 10,000 kimuras, 10,000 side mount escapes,
10,000 guard passes, etc… The list goes on and on. Doing this is not an easy
task. If requires deliberate practice, determination, and persistence. It is
not easy focusing on practicing 10,000 triangles from the guard. In fact, after
the first 100, it becomes very boring. Now imaging trying to complete 10,000
triangles from the guard? If you performed 100 triangles a day, every day, it
would take you 100 days (almost half a year) to become an expert at triangles
from the guard. There is no fancy secret or fast track around this. However, if
you put in the dedication and time to do so, you will be pulling of triangles
from the guard at any angle, all based on reaction, and be feared for your
triangles from the guard. Sounds awesome huh?
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Hard work + dedication = success |
Is this something you want? If so, the sooner you realize
that in order to drastically improve in BJJ (or anything in life), you need to
have consistent deliberate practice and focus on hitting the 10,000 mark. On
TV, in magazines, in movies, we see the amazing feats or awards that world-class
athletes achieve. However, we don’t see the painful hours, sweat, tears, and
daily deliberate practice that went into achieve these results.
So if you want to improve, if you want to become an expert
in BJJ, the more deliberate practice you put in, the faster you will see major
gains in your game
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-Eric Rivard