Jiu Jitsu Momentum
Let’s face it: We’re creatures of habit. Lately, we just can’t stop thinking about how much our habits interact with our journey of jiu jitsu training; how everything we do within or outside of this sport affects a chain reaction of momentum that either carries you along or fights you all the way. We can say it all day long that everyone should be training jiu jitsu or some useful martial art, but it’s only one step to come into the gym to try this thing. It’s quite another step to harness jiu jitsu momentum to keep your progress going.
We’ve said some harsh things in this blog before, right? So, we can do it again? Like that time we called you out because you don’t know how to fight, or that other time we said the same thing about your partner… But hey, at least we’re honest! We’ll be nice about it even when we’re saying the harsh things because we know that the harsh things need to be said! Well, here we go again today: You have no idea how to make your jiu jitsu journey flow, and it’s going to catch up to you. Here we go…
Momentum can be a real b*tch sometimes. Let’s consider first how momentum can be harmful in jiu jitsu, then we’ll allow ourselves some positivity and talk through how momentum can be a positive force.
Here’s some negative jiu jitsu momentum to consider, and we didn’t hold back!
- You begin training. Yay! You’re going to do this thing! You took the hardest step by coming into the gym and taking your trial class. You start with a lot of energy – you can see how great it would be to get good at jiu jitsu. You’re here every day. It’s going to be magical!
- Then, you have your first week or two of training. Still pretty tough, isn’t it? Funny, even though everyone in the sport is pretty upfront that it takes a LONG, LONG time to get good at this, you kind of start to think that you should be good at this by now.
- You get kind of sore. Maybe even a minor injury or two (it happens to everyone when they start martial arts). So, you figure, maybe you should take a few days off to let it heal and rest up.
- A few days turns into a week. How embarrassing, you were just starting to become a jiu jitsu master with a whole 2 weeks of training behind you, now if you go back, it’ll be like starting from square one all over again. Maybe just take a little more time off so you can consider if it’s really worth it.
- Perhaps you learned enough anyways, it’s not worth getting that sore and ‘injured’ again, right? Clearly jiu jitsu is impossible; there’s just no reasonable way to get good at this.
- 5 years later… You’ve done some personal development, and you never really stopped thinking about your jiu jitsu ‘experiment.’ So you walk in the gym again and maybe you start this whole process over. Or maybe, you find positive momentum this time… Keep reading.
Quick intermission: YIKES! Writing that out did feel kind of harsh, but it’s hard to avoid the truth. Unfortunately, it’s a story that those of us in the world of jiu jitsu have heard and seen too many times. And let’s be clear, this is NOT how we want your story to go here at Airlock. We will do everything we can to teach you how to make learning jiu jitsu a sustainable, long-term goal in your life and how to use positive jiu jitsu momentum to find the skill growth and personal growth that this sport can bring.
So here’s a much more positive version of the jiu jitsu momentum story:
- You begin training. Yay! You’re here, and we’ve got your back. We’re proud of you for taking the plunge.
- We’re not going to hide the truth from you – starting jiu jitsu is like stepping into the ocean. But here, you won’t be thrown into the deep water. You’re going to learn the fundamentals and focus exclusively on skills that matter right when you start – the pathways to takedowns, guard passing, and escaping bad positions.
- You’re going to set a pace that actually works for your life! You’re going to collect some bruises along the way, so instead of rushing in, you pick a goal of training 2-3 classes/week while you begin to learn and weave the time into your life. After all, why do people fail their New Year’s Resolutions? Because they walk into a gym, lift every weight as heavy as they can on every muscle group, then get so sore and injured that they can’t walk the next day. But you’re smarter than that!
- After a few weeks, you begin to notice that you’re getting a grasp on the fundamentals. Your cardio is improving and you can roll more rounds. You’re learning how to flow through rolls without being ‘spazzy.’
- Because you laid the groundwork, maybe you decide to up your training, you can make it to more classes, you hit up an Open Mat or two so you can roll with other folks. You’re starting to wonder about more advanced techniques and how you could develop your own approach.
- The lifestyle effect of jiu jitsu starts to kick in. Training doesn’t define you, but it complements your life, keeps you in shape. Jiu jitsu starts to become the reason why you want to eat healthier, start lifting or running, get better sleep, and treat your body better. Which leads to better jiu jitsu. Which leads to better self care.
And THIS is the moment where you’ve achieved a loop of positive momentum. THIS is the pathway for people who tell you that jiu jitsu changed their life. And we’d love to see you execute a plan on this positive momentum too.
Drop in for your trial class, and we’ll help you follow the Positive Steps 2-6 from there.
