You really want to become the best that you can in BJJ, eh? To learn all the techniques, setups, transitions and details… Just about EVERYTHING that you can, so that you can reach perfection on your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu journey!
But hear us out for a moment: your search for perfection may be important, but improvement matters much more. Here is why.
SO YOU REACHED PERFECTION… NOW WHAT?
Okay okay, for starters… Let’s say – for the sake of an argument – that you really did reach perfection in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Every single submission you hit is on point, every escape is 101% successful, and every single transition butter. You’re the Jiujiteiro in your academy and on the competition scene alike!
But, here’s the issue: what now? What next? If you were to somehow reach perfection in Jiu-Jitsu, what would you possibly do afterwards?
Sure, you could go ahead and win tournaments, get sponsors, possibly earn a lot of money… But here’s what will happen in the process: BJJ will stop being fun after a year or two. Chances are that you’d carry on with it just for the sake of success and money; which would effectively turn your love for Jiu Jitsu into a sort of a much-despised desk job. Into something that you do only for the sake of „success“, not because you love it.
Because, truth be told, it’s the journey that makes things fun in BJJ! Those obstacles that you struggle with when you’re trying to learn a technique, and which you blast through after some perseverance – that is what makes the whole journey fun to embark on. It’s the struggle for improvement that ties your mind, body, and emotions to the Gentle Art.
Just think of it this way: when you succeed in something, how do you feel? You feel great – for a day, maximum. But after that, you’re almost inevitably back in the search for „something more“.
You’re in the search for more steps on your BJJ journey; because you know very well that the feeling of success lasts only for a short while, while the emotion of fulfillment – tied with improving – will last for a lifetime.
So why search for perfection, if improvement in BJJ will make you much happier?
THE SEARCH FOR PERFECTION CAN MAKE YOU HATEFUL TOWARDS JIU-JITSU
On the flipside of the coin, you should come to terms with the fact that, in reality, you’ll never reach perfection. It’s simply unattainable! There will always be room for improvement, even if you become a multiple time world champion one day.
This should serve as a comforting fact, because it means that there’s a lot of potential for your BJJ happiness in the future! But it should also serve as a warning.
A warning? Yup, that’s right. You see, if your gaze stays glued solely to this search for perfection, you’re in for a wild – and ultimately disappointing – ride. As time passes and you obsess about your shortcomings, you’ll grow resentful about Jiu-Jitsu. Which, as mentioned beforehand, will leave your love for BJJ stranded on a deserted island.
Instead of that, you can choose to focus on improvement. You can divert your focus towards the various opportunities that BJJ contains within itself, the possibilities it entails; both before, during, and after your struggle with specific moves and setups.
Bottom line is that BJJ is a journey, not a destination. It’s not meant to be „achieved“ nor „perfected“. It is meant to be enjoyed, followed through, and to be used as a vehicle for becoming better in all areas of Jiujiteiro’s life.
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