If you want to be good and progress in jiu-jitsu, the most important thing you can possess is patience. Why? Because jiu-jitsu is a never ending journey. You will never learn all the moves, let alone be good at all of them. There will always be someone that can beat you on a given day, and there will always be room for improvement.
There are multiple areas you have to be patient with too. Moves that may have not worked for you the first time you trained them, they may work for you down the road. Keep drilling them and look for the little things you may be missing. Analyze it as you would with anything else. Try to understand it, and troubleshoot what you are missing with your training partners. The little things will decrease the amount of energy you need to perform the move, and it will make it that much more likely you hit the move.
As I am sure most upper ranks have experienced, and some low ranks, you will progress and regress as a jiu-jitsu practitioner. This has a lot to do with overtraining, your mental state, or not trying to progress. I got stuck here a couple times throughout my time practicing jiu-jitsu. I got so used to a couple moves working, that I didn’t work on anything else. Work on your weaknesses, and rely on your strengths when you need to. Having patience throughout these times will help you progress.
The last aspect I want to touch upon is being patient with your belt promotions. I go to jiu-jitsu to do jiu-jitsu. I show my skills and who I am as a practitioner through how I roll, and how I help others advance their skills. I am not saying the belt doesn’t mean anything, but if you are going to jiu-jitsu for a different color belt, you should reevaluate why you are doing jiu-jitsu.
Fighting has the highest of highs, but it also has the lowest of lows. Having patience will help you through those low points where you might feel like quitting. Don’t let yourself beat you up!
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