Jiu-Jitsu and the Art of Learning

Over the past 8 years I have been lucky to have trained at 22 different Jiu-Jitsu Academies across the country. During that time I have tried my best to observe how each class is run, how drills are conducted, how the instructor teaches and the general quality of students produced as a result.

While far from a scientific study, my belief that WHERE someone trains is far less important than HOW they train as an individual has only grown stronger over that time. I have tried to observe exemplary practitioners at each school and what has produced their success, and in my opinion, they demonstrate the following:

1. They take responsibility of their training

It is easy to become a passive learner at class. We show up and wait for our instructors to teach us how to get better. While quality instruction is undoubtedly a component of improvement, the students that stand out are the ones that have shifted the responsibility of improving onto themselves. They show up to class knowing what they want to work on and where they want to improve in their game. When it comes time to roll, they are actively looking to improve upon those things. That leads into the second quality which is...

2. They roll to improve instead of to win

This has been a consistent battle for myself. I love the competitive aspect of Jiu-Jitsu, and the rush of “winning” in a roll can overcome the focus of improving. The students that I have seen make the most significant improvement though don’t mind “losing” during a roll because their focus is on winning. The ironic thing is that these students eventually end up winning the most because they are constantly improving. I have seen several teammates far outpace me in improvement with less mat time because they kept their focus in the right place.

3. They train consistently 

This doesn’t mean showing up to every class, every day of the week. After spending a 4 months period training 28 hours every week I believe that quality can outpace quality. The students that focused on number 2 showed just as much, if not more improvement with a fraction of that weekly mat time. I think that the needed number of classes will vary based upon the student, I’m not the brightest 💡 in the bunch and need more classes than most, but the students that demonstrated notable progress trained consistently every week.

4. They compete! 

I have seen a number of exceptions to this, but the majority of these practitioners compete regularly (I’d gauge that number at about once a quarter). There is something about preparing for a competition that sharpens an individual. It sets a goal to strive for and gives extra training motivation. The competition itself can be a raw, honest assessment of where you are at and what areas you need to work on. An honest, self-assessment afterwards allows a student to adjust there training to focus on weak-links in their game.

What do you all think? Out of the outstanding teammates and practitioners that you have encountered, what qualities do they posses that have been the biggest contributors to their success?

About Steven McMahon:

Steven McMahon earned his Kyuki-Do Black Belt in 2011 from Grand Master Kim at Kim's Black Belt Academy and his  BJJ Purple Belt in January 2017 under Professor Charles Nunley. He trains out of Cornerstone BJJ in Fayetteville, NC. He is an active competitor at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Army Combatives tournaments.