Well, one month in the books, a few sore joints, mat burns and a bruised trachea and an even more bruised ego, but overall nothing too bad in the way of injuries. Last week was less than stellar, I only made it to jiu jitsu once as I was sick all week and I didn't run a lick.
With that said I wanted to give my five lessons that I have learned with one month back at Jiu Jitsu training for my first competition at 40 years old.
- I don't know shit: I came back to jiu jitus after about 10 years off, I had trained a good bit for about a year and thought that I wouldn't be as much of a begginner as I am. But here I am, not knowing what the hell I am doing and drowning a little every day. Thankfully, its okay to suck at something new and everyone at the academy is so patient and welcoming.
- Its never too late: The saying you can't teach an old dog new tricks may only apply to dogs, I am 40 years old and I am not one of the older guys in my class. I see other older white belts, some in the 50s and 60s. It is so cool seeing these older dudes discover learn about themselves through jiu jitsu. 40 is too old for a few things, learning jiu jitsu and competing is not one of them.
- Fundamentals win fights A guy I know, and a very good black belt, commented one of my posts and said this, I did some research, watched a ton of video and it was interesting what I saw. You don't see people really winning tournaments with buggy chokes, twisters or peruvian neck ties. What you do see is your meat and potato submissions winning tournaments, triangles, straight armbars, kimuras.
- The details matter Just like how when you write code and you miss some small detail it can prevent your entire application from running, a missed detail in a position or submission can mean being reversed or not getting the tap. Even a small adjustment of just one degree, whether it's in hand position or the bite on a choke, can have a profound impact in jiu-jitsu. These minute details can make all the difference between success and failure, between being able to execute a technique effectively or being reversed by your opponent.
- Patience and persistence matter: Mastery of a craft takes time, it takes persistence and dedication. Jiu Jitsu has often been called human chess, and I am learning that just showing up won't be enough. I am going to have to not only put in the reps but study the details of the reps, understand the why behind the how of the reps.
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." -Winston Churchill
I am so excited that I started this journey, I LOVE jiu jitsu, I am learning so much each time I go, while I am sad I didn't stick with it 10 years ago, I am happy I took it back up.