I have been in the business of adult learning for nearly 15 years. I’m always interested to see how our experiences, whether they are related to martial arts, our professional life, or our relationships, help us learn. In this guest post Ashley Mann shares five things practicing Jiu Jitsu has taught her about the nature of learning. My personal favorite from her list: “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
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5 Things Jiu Jitsu Has Taught Me About Learning
Have you ever wondered why some students seem to advance quickly while others seem to be stuck at the same ability level for years? While natural gifting can certainly play a part, I believe we have more control than we often realize over how quickly and effectively we learn. In this article, I’d like to share some lessons I’ve learned about how to be a good student of any martial art or physical sport.
Lesson 1: Athletic Ability Can Be Learned.
I didn’t grow up participating in sports or other physical activities, and it wasn’t until after I married an athletic martial artist that I even considered trying anything like Jiu Jitsu. Consequently, I had internalized a belief that athleticism was something one was either born with or not, and that as an “unathletic person” I was always going to be incapable of certain physical skills.
My husband helped me learn otherwise by introducing me to his physical hobbies and encouraging me to take lessons in activities that interested me. First was rock climbing, then horseback riding, then tennis, and eventually Jiu Jitsu. Each of these activities taught me that I am capable of learning, but that I am not a visual learner.
As a kid, my only opportunities to learn sports were by watching others, and when I couldn’t successfully copy what others did, I gave up. When as an adult I finally had the opportunity to take lessons from teachers who explained the steps verbally and patiently helped me troubleshoot my technique, I was able to learn skills that as a teenager I would never have thought myself capable of.
Being able to use my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills to physically control and tap out people who I would perceive as “more athletic” than me has given me a huge boost in self-confidence and taught me that I am capable of learning anything I choose. I’m even beginning to identify as an athlete for the first time in my life!
Lesson 2: I alone am responsible for my learning.
Even though having patient teachers who are good at breaking down and explaining a technique is important, I can’t just sit back and absorb my teacher’s knowledge. I have to be an active learner, which means knowing the outcome I’m going for, choosing a teacher who I believe will help me reach that goal, and frequently checking in to make sure I’m progressing.
Most importantly, I have to formulate questions and keep looking until I find the answers. My teacher may have the answers I need, but they might not know to share that information with me unless I ask the question. If I find skill gaps that my instructor can’t help me with, it’s my job to figure out a different approach or supplement my education from outside sources.
It’s also crucial that I know myself, trust my instincts above anyone else’s opinion, and advocate for myself if needed. If I’m being asked to train harder than I feel is beneficial or try a technique that feels dangerous, it’s my responsibility to decide when to trust my instructor and when to politely but firmly say “No, thank you,” and accept the consequences of declining the advice.
Lesson 3: Comparison is the thief of joy.
One of the hardest pills for me to swallow is seeing a new student quickly pick up skills it took me years to learn, but when that happens, I remind myself that not everyone is starting from the same starting point. Someone who spent most of their life playing team sports has already spent years developing strength and coordination and learning to become aware of their body’s movements.
As someone who spent 14 years taking piano lessons and 12 years playing the French horn in band and orchestra, I would have a similar advantage if I decided to learn to play a new instrument to the lifelong athlete who decides to try Jiu Jitsu. Similarly, as someone who didn’t become involved in any sports until I was in my mid-20’s, I’m about on par with someone who started learning music for the first time as an adult; Jiu Jitsu will feel harder and take longer for me to learn than for someone with an athletic background.
What I’ve found to be more helpful than comparing myself to other students is to compare myself to my former self. For example, I can clearly remember struggling as a blue belt to control brand new white belts who were stronger than me, but now I seldom have trouble controlling and even submitting new white belts of any size (as long as they aren’t a former Division 1 wrestler). Comparing myself with myself in this way has served as a good measuring stick for my progress.
Lesson 4: Learning doesn’t happen overnight.
New students at my Jiu Jitsu gym often beat themselves up mentally when they are unable to recall a technique, especially in live sparring, but expecting to be able to perform a new skill after seeing it taught one time is unrealistic.
In my experience, learning a new technique requires a multi-step process: Step one is to become aware of the technique and to learn how to do it by drilling and building muscle memory. Step two is to recall how to do the technique at a future date. Step three is recognizing an opportunity for the technique in live sparring, and step four is recalling how to do the technique when an opportunity for it comes along. Beyond that would be strategically setting up an opportunity for the technique, which is what I as a new purple belt am only just beginning to learn how to do. Each step takes place on a different occasion over weeks or months, depending on the frequency of one’s training and how often a given technique is drilled or reviewed in class.
Therefore, it’s completely normal not to remember a technique after seeing it just once. After a few months of training, a white belt should be able to start recalling a few techniques, and over time, the number of techniques in the knowledge bank will gradually increase. But the process of learning new techniques never ends, because there is always more to learn.
Lesson 5: Small goals are the key to progress.
This last lesson has been tremendously valuable to me in business and life in general as well as in Jiu Jitsu, and it is this: The key to staying on track toward accomplishing a long-term goal is to set small goals, which can serve as milestones to mark your progress.
When all your goals are too ambitious, it’s easy to become discouraged at your seeming lack of progress. By breaking a large goal into smaller steps, you can more easily identify and remove obstacles and see that you are in fact making progress.
Examples of goals I’ve set and accomplished for myself in Jiu Jitsu include remaining calm and remembering to breathe when I’m under a large person, keeping my base and not being easily swept when fighting from closed guard, and being able to survive a five-minute round without being tapped out.
Sometimes I have to break my small goals into even smaller goals. For example, I’ve been working on the goal of learning to escape from under mount for what feels like my entire Jiu Jitsu career. A smaller goal I set more recently was, “Trap and roll any time the person on top of me leans too far past their center line.” Even though I still sometimes stuck under people who are good at keeping their base, I can now consistently escape from anyone who makes the mistake of leaning too far to one side, and that’s progress!
Final Thoughts
In my five years of training, Jiu Jitsu has given me so much. It has helped me develop strength and fortitude, better know myself, and experience physical success, and as a result, I’ve gained self-confidence that I don’t have to fake. I acknowledge that these lessons can be learned through just about any physical pursuit, and I don’t think it matters so much which sport or martial art one chooses as long as it’s enjoyable enough to commit to. Nothing worth having is gained quickly, but in my experience, the rewards that can come from mastering a physical skill are worth the investment.
Author Bio
Ashley Mann is a purple belt Jiu Jitsu enthusiast from Missouri. She blogs about her experience and shares tips for beginners at JiuJitsuThoughts.com. Together she and her husband Josiah own Brave Gym Marketing, a martial arts marketing and website design company.
Links in article & bio:
https://jiujitsuthoughts.com/importance-self-advocacy/