Jiu Jitsu as an Art Form

“Dad reasoned that whether we were better than someone else should not be focus because our position in relation to others was out of our control. We could not control another’s performance nor could we control how we would be ranked.  All we could do was our best…Instead he wanted us to try very hard to give the best possible effort to become the best we could be and let the results take care of themselves.” — Coach John Wooden

To master Jiu Jitsu, one must master thyself.

“Discipline and consistency. I owe these two factors all have attained in my life. Things have never happened overnight. Results have appeared as a consequence of decades long toil. It is necessary to persist.” — Master Carlos Gracie Jr.

You must invest time… you must invest energy… and you absolutely must develop discipline.

One of the quotes that I use a lot – besides you’re only as good as the guys you sweat and bleed with – is that iron sharpens iron. So that one man sharpens another. I think that it is very true. If you are not in a training environment where you are getting smacked in the head, you are getting tapped out, you are getting challenged on a daily basis, then you are not getting any better. You’re not improving. Your workout partners are a very important piece of your progression as an athlete and the character that you are building as a person as well. Those are key components and finding that right place is a piece of it.” — Randy Couture “Wrestling For Fighting”

And, of course, you need to continually challenge yourself to get better.