To all the grapplers who despair at their progress (long read)

The Colonel · 02-01-2008, 04:34 AM

Lately it seems like I've been seeing threads pop up left and right from new grapplers who get upset at how quickly they get tapped, or who wonder how they can get better faster, or who simply think they suck. With respect, frankly its starting to get tiresome.

I first started grappling in back in 1996 when I was 16. I had seen Royce Gracie fight in some of the very first UFC events and I was just amazed by him. His build wasn't that different than me and I asked myself, "how the hell can I learn that? I want to train with these guys." So I pulled out a phone book, looked up "martial arts" and amazingly there was an Academy, the only Academy in my hometown at the time, and they taught brazilian jiu-jitsu.

I didn't have a car, not even a driver's license, and I would hop on my bicycle and go down to the Academy, get the hell beat out of me, and then bike back home. I was training 5-6 days a week with cops that casually said, "oh I only bench press 315" who were blue belts and who would just completely own me whenever I rolled with them. I was weighing about 160lbs at the time.

I went to every single seminar that was available. I remember my very first seminar, a brown belt invited up his black belt instructor from Brazil, Marcello Ferreira, and it happened to be on a day when I was pretty much "on". I rolled with a few of the white belts and pretty much owned them. At the end of the seminar Marcello said, "you're a blue belt" and he wanted to promote me, but out of respect for my instructor, and his instructor Pedro Sauer, I turned down the promotion. I wanted to get my blue belt from Pedro Sauer. My instructor was a Pedro Sauer affiliate and it just seemed like bad form to not get my promotion through Pedro.

Some time later, with many more grappling sessions of getting the crap kicked out of me, I decided to test for my blue belt when Pedro Sauer came into town to give a seminar. I really studied all the techniques I had learned, demonstrated them adequately to Pedro, and then he watched me roll. Afterwards he said, "okay. You need to work on your base, your guard passing, your guard, your hip movement, your escapes..." and so on. But he still gave me my blue belt. He obviously felt that I deserved it, yet it really hammered home to me just how far I had to go.

That was almost 6 years ago. Since then I have joined the military and more or less had to put my grappling dreams on hold, but I never stopped thinking about the art, studying it, and rolling with anyone that I could get a hold of. In the pursuit of my dream to one day get my black belt I've had the ligaments in my left ankle completely torn, I've had my left elbow hyper-extended three times, I've had my shoulder messed up from a guy getting over zealous with a kimura, and I've had my ankles cranked on from numerous catch wrestlers/MMA fighters who got a little too excited to throw a heel hook on me.

Before I started grappling I had zero experience with doing anything athletic whatsoever. I was a fat kid and a bookworm. Frankly I don't think I have an athletic bone in my body. And it has been incredibly difficult seeing how guys that were white belts at the same time as me are now brown belts because they didn't join the military and sacrifice being able to train with quality instructors for spending time overseas or in a war zone.

I competed in a number of local tournaments in the Ohio/Tennessee/Kentucky area and I remember in my very first tournament I was cross collar choked in less than 30 seconds. But with time I eventually went from that to a bronze medal, to a silver, to a silver and a gold medal, to two gold medals, because I would compete in my weight division as well as the absolute.

Jiu-jitsu, just like judo, sambo, wrestling, or catch wrestling, is an incredibly difficult and demanding art. I have gotten my ass handed to me on so many occasions that I have had to take numerous gut checks and just say to myself, "God I really suck at this. This guy who started after me just tapped me" and I'd sit back in the changing room asking myself why I still did this when it was obvious that I didn't have the athletic ability as some of the guys I've trained with. Jiu-jitsu for me has always been an intellectual pursuit, I have to really think about the technique and I've never had an affinity for it like some guys I've come across that it just came naturally to.

But despite getting busted up, being injured so badly sometimes that I couldn't walk or use an arm, I continued to train just as I continue to train now. This is either something that you love or that you don't. To me there is nothing other than developing my skill in jiu-jitsu (as well as the other grappling arts) and passing that knowledge along to other people. It is something that I submit myself humbly to whenever I step foot on the mat. I may never make black belt, I may have the joints of a 60 year old man when I'm in my 20s from learning it, but I'll never stop practicing. I'll die before I give up jiu-jitsu. Its that simple.

In all honesty, I've always felt that no matter where I am in life (and I've even been homeless once) as long as I have my gi and a mat to practice on, everything will be okay.

So when I see so many threads posted about "oh I just got my ass handed to me in practice so please feel sorry for me" I just can't relate. THAT is what happens. Its going to happen to you again and again and again and after studying jiu-jitsu for close to eight years now it still happens to me. All you can do is just either give up or keep on rolling, its that simple.

Ahad Mohamed · 02-01-2008, 04:52 AM

When i started rolling... i was stronger than everyone so i could beat white belts... but got destroyed by anyone with technique (i.e. blue and above).... for 6 months i was sooo frustrated that things just werent working... i couldnt pass a blue belts guard etc etc...

Then i started actually focusing... now... i can tap Purples and have progressed soooo much... but you have to put in the effort and not give up.

whipyourasstyle · 02-01-2008, 06:58 AM

Marcello Ferreira:

Not bad guy to have your first seminar with. . .

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3wnK_A6sTvk&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3wnK_A6sTvk&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

ShanghaiBJJ · 02-01-2008, 07:34 AM

Good post man and I wholeheartedly agree.

akqjt · 02-01-2008, 09:06 AM

Very inspirational stuff, thanks for posting. I've had a shitty week on the mats myself (though I'm not one of the ones complaining to strangers on Sherdog), and I'm bookmarking this post for future reference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Colonel

I have gotten my ass handed to me on so many occasions that I have had to take numerous gut checks and just say to myself, "God I really suck at this. This guy who started after me just tapped me" and I'd sit back in the changing room asking myself why I still did this when it was obvious that I didn't have the athletic ability as some of the guys I've trained with.

This in particular really hit home for me. Thanks again.

**athletic** · 02-01-2008, 10:01 AM

Excellent post and thank you for being so honest.

I had years of stand up and a lot of athletic ability and was completely baffled why I couldn't just start tapping other grapplers when every other sport or martial art I tried came so easy. You really have to earn your belts or stripes in BJJ and there is no way to fast-track your learning, this was a real lesson to me but I find training all the more rewarding for it.

kimurense · 02-01-2008, 10:34 AM

amazing post coronel!!

I was just thinking yesterday that I have been training for 8 years now in BJJ and everything was going great in the begining, I was winning tournaments and all, but at a certain stage when I reached purple belt, I kind of got to a bit of a stand still, where I felt like I wasn't improving at all. This lasted for more than a year, and I was feeling like I was getting the best out of my training. Although I was a little depressed, I never stopped training. I tried to understand what was the missing link. I have been changing a few things on my training and my lifestyle, and I finnaly feel like I am back to the old days, and I really feel that I am inproving again. latelly I've been tapping black belts regularly and brown belts, and things are looking up.

Think it's all about not giving up. don't look for easy solutions (usually there aren't any)

irc · 02-01-2008, 10:50 AM

Man, that seems like quite a list of pretty serious injuries. I have yet to get injured even once that badly (except 7 stitches to my eyebrow).

Do others here with similar exerience have that many bad injuries? Sorry for threadjacking, but I'm kinda suprised at this.

kimurense · 02-01-2008, 10:57 AM

yes (to irc) hipper extended elbow about two times, dislocated shoulder (still hurts in the winter) , pinched nerve on my back (affected left shoulder and arm) which took 6 months fisiotherapy to recover (although doctor/chiropractor said it probably will never be 100% again). also ripped the ligaments on my knee as well as many stiff necks

ILGrappler · 02-01-2008, 11:48 AM

Good post, my story pretty much mirrors yours. All newbies should read this, it's nice to have some people to relate to.