The Ninja Blog

The growth mindset is a way of approaching challenging situations without the presence of fear. My coach often has us practice this by having us flow roll with a partner, but instead of focusing on winning (which makes the match competitive), you take on the “Mind of Einstein”. The entire roll is a process of data gathering. When you run into resistance or an unexpected response from your partner it’s just more data for you to apply to grow your game.

This allows you to make mistakes and try new things without fear of failure. Allowing yourself to make mistake is extremely important for the learning process. I like to apply this same concept when competing. A simple change in mindset can allow you to never lose when competing ever again. If you approach your competition from a non-fearful perspective, where you allow that “L” to transform itself from “Loss” to a “Learn”, then you’ll never lose when competing again. You have lost nothing if you notice an opportunity to get better and nothing exposes your weaknesses better than competing.

So go out there and try something new today. When it fails, ask yourself why? Try adjusting things until it starts getting more success. 

See you on the mat!

Consistency has been and is a major key to improving my jiu jitsu game. I try to build a routine around my training schedule so that by default I’m busy on training nights. Friends want to go out for drinks that night? Sorry, but that is a training day for me. Take it as seriously as you would an appointment with someone else. 

If you are able to consistently dedicate as little as 300 minutes per week (3 days per week) to improving your Jiu Jitsu, you’ll be on track for great results. It's better to be consistent and steady than the alternative. I have had many friends hit the gym super hard for a few weeks only to vanish for months while they figure out why they got hurt or burned out. It's just as important to get quality rest as it is to get those hard sparring rounds in!  You can use Grapple.Ninja to help keep yourself accountable and motivated, while also keeping an eye on your training volume. I use Grapple.Ninja to keep an eye on how much I'm training and I adjust my days accordingly. 

Go train and happy tracking :)
 

Custom Training Reports are now available for Grapple.Ninja Pro subscribers!

You can now search your training history using a custom date search. This is just the beginning of what is coming for Pro subscribers. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Hows your training going so far this summer? Here's a snapshot of mine right now. Consistency is king! Happy tracking :)

Are there moves that are statistically better but are underrepresented in jiu-jitsu due to a cultural stigma? In Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Big Man can’t Shoot” episode of the Revisionist History Podcast, he asks this question about basketball. Specifically about shooting free throws underhanded, granny style. In the episode Gladwell interviews Rick Barry who shot underhanded. He asks Barry about the stigma of shooting granny style and asked if that bothered him. Barry repeats what his Dad had told him, “They can’t make fun of you if you’re making them.” They go on to talk about how underhanded free throws are a superior technique and are statistically more accurate, but nobody in the NBA will shoot them because they don’t want to be picked on. This got me thinking. What jiu-jitsu moves are being unfairly stigmatized despite being highly successful?