This is for anybody who considers themself spiritual, mainly. I've been doing ju jitsu for a short time and I've noticed that people seem to be getting competitive with each other. I'm almost feeling like that as well. I don't do it to compete, just to work hard at it and improve myself and most of all to drop ego not grow it. I'm trying to better myself as well as enjoy it, be able to build self defence ability. Does anybody else follow this way of thinking? If so, how do you manage?
Don't be a spaz. Just relax and play. You don't have to get aggressive to keep up, you just have to move better than the other guy. I think you'll find that especially in the grappling arts, the casual relaxed playful guy is almost always going to be the more technical. This sort of setting is wonderful for killing ego. You'll never really get rid of it without putting yourself in a position where you must confront it.
Ego is good. Ego gives you drive, it gives you focus and it's the thing that gives you self respect. And without those you might as well be already dead. Of course you have to keep all those in check or you'll just get yourself in all kinds of trouble, training wise and in general. An hypothetical example: BJJ is up in 30 minutes but you're kinda bummed out and rather just sit on the sofa and play some Gears of War. But you haul your butt to the gym because damn it, you know it's gonna be more fun than playing alone and you'll feel better if you go. Good ego, have a cookie. Then you roll against a newbie who is clearly stronger than you. You forego trying out new techniques in favour of playing your strengths just to show this guy who's boss. Bad ego, you should slap it on the nose with a newspaper so it learns. But you don't so next time you roll against the instructor he catches you in a choke and even though you're so sure you'll get out of it you end up waking on the mat with a ring of concerned faces above you. God damnit ego, you're sleeping in the yard tonight. Then you realize what a tool you were being so next time you roll with the newbie you'll go easy and let him work technique even if it means tapping out to him a few times. Because that's how the whole training thing works. Your ego is giving you the drive to accomplish something but you need to recognize when it's pushing you off the rails into some retarded little ****ing contest. Like choosing "winning on the mat" over "Getting better". Edit: And before you ask, yes, i keep having trouble making those little distinctions. After i got my blue belt my ego was probably visible from space
There's nothing more humbling than getting your ass kicked. That was a lesson that I learnt in Boxing recently. I wouldn't try to be competitive, it should just come out naturally when you are passionate about what you are doing. If you want to compete, compete against yourself. Challenging yourself is what builds spirit. Its not easy challenging yourself, it's tiring but thats how you know that you are moving forward and improving. Never underestimate anyone else, It will only hurt you (as I figured out) but don't beat yourself up either if someone beats you in sparring, or kata etc. take it as a reminder that you are human and you have flaws. Use your loses as opportunities to learn and grow. Keep a record of every time you do something like sparring etc., write down how you felt it went and what you thought you could improve on (asking your coach or opponent is also a valuable source of knowledge). Write down what sort of openings you saw from your opponent too and practice applying strikes to those areas. Use a score system out of 1 to 10 on how hard your match was with your opponent was, what techniques/combinations they favored and style of fighting they were doing eg; Swarmer, Slugger, Technical Fighting, Defensive Fighting etc. try and aim for above a 5 out of 10 each time. Even if you suck, as long as its outside your comfort zone (even slightly) then you are pushing yourself to improve. I used to do this when I first started the martial arts and once I can walk and fight again (I have a broken left leg at the moment) I'm going to start up a journal with a record of sparring matches. Set goals for yourself. For an example, if you are new to sparring, aim for at least one round a night, if you train 2 - 3 nights a week that works out to 8 - 12 matches a month or around a 100 matches a year. Anything under a 5 out of 10 should count as half a match - still using good technique to block, counter attack and attack but not using full power, speed or effort to achieve it. Even if its a fun match, write it down. You'll find that weight lifters and body builders often keep a log of their exercise routine. They will even write down their thoughts and how they felt before, during and after the workout. The same can be applied to martial arts training. Don't just restrict it to sparring, the same can be applied to kata or pattern training, drill work, heavy bag training, shadow sparring etc. Good training builds a strong spirit.
