Post Newb Annihilation
“Not quite a newb, not yet the Pro.”
So you’ve been doing BJJ for a bit now. I guess you could say things are getting serious.
You train three to four times a week and have totally been bitten by the BJJ bug.
By now you’ve gotten a few stripes and can almost smell your blue belt. (That’s not the blue belt, bro. That’s your gi. Go soak that shit in Lysol.) You’ve probably seen a weight loss, seen a change in your body and, you may have competed at a local tournament or, if your coach is confident, at a higher profile competition.
If you’ve dedicated yourself to your training and absorbed it well, you have probably had satisfactory results. If you haven’t had the results you want, you know that more time on the mat will create better results the next time around.
You can survive and sometimes batter other training partners that are of similar skill levels. New techniques have been found and combining them with other skills has worked like magic at times and has also failed miserably in the same breath.
So, basically, you’re not a newb by any means but, you still don’t know shit about shit when it comes to the whole of jiu jitsu.
You can look at it like this
Your close quarter skills are alright and your mid-range weapons are actual long shots. If you had to take a real long shot, you may shit yourself from anxiety. (BJJ Tip #1: Don’t shit yourself.)
You have gained enough body control and awareness that the Blue Belts aren’t running through you and your coach has stopped yelling “Ka Ryu!”.
That’s why you train more often. Sharpening those skills, long and short, will shrink your margin of error. Less proverbial, shitting of one’s self.
So, keep level grinding and combining things. You’ll find out what you really enjoy as well as a bunch about yourself.
It may be hard to see but, you’re just breaking the ice of skill level.
All this good stuff then…
…you get promoted.
As a new blue belt, you feel like you could conquer the world! And, at the same time, like you are probably gonna die during the course of said conquering.
You will. Horribly for what seems like a million times.
It’s not that getting promoted is bad. In fact, it’s freaking awesome. It’s amazing how you feel when you get a new belt and everyone in the gym is proud of your accomplishment.
Getting that new belt usually accelerates your learning. You feel like you need to represent that belt a little better than what your current skill level shows. It also accelerates the ass beatings from the upper belts and puts a target on your back for the guys that REALLY want to be blue belts.
You’re a newb again but, at least you can defend yourself with pride. Don’t be too depressed about it.
Every now and then, your white belt will show it’s ugly face.
Yep. You’re gonna spaz out and not listen at times. It’s part of the learning process.
Sometimes, in the middle of a round, Coach will be yelling some unintelligible garble at you and won’t shut the hell up while you’re trying to focus on using that badass move you saw on Instagram and you’ll end up getting your butt kicked.
“Oh hell yes! I took his back!” as you switch to White Belt Kill Mode. He’s in your grasp. You get to the position…
*Que Queens, We Are the Champions!*
…you lose the position.
Shit.
This scenario will happen a lot. The more your ears open, the more you’ll succeed in tough positions.
Sometimes you’ll succeed. Other times it will seem like you’re actually getting worse.
That’s where your character, heart and, resilience have a chance to show.
When you encounter roadblocks, most of the time we can find a way around them. When the only way is through the roadblock, you find out what you’re really made of.
THIS is why Jiu Jitsu is so attractive. Because it IS hard and you want to find out what you’re made of by training through the roadblocks.
Tired? Old? Fat?
Well, I can’t help you with your age but, I can help you feel better and get yourself into better shape. Training Jiu Jitsu 3-4x a week will have you feeling like a new man.
- More Energy
- No more Dad-bod
- Less Stress
All you gotta do is get off your butt.
Call us today 432-599-1642 at Vagabond Martial Arts
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