When you realize you're not very talented

One day, you will go to training, start rolling and everything will click.

I was like you (i still suck, not saying i don't), but i took a few months off for injury (i re injured it a week after i came back playing soccer), and when we rolled, stuff just came to me. I have long legs and i could never get subs from my back before, i was getting triangles and armbars all class long.

One day it will click, for everyone its a different time, but it will happen
 
Everyone learns at thier own pace. One thing to remember is that there will always be someone better and you can learn alot from getting tapped so just embrace it. I remember one black belt telling me some people learn fast and others will still be bluebelts at 8 years in.

Luckily I seem to have picked things up a little faster than most. I remember back when I was only 3 months in a purple belt asked me how long I trained and when I told him he was very surprised and said lots of guys dont get it but you are getting it. That really motivated me early on. I still think my game is trash though and I have a LONG way to go.

For me I found my big "clicks" at about 3 months, 8 months and a little over a year. Still waiting for the next big "click". Sometimes I fell like I am sooo sloppy and other time I surprise myself with the stuff I pull off. Everyone has their peaks and valleys its just part of the game.
 
I'm going to repost something I posted a while back that I think will help.
-------------------------------

Good technique takes time to cultivate. What happens a lot with beginners is they get impatient and learn to rely on strength, speed, athleticism, etc. In the beginning, it's easy to think you suck and these guys are better than you. Take your time and learn good technique - with time you will find yourself in better and better positions and eventually things will click and you will be in the dominant position. The whitebelts that were relying on strength, speed, etc to smash me are still white belts while I have moved on.
 
daninnashville said:
I haven't won a gold medal at a tournament yet...but I feel like if I continue to train hard and train smart...eventually that will change. The vast majority of people in this world will never make a living with BJJ, so I always try to take that into perspective and realize that if I love the sport...and love the training...then eventually persistence will outweigh anything. Tenacity is the key. :)
Click to expand...

PREACH!!
 
Someone mentioned Marcelo a bit back. I cannot remember when the article came out (somewhere in Gracie Mag to lazy to find it) but he claims he wasn't the best guy in his class when he started. That he was somewhere in the middle but just never stopped working. He was always analyzing, thinking, training, etc. What most people forget is that he didn't even make his first ADCC. Marcelo was an alternate. Someone dropped out for some reason and he was picked to fill the spot and just hasn't stopped dominating.

Outside of Marcelo, it's just time on the mat. Not everyone is capable of being the best sports BJJ player, but that's not the point. It is just one aspect of the game. Work hard, keep training, and you will get better. Maybe not as fast as some people, but in time you'll get your blue, and then your purple, etc.

If you do go the sport route and that is important to you then determination and toughness is a big factor. More often than not the tough guys are taken down and being dominated but by just sticking in there they manage to pull out a submission on those guys who are better than them.

Ultimately just keep training. It should be fun no matter what. Although the continuous tapping does get repetitive it is good for you... At least that's what my instructor tells me...
 
ijustwannasurf said:
PREACH!!
Click to expand...


Thanks! :redface:

Just trying to be honest myself. :) It's funny...I keep reading these responses about how white belts can often be spazzes and I totally understand that. I rolled extensively last night with a purple belt. He normally dominates me at will but the only thing I kept thinking about was slowing down and simply breathing. Certain submissions that he would have tapped me with before didn't work. I think it was because I wasn't in a state of panic. :) Granted he did tap me several times but the whole roll was so much better and I actually had gas in my tank at the end.



D
 
lots of good advice here

must be alooot of underachievers :)
 
Here's a video I found of Gary Kasparov, one of the greatest chess players in the world. He's talking about what it takes to be a chess champion, making mistakes, and learning from your mistakes. I think its very fitting for grappling.

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Issus said:
Someone mentioned Marcelo a bit back. I cannot remember when the article came out (somewhere in Gracie Mag to lazy to find it) but he claims he wasn't the best guy in his class when he started. That he was somewhere in the middle but just never stopped working. He was always analyzing, thinking, training, etc. What most people forget is that he didn't even make his first ADCC. Marcelo was an alternate. Someone dropped out for some reason and he was picked to fill the spot and just hasn't stopped dominating.
Click to expand...

Nick Gill (current Canadian national judo team coach, twice olympic medalist in judo) says the same thing ... he claims he was pretty average in his judo ability, but he worked hard and smart (ie analyzing both techniques and the way he was training). Hard to believe given how strong Nick is (Rhadi Ferguson called him a beast, and Rhadi is very strong and fast), but apparently he built up his strength through training too. Though I wonder if that at least was just getting older - lot's of kids who aren't particularly strong at 14 become much stronger once puberty hits.
 
The Colonel said:
Here's a video I found of Gary Kasparov, one of the greatest chess players in the world. He's talking about what it takes to be a chess champion, making mistakes, and learning from your mistakes. I think its very fitting for grappling.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/B2KKfOGaR_w&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/B2KKfOGaR_w&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Click to expand...

Nice, I just finished reading Josh Waitzkin's book (the kid from searching for bobby fischer) called the Art of Learning. It is part autobiographical, part pedagological, but not really an instructional. More explaining his own theories of learning. Josh is a Machado purple belt.

The world of chess is interesting, full of very bright, often eccentric people who have come to gain very useful and insightful experience that is applicable to many endeavors, including martial arts.
 
georgejjr said:
Nick Gill (current Canadian national judo team coach, twice olympic medalist in judo) says the same thing ... he claims he was pretty average in his judo ability, but he worked hard and smart (ie analyzing both techniques and the way he was training). Hard to believe given how strong Nick is (Rhadi Ferguson called him a beast, and Rhadi is very strong and fast), but apparently he built up his strength through training too. Though I wonder if that at least was just getting older - lot's of kids who aren't particularly strong at 14 become much stronger once puberty hits.
Click to expand...

i was just reading that in x-guard today at borders book store. dennis hallman didn't show up and they called marcelo at the last minute to fill in. that's pretty cool considering where he is today. my coach has told me numerous times and its so evident in the gym that the best guy is the one who trains the hardest and with the most consistency.

"obsessed is what lazy people call those who are dedicated."

^quite true, especially for grappling.
 
There's more to success in BJJ than just simply natural ability - although for sure it helps. If they are stronger - you can be more determined. If they are more agile - you can be more dedicated. If they are fitter - you can be smarter.

If you can't be better than they are - train harder than they do.[/QUOTE]




Great quote, mind if I sig this if I ever get the chance?
 
Then BJJ is for you. Everyone knows the fat out of shape guy that competely dominates everyone on the mat. It is because he valued technique over anything else. Do that and it will pay off in the long run.
 
judogido said:
A classic case - there are 2 brothers, non-identical twins.

They started at the same time, and one brother was just more co-ordinated than the other and generally always won and placed higher than the other.

Yet, the second brother was just determined. He trained hard and had a never-give-up attitude, especially in competition.

He's now a nationally ranked player, and has defeated his brother on numerous occasions and consistently places ahead of his brother.


All I can say is - don't give up. Persist. Understand that just because they started better than you doesn't mean you won't finish better than they will.
Click to expand...

That's quite Aesopian, and inspirational :)
 
BJJ is not about being good or bad. Anyone can come to a certain level with enough training and "patience". If you feel you are weak in one area you get the other area sronger. JJ is not going against the flow its going with it.. YOu will get better bro just keep training.
There will always be someone thats gonna make you feel bad. But you should try to be your best and everything is gonna be fine.
 
I always look at my progress like the tortoise, slow but constant. Alot of small steps add up over time.
 
brother, a now famous UFC fighter once did a seminar at my training academy and said this "I spent the first 6 months grappling to learn how to kick the snot out of 99 out of 100 guys on the street, I spent the last 10 years learning to fight that one dude who just may know more then me".
 
As most other guys in this thread have already mentioned, hard work beats talent, any day. Its not apparent at first, but i've gotten my ass kicked by guys who used to be worse than be, but worked harder on more than one occasion. Keep chiseling away at it, and the sky's the limit.
 
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