tjmitch posted this article on Facebook and I thought it was great (I know, what is this world coming to?) so I figured I'd post it on here (hopefully it hasn't already been posted):
Paul Greenhill's What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt!
My teammate and friend (Julius Park) asked me to write down a few things that I wish I’d known when I was a white belt starting out in BJJ and though I’ve been training for almost 14 years, I had to think about what key things to write because they’re so much I wish I would’ve known.
So, here’s my “short list” of The Wise Grappler’s “I wish I would’ve known…”
List:
* 90% of the folks that you start with at white belt will never make it to black belt.
* You will be one of those 90 percent that never reaches black belt unless you really want it.
* Injury is 100 percent guaranteed at each belt level.
* Family members will try to talk you into quitting after each injury, especially if surgery is required. and if you really don’t want to be a black belt, their comments will make sense and you will quit.
* Listen to your body and rest when you’re hurt. BJJ is a marathon race, not a sprint.
* There’s a thin line between being hurt and injured. Don’t ignore the warning signs.
* BJJ is ALL EGO, regardless of the old “leave your ego at the door” mantra.
* Keep a flower pot at the office large enough to soak my sore wrists, hands and elbows during the day.
* Never train hard without a good warm-up first. if you’re intentionally skipping warm-ups so you can save energy for your matches, you’re going to pay for it someday.
* To not listen to training advice from other white belts over my instructor.
* Everyone online sounds smarter and better equipped to teach you than your instructor.
* Too much bjj info (e.g. DVDs, books, magazines, etc.) is just as bad as not enough bjj info.
* Good grapplers are training, not spending all day posting about who’s the best grappler or where they train.
* If you don’t have training goals in the beginning, someone will give you their agenda for what they want you to be and you may not like it.
* The grappler that thinks “drilling is a waste of time” will be an average grappler at best.
* You don’t have to be at the gym to train.
* Competitions will reveal all your bad habits that you can either hide or ignore in the gym.
* Start learning takedowns as a white belt. that way, you won’t be a blue/purple/brown belt that can only jump guard or butt scoot.
* The paintbrush and every other basic technique that you think is useless will work if you take time to learn how to set them up and execute them correctly.
* If you have to think about doing a technique, you don’t know it.
* Drill at least 10-15 mins after class every day on the technique you just learned to help reinforce it in your muscle memory.
* Trust your coach to build you as a grappler, not strangers that you only talk to online.
* White belts don’t have a style, regardless of what they think.
* Never let anyone intimidate you on the mat.
* Remember to breathe when sparring. if you run out of gas too quickly every time you roll, you’re probably holding your breath.
* Never be afraid to tap with a partner, it’s really not that important
I’m sure that I could’ve gone on forever, but I have to get up in the morning! Meditate on these “wise grappling” tips and feel free to send me your feedback at paul@thewisegrappler.com
Thanks for the opportunity to share my experience, Julius. Ayyyy!!!
Dedicated to improving your mat experience!
Paul Greenhill (aka The Wise Grappler)
source: http://www.baltimorebrazilianjiujitsu.com/2010/01/03/paul-greenhills-what-i-wish-i-knew-as-a-white-belt/
I like The Wise Grappler stuff on the facebook. I missed this one though. Thanks for posting.
I love this one.
+1 for you.
tjmitch is an asshat.
tries to log out and log back in with other screen name to fix post
Love the idea of this.
Can someone seriously make a poster/t-shirt/leaflet with this on it?
so true about ALL EGO
Great idea for a thread. About the all ego thing....related to that is using strenf. People tell you that you don't need it if you are doing it properly, but you DO need it.
tjmitch - tjmitch is an asshat.
I'm now a fan!
Why do you guys say it's 'all about ego'? I feel like I'm trying to suppress my ego so I can soften up and flow better. I don't get that one.
nice read
Kirkmcquest - Why do you guys say it's 'all about ego'? I feel like I'm trying to suppress my ego so I can soften up and flow better. I don't get that one.You can soften up and flow by relaxing, and they aren't necessarily related. Ultimately most people, even if you say beforehand that you want a light roll, will end up turning it into a battle to the living death.
TTT
Great post. TTT.
ausgepicht -Kirkmcquest - Why do you guys say it's 'all about ego'? I feel like I'm trying to suppress my ego so I can soften up and flow better. I don't get that one.You can soften up and flow by relaxing, and they aren't necessarily related. Ultimately most people, even if you say beforehand that you want a light roll, will end up turning into a battle to the living death.
LOL So true.
ausgepicht -Kirkmcquest - Why do you guys say it's 'all about ego'? I feel like I'm trying to suppress my ego so I can soften up and flow better. I don't get that one.You can soften up and flow by relaxing, and they aren't necessarily related. Ultimately most people, even if you say beforehand that you want a light roll, will end up turning into a battle to the living death.
That's true, it's hard to find somebody that will actually roll light. It takes practice, and usually we end up going heavy after a while anyway.
Kostakio -
* Never train hard without a good warm-up first. if you’re intentionally skipping warm-ups so you can save energy for your matches, you’re going to pay for it someday.
I HATE when dudes do this (even though I rolled up 5 minutes late this past Saturday and missed warm-ups... but it wasn't intentional! lol)!! They think they're so slick. haha
How about this one:
*When a person says "I'm injured, so can we go light?" prepare to be lulled into relaxation for 30 seconds, before having your head ripped off when your guard is down.
And YOU will be the asshole.
ttt