As much as you love training and look forward to the next class, have you ever experienced a slump – both mental and/or physical? Even the most motivated among Jiu-Jitsu addicts have gone through rough patches.

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There are periods in your Jiu-Jitsu training where you feel great and injury free. Your game feels like it is really clicking for you and it feels like you could roll forever. And then suddenly…

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A map to overcome struggles by Prof. Flavio Almeida

Your progress has come to a standstill. It seems sometimes like everyone else around you is getting better …but you! Or you may have suffered a training injury which seems to malinger forever and prevents you from functioning normally. Or work / school / family obligations are demanding so much of your time and energy that getting to class feels like a Herculean effort.

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All of these factors can seriously drain your motivation. You start missing training sessions. You feel like you have fallen behind the rest of the class and getting back up to speed seems like an insurmountable task.

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You are normal. This happens to most of us at some point in our Jiu-Jitsu journey.

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When frustration sets in, we need to manage our attitude in order to endure a slump or training interruption due to injury. When “life gets in the way” – you need to focus on exams in school or when work becomes busy for a period – sometimes your bjj has to be put on the side for a period of time. It happens.

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The important things is not to adopt “all or nothing thinking” about your Jiu-Jitsu. That is to say that either you are training at your optimal schedule or…nothing. We must understand that in the course of years of training Jiu-Jitsu that we WILL experience setbacks and interruptions out of our control. This is to be expected. We must accept and adapt.

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There is a popular Bjj meme “A black belt is a white belt who never quit.” It is true. Ask any of the black belts you meet at your Gracie Barra school about their training history, and they will share personal stories of overcoming obstacles in their journey and persevering to black belt.

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Having an attitude that we EXPECT the road to have some pot holes and detours and delays makes it easier to see the bigger picture.

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If you have been forced away from the mats for a while, a return can feel daunting. “What is the point? I lost all of my skills and conditioning!” a voice inside says.

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One of my favorite motivational quotes I read in a strength training by old time bodybuilder Mr. Universe Bill Pearl.

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“If You Quit.

It’s no disaster. Don’t think ‘Well, I missed a week so I’ve blown it – no sense in starting over.’

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You can ALWAYS start over. Remember the well worn phrase ‘Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life’? It’s true. If you do quit, or if you have quit, tomorrow is a great time to get started again.

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Look at it this way: you’ve had a little rest and now you can start fresh. Too many people get so psyched up about being regular with their workouts that if they stop – even for a short time – they think all is lost, that they’ve failed and so they quit.

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Life is a series of ups and downs, starts and stops, mountains and valleys. No matter how many times you quit, you can always start again.”

Source: Getting Stronger by Bill Pearl

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Think about your own experiences in Jiu-Jitsu. You no doubt have had your own ups and downs. But staying in touch with the reasons why you started Jiu-Jitsu can inject some needed enthusiasm and get you back to class.

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Don’t give up!

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Credits: Mark Mullen

Gracie Barra Black belt based in Asia