It’s like love at first sight. It was then when we first put on that Gi, we knew it was love, right? Ok. So it’s Valentine’s Day. Let’s sit back and think for a bit about… err… um… LOVE.

Yes. The powerful emotion that encompasses time, age, gender, and (at some point based Hollywood takes on the subject) space. That drives our mentors, professors, and coaches to push us further to succeed. That is Jiu-Jitsu love. Call it mush, call it anything, but I believe that for anyone to succeed, one has to fuel it with LOVE.

Have you heard of the expression “doing what you love and loving what you are doing”? 

Let’s be real. Jiu-Jitsu is a lot of work. And it’s not an easy ride. It’s a long, arduous journey that requires sacrifices. I have interviewed the best in the world of BJJ. 90% of these BJJ artists discusses how the love for the art has made them weather through the tough. Seriously. While their journey were full of disappointment (losing tournaments, not being able to pay for school fees, injuries, and what-not) they still continued because they love Jiu-Jitsu.

I am sensing some confusion from my readers. Let’s clarify what love is: love is a verb. The feeling of love only comes after the act of loving. For those who may be losing the love for the art when they say, “I don’t feel like doing Jiu-Jitsu anymore. I don’t love it that much,” it’s because people failing to see visions of themselves as succeeding in the sport. Therefore, to act and to love the sport has become secondary. This is applicable not only to Jiu-Jitsu. It applies to us as people. For us to learn and continue loving something, we must practice the act.

Without love, there won’t be any fuel for success.

You must…

Love Competition – because life is a competition, not necessarily for those who wins the race, but those who can compete the longest.

Love Learning – The only time that we cease to grow is when we stop learning

Love Training – A skill is honed by repetition and practice. If something is worth doing, then it’s something worth doing right. If you still can’t land that triangle choke, you’re not training hard enough

Love Taking Risks – I would rather lose knowing that I took a chance on a technique against my opponent, than spend the next few hours kicking myself because I didn’t.

Love Jiu-Jitsu