It’s very gratifying to be motivated by qualities you see in your training colleagues. Have you ever thought about having guard skills like that black belt, the agility of that blue belt and the intelligence of that brown belt guy?

Surely, you have already done such a mental selection and then “filtered” the qualities of each of those guys, imagining yourself having all of that in just one person. Can you imagine? You would be unbeatable, right? Yeah, this is a kind of a typical thought. Everyone has had that idea at some time, even when it comes to the opponents. That’s normal. You want to develop yourself to be good enough so that one day other people will also look and point at you as their example.

We call this behavior as “healthy ambition”. It is crucial to have it – after all, we can only be a reflection of what we see. But unfortunately, some people end up evolving these thoughts in an evil way.

“Do not covet the other’s achievements”  – Great Master Carlos Gracie

Since the early times of jiu-jitsu, Grand Master Carlos Gracie had wisely identified this behavior in some cases among the mats. Although a minority, we must know how to circumvent it, and this is not an easy task at all.

Exactly for this reason, the father of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s left us this teaching, predicting for his future legacy, that type of situation: “Do not covet other’s achievements” i.e., do not wish in an envious way for what your colleagues have conquered.

When admiration turns into envy, things go bad. There’s no other way. Everything takes its time. Remember, one step at a time. No one was born knowing everything. Be patient, respect your limits, and keep the focus. These are the pillars which enabled the great characters of the gentle art to achieve their goals.

Thanks to the Great Master, the person who wears the kimono today won’t only learn the gentle art. They will learn mainly how to prevent greed and avarice. How about reflecting on this wise teaching?

Maybe that’s just the point that was missing to make you a real samurai spirit’s apprentice.

OSS