Yesterday morning I took a Jiu Jitsu class. My good friend & training partner, Tony, teaches at my school once a week. He asked the class if they remembered the move he had taught the week before. Even though many of them were there and Tony tried to explain it, they barely remembered it at all. I, being the seasoned veteran I am, boldly declared that I remembered the move, which was a guard pass.
Tony picked me to be his dummy and began to review the details of the move with the class. He was barely two steps into the demonstration when I realized I had forgotten numerous details. I knew the idea of the move, but as far as the details, I was lost. Thank God I did not have to show it!
I tend to do this a lot though. I learn something once and all of a sudden I feel I am an expert at it. However, in order to be an expert at something, you have to have experience in it. When we first learn something, we learn the concept and the basic breakdown of things. Then, because we have found this new knowledge, we suddenly feel we have no more to learn. However, what we are forgetting is the details.
The details are what we learn through experience.
For example, when I first started in Jiu Jitsu, like any other competitor, I wanted to tap everyone. Logical thinking lead me to believe that if I learned how to do an arm bar I would be set. This, unfortunately, is not how things work in Jiu Jitsu. Learning how to do any submission is only a tenth of the battle. The other 90% is getting the proper position before you apply the submission.
Without the proper position, you are bound for failure. Even better is the fact that there is not necessarily one single proper position either. You have to learn to adapt your position constantly based on what your opponent is doing. There can be thousands of decisions and movements in order to actually apply a simple submission such as an arm bar. That is what I have learned through experience. The simple fact is I can explain the entire theory, concept, and breakdown of moves to anyone in the world. Until they have tried multiple times and failed at applying the submission, it would be fruitless for me to think they understood.
I also get to see this with many new students. Eager for success, they surf YouTube for instructional Jiu Jitsu videos. Sometimes they find stuff even my instructor has never seen. They come into class foaming at the mouth, ready to pull their new Ace in the hole on a senior student. The problem is it never works. Not once. No one pulls a move off perfect the first time, especially with limited experience in the sport. They usually wind up asking for help in learning the details.
The same goes for life.
I believe I can kid myself sometimes into thinking I know more than I do. The simple fact I have found is I always have more to learn. Every day, every experience, I learn a little something different. Or, maybe I learn the same lesson over again, and it reinforces that knowledge. Whatever happens, each day, as a person, we all grow with knowledge if we allow ourselves to absorb it.
So don’t get frustrated, like I used to, when making the same mistake over and over. Try to keep a clear mind. On the mat, when someone is frustrated, their focus drops dramatically. If they are able to keep a clear mind, and figure out what they are doing wrong, they will eventually succeed.
If you find your frustration is too much to handle, try these steps:
- Breathe 5 really deep, slow breaths. Inhale…..inhale again…..then exhale….
- Release your mind of the blame game. It does not matter if it is your fault or someone else’s.
- Take a step back, clear your mind, and try to look at the situation from different view points. Sometimes our focus on one factor hides the view of another.
- Understand what phase you are in: you are learning. Frustration is a part of the growth process, so learn to enjoy it because it makes what you are learning much more valuable. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
- Focus on the details. Sometimes, instead of accomplishing the whole goal, we need to accomplish little steps at a time. For instance, when in debt, it is better to pay back a little each month, rather than waiting for a day you have the whole sum. Try this approach. What small step can you accomplish that will get you closer to your end goal?
Breathe, release your mind, step back, understand, and focus.
The goal of success is a long, perilous road where your only guide is the experience gained through numerous trial and errors. Trial and error is the main concept in nature. It is why, after re-learning the guard pass, I used it successfully at least 4 times in the class. I now had the experience in it to be effective. I understood the details I had initially forgotten. Tony even decided he would teach every move from now on two classes in a row. I think that is a great idea, as it gives us a chance to digest the information, and then re-learn it a week later.
This is why people with great minds in life never stop learning. They are constantly trying to improve their depth of knowledge. I am going to try and take the same approach. I need to stop kidding myself, and be aware of what I really do know, and what I may think I know.
Has anyone else noticed this occurring in their own life?
Stumble It!
