Seeing progress. John Danaher

Seeing progress: One of the hardest things about jiu jitsu is the feeling that you aren’t making progress despite all your efforts in training. It’s natural to feel this way - you train in a room with other students who are learning the same moves you are and who are familiar with your game. As you progress they also progress at a similar rate and in similar directions since you’re all products of the same room. Just as a car on the highway next to you traveling at the same speed as you are appears stationary from your viewpoint even though you’re both moving forward very fast, so too your progress can seem stationary when everyone else is moving at roughly the same speed as you. Don’t despair - the only times you go backwards in Jiu jitsu is when you don’t train at all for extended periods of time. It’s damn near impossible to train regularly with commitment and not make solid forward progress. While it’s true that not everyone progresses at the same speed and for some athletes in some training programs it’s possible to make remarkable progress in a relatively short time, don’t worry too much about your learning rate vs their learning rate. Remember that’s anyone’s progress can be derailed by unforeseen issues, injuries or impediments. HOW FAST YOU PROGRESS IS NOT NEARLY AS IMPORTANT AS HOW LONG YOU PROGRESS. Don’t despair over rate of progress - take heart in the knowledge that if you train longer and more consistently you’ll overtake all those who started faster.

John Danaher