There’s no such thing as a mistake on the mat

Two roared out onto the mat, slapped hands, and then after a flurry of activity, only one hand was raised.

That was a familiar scene at the New York Open.

It happened countless times, and it is the one thing that you can predict in competition. There will be a result.

And when you’re in the arena, instead of on the sidelines, it’s easy to say what if. What if I had pushed a little harder? Or what if I hadn’t let go of that grip? Mistakes seems to be abound everywhere, especially when the result is undesired.

But there are no mistakes on the mat.

You do what you prepare for (reps, reps, reps). And in the absence of adequate preparation (and that is very situational), all you can do is guess.

In that instance, you flip the coin. It could be heads. It could be tails. It could be right. It could be wrong.

But it’s not a mistake. It’s a guess.

And the only thing you have absolute control over is how you address it in the room afterward. Make sure that in the future no guess will be required for that situation.

That’s how you get the most out of competition.