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Recently, something significant happened in my life that will require me to make certain adjustments. It was unexpected and undesired, but I’ve been able to take a step back and really analyze the situation.

I realized that there were specific choices that I made that heavily influenced the outcome. So I’ve decided to take the reminder of that lesson and apply it to other areas.

One application, of course, will focus on Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

That’s the intent of this post.  I would like you to think about a simple question. What seeds are you planting every time you step onto the mats?

Ripple Effects

I’m going to take you back in time with me to my years as a white belt. Back then, I had training partners that destroyed me in the gym. It forced me to focus on small victories.

One of those early successes was just getting to half guard and being able to hold people there for significant periods of time.  It was far harder to get to closed guard, and my open guard was nonexistent.

I now look at that as a seed that was planted unconsciously because as I had success I wanted to build on it. It led to me developing a decent level of proficiency with the half guard. That’s just one example though.

Focus on the Seeds

At Evolve Academy, there’s a motto that’s emphasized:  Practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes habit.  

Everything contributes to that process. The things that you do and say every day are habits that are forming, and they can be beneficial or detrimental.

If you recognize that fact, it becomes easier to focus on the seeds that will lead to the harvest that you desire whatever it may be.

Often in the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, it’s that shiny medal at the biggest tournament or that new belt that serves as acknowledgement of your growth. Both of those end results are worthless if you don’t put in the work though. It’s the effort that led to the accomplishment that matters most of all.

So focus on the work that you do day in and day out to improve.

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I recently read a book called Start with Why by Simon Sinek. It made me think about why I love Jiu-jitsu, and the answer I came up with surprised me because the reason has existed before I even knew what Jiu-jitsu was.

Through the Wormhole

Before I just spell it out, let’s go back in time. When I was really young, I received my first computer. It was a 386 or a 486. I forget which, but suffice to say that it was a dinosaur. I remember going out and getting games. Then I would try to load them, and often they wouldn’t work right away.

The reason for that lies in the fact that back in the stone ages memory was logically split into categories like conventional, extended, and expanded. Different games required certain amounts of memory in the different layers.

That’s where applications like memmaker came into the picture. It allowed you to play with the distribution of memory.

Sometimes, it got quite tricky, but I often had to engage in a little problem solving before I could even play games. I enjoyed the process almost as much as the reward though.

Figuring it all out was just fascinating.

Innovative Engineering

Another example happened recently. In fact, it was only a few weeks ago.

I went down to Virginia to support some teammates at their MMA fights. While there, I spent most of my time in the back with the team.

Between the fights there were significant periods of dead time, and during the wait my coach, Mike Moses, challenged us to figure out how his knife works.

It was a switchblade but it had a concealed mechanism for bringing the blade out. Even when he demonstrated, it wasn’t clear what was being pressed.

We all tried our hand at it. Most tried for a few minutes then decided to focus on something else. Even I took a little break after trying for like ten minutes.

I walked away and got something to eat, but then I came back and picked up the knife again. I looked at it from every angle that I could think of, but I still couldn’t figure it out.

That process continued throughout the night. I would walk away and then come back and pick up the knife. Every time, I was in the room, my thoughts tended to drift toward figuring out the solution, and I was actually disappointed when it was revealed.

How it all Relates to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

From those two examples, hopefully you now understand one of my underlying passions. My focus on coming up with unique solutions to common problems and understanding how things work and how to make them work better both stem from the desire to solve problems.

What Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gave me was the perfect outlet.

It’s an ever-changing puzzle with so many different pieces. It forces you to bring everything you have to bear. You have to use your mind, body and spirit to excel at this art, and all are strengthened in the process.

It’s simply problem solving in its finest form.

Every concept and movement is a piece of the puzzle, but learning the individual pieces simply isn’t enough. You have to learn how they interact with each other.

What makes it challenging and fascinating is that the puzzle isn’t two-dimensional. There is no one true solution. Each piece doesn’t have a clearly defined space that it must fit into.

Instead, the puzzle is multidimensional.

For example, one concept can be linked to many different movements to create a diverse range of techniques. The same can be said about linking movements to concepts.

Then on the next level, there is how techniques interact with each other. You have to figure out how to use them in combination to form effective attack sequences and loops.

You can’t forget to add resistance to the equation either. So there are counters, re-counters, reversals, and escapes.

It can all get quite complex, but there is a certain simplicity to it as well.

Mastering this art will be a lifelong pursuit. Even now at brown belt, I believe that there is still so much to learn. I’ve only figured out bits and pieces so far.

It’s a good thing that I love the process.

What about you? Why do you love the art?

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One thing that I really enjoy is taking ideas from diverse sources and applying them to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.  If you read enough posts here, you probably already noticed that trend.

This post will be another example of that because I was recently exposed to a very interesting concept about business. It’s all about a simple five word question that every business should ask themselves.

The question is:

What are we really selling?

The goal of that question is to shift the focus from the product to how customers perceive the value of the product. For example, if you sold trash bags, are you really selling trash bags?  No, because no one buys a trash bag just to have them.

You’re selling a cleaner house. You’re selling a cleaner car. You’re selling a cleaner environment.  You’re selling the desired result, and the trash bag is just a tool used to achieve it.

Now it doesn’t end there. There’s also the reason why a certain result is desired, and you can go deeper and deeper there until the reason is very specific.

Here’s a quick example.

Product: Trash bag

Basic desired result: Clean house

Possible reason why: To attain peace of mind.

Possible reason why: To avoid criticism of visiting relatives or friends.

Possible reason why: To find lost possessions.

The closer you get to articulating a customer’s specific reason why and proving that your product can help them achieve the result they desire, the more likely they will be to see the value in your product.

It’s a simple concept, and we’re going to look at Brazilian Jiu-jitsu through those lens.

What’s Really Being Highlighted

This will be a comparison of the homepages of three different gym websites.

I chose them by just going on Google and typing in BJJ. Then I picked three from the local results.

Also this analysis will not be about which gym has the best program. It’s just about the messages they present to their potential customers at  that first level of contact.

If I were to compare the programs, it wouldn’t be fair. I’ve trained at two of  the gyms, and I’m biased.

Team Maryland BJJ

This gym has a explicit list of benefits with a clear association to new years resolutions. So it can be assumed that it is a seasonal message, but let’s look at it.

1. Lose weight
2. Bullyproof your child
3. Learn Self Defense
4. Increase my self confidence
5. Increase my mental and physical health

Then there’s a offer to assist with all those resolutions.

These are all basic desired results. In this list, I couldn’t see any reasons why any of these results would be desired.

Check out the page yourself.

Crazy 88 BJJ

Every month, 60+ people sign up at Crazy 88 to learn how to protect themselves, get the physique they always wanted, and master Mixed Martial Arts.

Let’s break that down.

To learn how to protect themselves: This is a reason why someone would want to learn self-defense.

Get the physique they always wanted: This is another reason why. This time the focus is on weight loss and fitness.

Master Mixed Martial Arts: This is a desired result with niche appeal.

Every month, 60+ people sign up: This is a proof element. The intent is to say that many people have already found value in the program.

After that a training highlight video is shown, and that’s another proof element. It’s a visual demonstration of what you can learn if you sign up.

Check out the page yourself.

Baltimore Martial Arts Academy

At the Baltimore Martial Arts Academy we want to give you the confidence and inner strength that only a dedicated martial artist can earn. This confidence will guide you through tough times and support virtually every aspect of your life outside the gym. At the same time your martial arts training will forge new friendships and a new physique — all in a safe, friendly, fun atmosphere.

On that whole first page, this is the most compelling paragraph. It’s a shame that it’s hidden in the middle of the page.

Let’s break it down.

Give you the confidence and inner strength: This is a desired result.

That only a dedicated martial artist can earn: This is a general proof element.

Guide you through tough times and support every aspect of your life: Here’s a reason why gaining confidence will help you.

Forge new friendships and a new physique: Here’s both a desired result and a basic reason why.

There’s a video on this page too, and it includes training footage as well.

Check out the page yourself.

 The Reason Why

Ultimately, when you focus on the reason why certain results are desired, you are in fact focusing on relevancy.  So when you look at these websites, the question is how relevant are they making their product right away.

Which one would compel you to look deeper for more information if you had no idea what Brazilian Jiu-jitsu was?

If you’re passionate about expanding and spreading the art of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, these are the type of questions that should be thought about. BJJ isn’t an easy sell, but that’s not because it doesn’t have value.

It has a lot of value.

We just have to make it absolutely clear.

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That’s a question that you should ask yourself if you’re serious about mastering anything

But who wants to look like a fool? We all want to look good. We want to impress. It’s hard to let go of vanity. It’s also hard to let go of habits that you’ve already formed.

There’s a parable highlighted in Mastery that illustrates that point.  George Leonard describes a situation where a person has a cup of milk in hand and a quart of milk on the table within reach. In order to attain the greater quantity of milk, the person will have to let go of the cup.

It’s in that transition where you will look like a fool.

You’ve let go of the cup, but you haven’t yet attained the quart. Who knows how much time will pass between those two points. To be great though, you can’t be content with just being good.

Let’s Go Deeper

I’m in that transition right now. There are areas in my skill set where I’m confident, and I have a high degree of success when I force matches into those situations.  There are also areas where I’m not confident.

There’s a choice present in situations like that.

You can either hold on to the cup and just focus on what you’re already good at, or you can let go of it and strive to learn new things.

For me, I’m trying to let go of the cup, and I’m going to look like a fool at times in the process. I’m going to get swept, my guard is going to get passed, and I’m going to get submitted.

None of that matters.

All that matters is the commitment to the process.

Gear Shift

So are you able to answer that question yet? Oh, you know the one in the title of the post.

Are you willing to look like a fool?

Oh, still thinking about it? Alright, I’ll give you a little scenario.  Imagine for a second that you’re rolling with a lower belt and your instructor is watching you. You can feel his eyes on you, and he’s watching with intense focus.

In that situation, would you be willing to work on something new? Or would you revert to your A game in order to impress?

It depends, right?

Hopefully, this little expansion on a fundamental concept can help you make that decision. Just remember that there’s nothing wrong with looking like a fool sometimes if your goal is mastery.

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Source

Take a moment and look at this picture.

Do you see how the sun’s light just breaks through the clouds? Or maybe the contrast between light and shadow reflected off of hundreds upon hundreds of hills?

Perhaps you even see something that I simply can’t. That’s quite likely actually.

The key thing is that you can see everything in the picture. You may focus on different things, but there’s nothing stopping you from experiencing a sense of wonder at what nature is capable of.

Now what if you were at that location, but there was no light? It was pitch black, and you could barely see anything in front of you.

Would you be able to appreciate it then?

Perhaps. Perhaps not. It depends, right? The main factor would be whether or not you’ve already been there or you’ve already seen what’s possible.

The Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Connection

On the first day, when a person steps into a gym with the slightest inclination of training, it can often be like that pitch black environment.  Wondrous sights and possibilities exist around them, but they can’t see it.

It’s too dark.

Often that initial period is difficult. They’re introduced to countless new movements, and some of those may feel quite unnatural initially.

It’s that period where most people quit.

The shame is that they often do it right before dawn. Right before the light of the sun breaks through the clouds. Right before they hit their first breakthrough and received a true sense of what they could possibly achieve.

A shame, indeed.

The beauty of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu lies in the possibility of creating your own expression of it. It’s when you make that shift from simply trying to memorize to attempting to innovate. It’s when you bring your own insight and mix it with tried-and-true concepts and movements in order to create something that is truly unique.

But the only way to get there is grind through all the obstacles thrown in your path.

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If you teach or want to teach, you have to do more than just regurgitate information. The best instructors create experiences that are rarely forgotten.

You might’ve even had such experiences yourself, especially if you’ve been training for a good amount of time. It’s in those moments when you pay absolute attention because you made the decision that the information was extremely relevant to you.

The question is how do you create such experiences when you teach? To answer that, I want to offer you a suggestion.

I recently read a book called As We Speak: How to Make Your Point and Have It Stick. It focuses on the many different aspects of effective communication, and for some odd reason, it just happens to be well-written too.

One section of the book focuses on a conceptual blueprint for preparing content. We can apply that to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu instruction, but let’s start with defining the blueprint itself.

The Conceptual Blueprint

At a fundamental level, there are three components in the blueprint:

• Outcome – Define your outcome. What do you want to achieve?
• Relevance – Find the relevance. Why should they care?
• Point – Clarify your point. What’s your message, in one memorable phrase?

Those three components can then be expanded into an outline where you write out the following information:

• Who will be in your audience.
• The outcome you desire.
• The knowledge you want your audience to learn.
• How you want your audience to feel.
• Reasons why they should care
• The central message in one clear statement.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Application

Now we’re going to use that conceptual blueprint to outline a class, just as an example. Let’s get started!

Who is listening?

• BJJ Basics Students (Mostly white belts)

Step I – Outcome: By the end of this class, they will….

• Understand the concept of the triangle and how to effectively finish it.

In order to achieve this they need to know:

• The four stages of a triangle choke as a foundational concept.
• The importance of attacking with the hips.
• How to control angles and posture in the position.

In order to achieve this they need to feel:

• Confident that they will be able to master the submission in time.

Step II – Relevance: Why should they care?

• Because the triangle is not only a submission, it’s also an effective position where you can launch many attacks.
• Because the concepts you learn from developing an effective triangle can applied all over the place.
• Because the triangle can be found in all kinds of positions.

Step III – Point: What’s your message in one sentence?

• The triangle is a strong submission that can be used in many effective attack sequences and loops.

Give It A Try

I highly recommend As We Speak. It’s worth studying because effective communication is valuable in all areas of life. I only showed you a small sliver of what you could learn.

I just wanted to give you an example of how knowledge can be applied.

It’s entirely likely that you may read this book and focus on something entirely different then apply that knowledge in a way that I never imagined. That would be a wonderful thing if it happened.