I can't seem to stop emphasize how much we need each other in order to progress in BJJ. Many would seem to see BJJ as an individual sport, but the fact that we cannot practice without training partners proves that the team element on this sport is more than what it looks like to the common eye, thus the more need to check our egos at the door.
"Ego is the BJJ demon," says our very own Jedi Master Niko Han. It's something we all struggle with, all of the time, at every stage of BJJ, on and off the mat.
Ego is what makes someone crank a submission.
Ego is what stops someone from tapping when they should.
It can just mean you're afraid of losing, have to "win" every roll (even though it's not a competition), especially with those you perceive to be less skillful or physically weaker. The ego is also what stops you from rolling with certain people for fear of losing. Now, this attitude is what will eventually slow down the learning process for a number of reasons.
First, not throwing down ego will hinder us from taking care of our training partner, as we are very likely not to give our opponent any chance to tap and injure them. Remember that training partner will be the ones pushing you further, and injuring a training partner means everyone, including you, will lose a training partner for at least 6 weeks, thus hindering your learning process.
Secondly, tap early. It's not worth it to get injured in training and lose precious training time just for a bloated ego. Tapping early doesn't mean you suck, or wimpy. It means that you have a lion's heart to admit your weakness, reflect on what happened, train, and close that weakness on the next day as opposed to taking 6 week break from injuries. Even guys like Helio Soneca Morreira was submitted by Synergy's very own Max Metino during a seminar when Max was still a white belt, and Helio didn't mind at all.
Thirdly, always take an extra care when training with the following groups: someone weaker than you, newbies, or women. Throw away your ego when training with this group. There is no shame in losing to a weaker and smaller training partner or a newbie, as the art is designed for the weak to triumph against the strong. Nevertheless, you have to take extra care under these circumstances, as lighter people will take more weight relative to theirs when fighting a heavier and stronger opponents. Newbies, on the other hand, tend to lack the experience to know dangerous positions and sometimes might not tap in time. Finally, women, tend to have lighter bones and weaker pound-per-pound. So, when training with these three groups (even more so if a person is included to more than one of these groups), check your ego at the door, and use it as a chance to train your technique, sensitivity, reflexes, and finesse (detil2 halus). This is what make black belts stand out of the crowd.
Finally, let's not forget that our club is named "Synergy". Having “synergy” means no bloated ego, nor about who's the king of the hill, but about improving and supporting each other during training, so that your training partner can improve and push you even further and able to make you a better fighter.
So, throw away the ego - even the great Royler Gracie during the August 2008 seminar in Bali claimed that the miracle escape to triangle choke is nothing more than a tap. He said that because he checked his ego at the door. And that what makes him what he is now.
"Ego is the BJJ demon," says our very own Jedi Master Niko Han. It's something we all struggle with, all of the time, at every stage of BJJ, on and off the mat.
Ego is what makes someone crank a submission.
Ego is what stops someone from tapping when they should.
It can just mean you're afraid of losing, have to "win" every roll (even though it's not a competition), especially with those you perceive to be less skillful or physically weaker. The ego is also what stops you from rolling with certain people for fear of losing. Now, this attitude is what will eventually slow down the learning process for a number of reasons.
First, not throwing down ego will hinder us from taking care of our training partner, as we are very likely not to give our opponent any chance to tap and injure them. Remember that training partner will be the ones pushing you further, and injuring a training partner means everyone, including you, will lose a training partner for at least 6 weeks, thus hindering your learning process.
Secondly, tap early. It's not worth it to get injured in training and lose precious training time just for a bloated ego. Tapping early doesn't mean you suck, or wimpy. It means that you have a lion's heart to admit your weakness, reflect on what happened, train, and close that weakness on the next day as opposed to taking 6 week break from injuries. Even guys like Helio Soneca Morreira was submitted by Synergy's very own Max Metino during a seminar when Max was still a white belt, and Helio didn't mind at all.
Thirdly, always take an extra care when training with the following groups: someone weaker than you, newbies, or women. Throw away your ego when training with this group. There is no shame in losing to a weaker and smaller training partner or a newbie, as the art is designed for the weak to triumph against the strong. Nevertheless, you have to take extra care under these circumstances, as lighter people will take more weight relative to theirs when fighting a heavier and stronger opponents. Newbies, on the other hand, tend to lack the experience to know dangerous positions and sometimes might not tap in time. Finally, women, tend to have lighter bones and weaker pound-per-pound. So, when training with these three groups (even more so if a person is included to more than one of these groups), check your ego at the door, and use it as a chance to train your technique, sensitivity, reflexes, and finesse (detil2 halus). This is what make black belts stand out of the crowd.
Finally, let's not forget that our club is named "Synergy". Having “synergy” means no bloated ego, nor about who's the king of the hill, but about improving and supporting each other during training, so that your training partner can improve and push you even further and able to make you a better fighter.
So, throw away the ego - even the great Royler Gracie during the August 2008 seminar in Bali claimed that the miracle escape to triangle choke is nothing more than a tap. He said that because he checked his ego at the door. And that what makes him what he is now.
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