BJJ is a fantastic martial art- that provides numerous physical and mental benefits. However, some people may invest their hearts and sweat tears only not to improve themselves. As a result, they’re more prominent to quitting or not enjoying the training. Here are some primary reasons BJJ trainees don’t improve.
You may not improve in BJJ because of numerous reasons. However, the primary ones are:
- A lack of consistency.
- Setting unrealistic expectations.
- Expecting immediate results.
- The lack of a goal.
By avoiding these, you’ll ensure proper progression.
Of course, some may not progress for countless other reasons. Nonetheless, with enough personal experience in martial arts, I’m confident that most people that don’t advance will feel one of the symptoms I mentioned.
Additionally, I wrote an article that compliments this one about tips for BJJ white belts to progress faster. You’ll boost your progression if you read and implement all the tricks there. Moreover, if you avoid the reasons I’ll expand upon in this article, you’ll be solid for the rest of your BJJ career.
#1- You’re not consistent enough
The first reason is also the most critical one. Let’s begin with some background.
Today, infinite distractions surround us. As a result, our attention spans are lower than ever. This affects our consistency and capability to dedicate ourselves to a cause. Hence staying consistent- is more demanding than ever.
If you’re not improving your skills in BJJ, you’re most likely not consistent enough. Think to yourself; on average, how many times per week did you train in the last month. If the answer is less than 1, you lack consistency.
Honestly, I don’t blame you. I lack consistency in many areas of my life. As a result, I don’t find myself experiencing the many benefits or effects these areas might provide. This may apply to you with BJJ. If you think that’s the case, you must amp up your motivation and dedication.
Eventually, if you rely on motivation to get you up from the couch, you won’t stay consistent in the long term. Instead, some periods will drag inconsistency and a feeling of procrastination. But then, if you rely on motivation, you’re up for a world of trouble.
On the other hand, you must make BJJ a habit. Thus it’ll be best if you train weekly for the following period. I know it sounds too simple to be true. However, it’s not. You will feel waves of procrastination hitting you sooner than you may think. Particularly in these times, you must stay the most dedicated and consistent.
#2- You’re setting unrealistic expectations
One of the 7-sins of mankind is greed. In today’s world, many individuals want to impress others and thus buy materialistic items they don’t need. But, wait, what does that have to do with BJJ? So let’s dive into this topic.
If you’re setting unrealistic expectations without small milestones, you won’t see any progress. As a result, waves of exhaustion and procrastination will hit you when you’re least ready. Moreover, you won’t feel any rewards from your training until you reach the ultimate goal.
Now, the ultimate goal you may currently possess may take years to achieve. For instance, if you desire to get a black belt without any small milestones (such as a blue belt), you’ll begin to feel tired from training.
Then, feelings of quitting and inconsistency will naturally flow into your life. So instead, let’s see how we can fix that.
You’ll see your goal in front of your eyes by setting small milestones, such as learning a specific technique or achieving a stripe in your current belt. Therefore, your reward system will begin to work, and you’ll feel more fulfilled than ever.
Consequently, the feelings of inconsistency and exhaustion become fulfillment and joy. Moreover, the benefits of BJJ training, which are countless, will begin to naturally flow into your life.
#3- You’re expecting to see results
Okay, the title is rather confusing, which is precisely why it caught your attention. Currently, your entire perspective on results and BJJ training may be inaccurate. As a result, you think you’re not improving- yet, you are.
If you’re expecting results, you may feel unsatisfied with your current ones. As a result, your desire to quit- will increase, and you’ll pass on many benefits. However, suppose you lower your expectations for results and focus on the small milestones you set. In that case, you’ll be solid for the rest of your BJJ career.
For instance, I’ve mentioned in my previous articles that BJJ will increase confidence. However, that’s only partially true. Instead, consistent and dedicated BJJ training will lead to increased confidence. Unfortunately, because of that, many may not come close to feeling such a benefit affecting them. These are more often inconsistent individuals.
Finally, if you minimize your expectation to see results, you won’t check your results after every session. Instead, you’ll become eager to keep up with training and challenge your physical and mental selves. However, paying attention to the most minor results when you see them and appreciating them will be of aid.
#4- You don’t have a goal
People grow when they have a definite purpose ahead of them. The case isn’t different when discussing martial arts and BJJ. Nonetheless, many don’t define what they want to achieve from their training. As a result, they’re more prone to quitting or not improving.
If you don’t have a goal for training BJJ, you’ll feel lost more often than you want. As a result, you may feel as if you’re not improving, as you can’t measure your results. For instance, some may find their purpose to be learning self-defense, while others may want to enhance their physical appearance.
Here are some common goals you may find motivating or enlightening. If it’s the case, consider adopting one of them full-time. Here they are:
- Self-improvement
- Learning to fight
- Learning self-defense
- Meeting people
- Achieving a black belt in BJJ
- Improving your physical shape
- Improving your physical appearance
- Enhancing well-being and mental health
Honestly, 4-of the above reasons apply to why I train in martial arts. Thus you don’t have to adopt just one. Instead, consider choosing an ultimate goal and supplying it with other ones. For example, my ultimate goal is to learn self-defense. Nonetheless, I also wish to improve my mental health and meet others.
How to improve in BJJ
Now you understand why you may not improve. In fact, you may improve but not see that in front of you. Either way, to change the outcome, an action must change. As a result, let’s see what you can do to ensure you progress and notice it.
To improve in BJJ, you must stay consistent and follow a qualified mentor. You’ll improve by following these two guidelines while getting closer to your ultimate goal. Nonetheless, these two must exist regardless of your purpose or other factors.
First, to notice actual results, you must stay consistent with training. As a result, you’ll learn and practice new skills every time. On the other hand, if you’re inconsistent, you won’t notice any results since you must train to cause changes.
Moreover, you currently don’t know how to perform many techniques. As a result, you must have someone who knows that’ll teach you such movements. Even with extreme dedication, you won’t progress with an unqualified mentor.
How to progress faster in BJJ
Some may not be as satisfied with their BJJ progression rate. As a result, feeling unfulfilled is natural. However, you can implement some actions in your BJJ training to ensure you boost your progression speed.
Here are some tips to help you progress faster in BJJ:
- Begin training as soon as possible
- Set small milestones throughout training
- Have a purpose
- Sparring is your friend
- Don’t expect to experience any results
- Focus on the training parts that you love
- Notice your progression, even the smallest
By implementing the above actions while avoiding the ones we examined in the article, you’ll ensure progression in BJJ. The most critical part you ought to follow is staying as consistent as possible. If you miss more training sessions than you’d like to admit, it’s time to step up your dedication.
Benefits of practicing BJJ
Martial arts, in general, provide countless mental and physical benefits. As a result, you’ll learn to fight while bettering yourself. Because of that, it’s as valuable as it is. Nonetheless, not many people learn BJJ, which is too bad since they miss many opportunities.
The following list is the benefits one can expect to gain from BJJ training when one’s consistent and dedicated.
- Increased self-confidence
- Increased self-esteem
- Reduced anger and stress
- Lower violence and aggression levels
- Better mental health
- Mental clarity
- Improved well-being
- Better physical shape
- Many more…
You don’t have to take my word for it. Here’s a medical study that proves my points.
A study of active-duty service members who participated in a 5 month BJJ program found that the participants had “meaningful improvements in their PTSD symptoms” as well as improvements to depression and anxiety. Another study explored levels of aggression in BJJ athletes.
Source
The results are countless. Frankly, after 4-years of martial arts, I’m nowhere close to having experienced them all. Nonetheless, it’ll be best to focus on small milestones instead of waiting for the benefits to come (as we discussed previously).
Final words
Instead of waiting for the progression to come your way, start running instead of walking towards it. That sentence should be what guides you through your martial arts journey. I’ve used it for plenty of procrastination moments.
If you think you’re not improving in BJJ, you may experience some symptoms. First, you may be lacking consistency, which is the most common. Today, many distractions surround us from reaching our goals. Thus this may apply to your relationship with martial arts.
Secondly, you may be setting unrealistic expectations, which leads to a false feeling of not progressing. Instead, begin appreciating every moment of progression, even the most minor.
This leads us to the following reason, which is expecting immediate results.
Finally, what’s the point of training if you don’t have a purpose for waking up to train in BJJ. Even if it’s just to socialize, it’s an entirely valid reason. Additionally, you may want to improve yourself. That way, you’ll have a reason for waking up in the morning.