Learning jiu-jitsu is a bit like climbing up a mountain.
You start at a trailhead and start working your way up the slope.
As you first slog away you’re heading through the forest. It’s a lot of effort but relatively little reward; all you can see is trees, trees, and more trees.
Huffing and sweating, you keep on going up up up.
Finally the trees part and you emerge at the first viewpoint. From here you can see the valley below and other mountains in the distance.
This is great. It gives you energy and you’re now excited about what’s to come.
You plunge back into the forest and keep climbing. Now you don’t have to wait as long for the next viewpoint.
The higher you go, the more payoffs you get. Eventually you pass above the treeline and now there are amazing views in all directions almost all the time.
Jiu-jitsu is the same way.
For most people the first three months of training are usually pretty tough. Lots of feeling uncoordinated and frustrated.
But then at some point you have your first breakthrough.
Usually this is a conceptual realisation of some sort, like:
“Oh, THIS technique is just like THAT technique,” or
“Oh, no matter how I’m pinned I should always do THIS first,” or
“Oh, if I do THIS before my attack then the submission works much more often.”
Whatever it is, having this first breakthrough is addictive, and it energizes you into keeping on going.
Yes, there will still be periods of frustration, but you’ll be able to see the big picture more and more often.
The longer your train then the more of these conceptual breakthroughs you’ll have.
Ultimately it’s those big breakthroughs that make people fall in love with jiu-jitsu, so keep climbing up and get to the next big vista.
No matter how long you’ve been training there’s always the next breakthrough waiting for you!
Stephan