Everybody gets to a point where they question whether they should keep doing something.
Especially if it’s something hard, like martial arts.
Sometimes you feel like you’re not progressing fast enough (in your own mind), other times, you just suffered a very humbling training session where you wonder if you were as good as you thought you were.
In this week’s post, I’ll share my answer to this week’s Quora question and recommend some books to help you through any hurdles you may be experiencing.
What Makes People Quit
The question was about quitting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but you can insert any martial art here:
What are the reasons why people give up on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)? Is there such a thing as quitting BJJ too soon?
Ego is the number one reason most people quit.
It’s not an easy art. It will humble you if you’re not a humble person. A lot of people quit at blue or purple belt for some reason. I think it’s because of a plateau they hit, where they think they’ll become the hammer, instead of the nail.
The truth is, regardless of rank, some days you will be the hammer.
Other days, you’ll be the nail.
I’ve been a black belt in the art for nine years, and as I am about to enter my 50s, I’m glad to be able to still get on the mats. I don’t care about winning or losing, I’m just happy to train.
Too Soon…
When I started writing this, I realized I didn’t answer the other question about quitting too soon.
The reason I didn’t was that other people had commented that quitting at any time would be too soon. I know someone who was very good at BJJ and was a seasoned brown-belt who quit just before they were going to get their black belt.
That was way too soon.
When I began BJJ, I earned my blue belt at one school, then switched to another due to scheduling reasons. I found out in my new (and current) school that maybe I got promoted to blue too soon.
I was getting demolished by everyone.
I spoke with one of my new training partners one night about how I thought about quitting and he didn’t try to talk me out of it. Instead, he recommended changing my outlook and recommended a book I’m going to recommend to you.
So, to help you stay focused, here is that book and another from my youth that helped me keep going:
"Jiu-Jitsu University" by Saulo Ribeiro
Everyone at my gym was reading this book at one time. I remember there was a copy, which was the gym copy, to reference the moves in it. But, when I got my own copy and read it, it was the stories that made me realize that just going to train is its own reward. I bought a copy of this book for my brother when he started training because it helped me stick with BJJ.
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"The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" by Bruce Lee
I carried this book around with me as a teenager. I even used his workout plan to build up my strength. It was a constant motivator to keep me training.
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The One I Can’t Quite Remember
There is a third book, but I can’t remember the author's details because it was one I read over and over again in my high school library.
It was called “The Encyclopedia of Martial Arts.”
Probably published in the 80s or 90s, but one thing I remember reading was how colored belts came to be. Before martial arts got turned into a business, there were only white belts in Japanese styles.
Uniforms would get washed, but not the belt.
So, you knew who the more experienced person was by how dirty their belt was. A very dark belt meant a lot of experience.
So, just remember to keep training and getting that dirt on your belt.
Don’t worry about how long it takes to turn black.
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