Yep… they used to say that smoking cigarettes is o.k. for you.
And everyone went along with it because doctors are AUTHORITIES… right?
Just like the 2 dentists last year who told me I needed multiple $1200 crowns…
…only to have a 3rd one tell me that I only need two $150 fillings.
Or the 3 optometrists (it’s a long story) I just went to who told me my lens prescription was +5.00, and when I complained to a 4th one that I still couldn’t see well, she re-examined me and found out I can see 20/20 with a +3.25.
Or the MARTIAL ARTS instructor who told me when I was young that IF I tried to make money with martial arts, it would ruin my love of martial arts and I’d stop doing it.
Tell that to to the house I bought, the cars I bought and the family I raised while making a living with martial arts and still loving it.
Listen, I could go on forever about how often authorities are wrong. As a matter of fact…
… I could make a strong argument that:
EVERYONE IS WRONG ABOUT (almost) EVERYTHING (including grappling training)
Don’t believe it?
What have we believed in that past that we haven’t changed our minds on?
Weight loss? (Changed hundreds of times.)
Healthy eating? (Wait until Thanksgiving Dinner to see if we all agree.)
Best martial art for self defense? (News flash – Karate may not be king any more)
But BJJ is PROVEN to be the best art for Self Defense, right?
Well…
…ever heard of weapons? It’s not too tough to cut your way out of a rear naked choke with a pocket knife.
My belief is that the future of martial arts will be a combination of grappling, striking, weaponry and practices to keep your mind and body health so you can actually use your training your entire life.
OMG… that sounds a little like… traditional martial arts!!! Aargghh… what have we done?!!!
O.K., obviously, I think BJJ (and all martial arts) are great. but..
…the point I’m making is that even AUTHORITIES such as grappling instructors don’t hold the absolute truth, and what we currently believe about how to learn is going to change.
If you want to stand out and be exceptional, you’ve got to…
ALWAYS BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WHERE EVERYONE IS WRONG
Once you do, you’ll start to excel by doing things differently. I mean… who ever excels by doing things the SAME as everyone else, ya’ know?
Look at what your training partners do… and ask yourself how you can do things BETTER.
Do they just grapple, go home, and not do anything about it until they get on the mat again?
Do they rely on the instructor to teach them what they need to know… or do they take charge of their learning and use the instructor as a guide?
Do they leave the whole learning process up to their memory, or do they write things down and study them like a real student of the art would?
And look at what your instructor says… and ask yourself if you’d agree if he WASN’T your instructor.
Is he correct, or does he just say that because HIS instructor said it or it’s traditionally been done that way? Believe me, that happens more than you’d like to believe.
Ok, I think you get the point.
Keep training!
Bob
P.S. I went through this exact thing myself. I saw everyone, including me, learning techniques, but unable to recall them them a few weeks later…
…meaning we couldn’t practice or use a huge amount of what we learned, and had to wait months to hopefully be shown it again.
It seemed like such a waste, and I knew it slowed down my progress ten-fold.
That’s one of the reasons I created the iGrapple Mobile, which allowed my to quickly look up techniques from any position I wanted to train in an instant, rather than simply practicing whatever I could remember.
Go here>>> The iGrapple Mobile