Why Consistency is Key in Jiu-Jitsu

Every martial art requires respect and discipline. In order to become successful in the martial arts, particularly jiu-jitsu, consistency is key. Unlike most martial arts, to earn a coveted black belt in jiu-jitsu, it can take anywhere up to 10 years and you have to be over the age of 18. That means that if you have any desire to improve and progress through the respective BJJ belts, you need to have patience… stay positive, and be consistent.

If you are a BJJ newbie, there are some things you should know about consistency in BJJ:

At some point or another, you will plateau. This means that you will suddenly feel like you aren’t improving or you aren’t getting concepts as quickly as you did before. Your confidence dips and you lack the motivation that you had before. But before you decide to take a “break,” just remember that nothing can prepare you mentally (or physically) for BJJ… except actually doing BJJ.

You will see some of your favorite training partners disappear. Not everyone is meant to stay on the path to black belt, even if we all hope to. Sometimes they want to, but lack support to stick with it. If you notice you haven’t seen one of you favorite partners around, check in on them. It might just be the pick-me-up they need to stay the course.

You will have BAD days. But if you can keep the mindset that every day is a new day -- a new training opportunity to work on your strengths and weaknesses, you will have more good days than bad ones. Again, the key is to keep showing up. Just like rainy days, there are no ways to avoid it, as it’s a part of life. Rather than let the bad days get you down, help use it to motivate you to keep on going.

Jiu-Jitsu is life changing, but a lot of people never get to realize this because they stop training. It takes the right mindset to be consistent in BJJ. No matter what stage (or belt) you are in, if you can keep a positive attitude and keep showing up, you will become successful. But if you expect to move through the belts or often compare your progress to those who have started at the same time as you, perhaps Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is not the right sport for you.

To put things in perspective, would you expect a heart surgeon to earn their medical degree in less than 8 years? I didn’t think so.