One year of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Published: 2023-11-20 by Michel Legnered.

It bewilders me how some individuals can casually admit to forgetting what they have learned. Personally I attribute this to a lack of self-discipline in practice.

Above quote is from a text that appeared in my Facebook feed from some random suggestion. Unfortunately, I don't know who wrote it or to whom it should be attributed. If you know, you can email comments@legnered.se.

My development over a year of training has progressed in the style of:

• I've always wanted to train in a martial art.
• BJJ is super fun.
• I don't even know what to do.
• I'm planning to earn my belts as quickly as possible.
• Whatever I do, I end up getting submitted.
• I'm going to practice as much as I can.
• My plan is to hold out and not be submitted as long as I can.
• Now, I'm going to learn from being in pressured situations on the bottom.
• I'm starting to get good at defending myself from submissions.
• I feel comfortable being in a disadvantaged position.
• I'm finding an escape or two from the bottom position.
• I need to start learning how to attack.
• I can pull off a few submissions.
• I forget most of what we go through, but that's okay.
• I don't care about the belts anymore.
• Maybe it's time to commit to studying BJJ.

It has been a year of playfulness where I haven't felt any loss when losing a match or sparring. It's been an open field of free experimentation with endless mistakes and failures. But with each loss or win, it just starts over; again and again. I haven't felt the need to study anything; my only need has been to be on the mat and experience how my body moves in relation to the opponent. Some days, it feels like my body flows on its own, other days, it just doesn't work. There's playfulness but a lack of continuity in how my body responds to the opponent's movements.

I cannot do anything but 100% relate to the quote above and am utterly convinced that, had I chosen to study BJJ earlier, I would have had a much more developed technique. However, something I believe is important to remember is that self-discipline in practice should come spontaneously from the person and not from an authority like a coach, teacher, or even a parent.

For a year, I've had the freedom to play and learn through play. I have developed my training myself, choosing how to approach the sessions and with what intention. What I have been shown has just been shown; afterwards, I've had the freedom to choose what to do with that information.

It is now quite apparent that if I am to develop my jiu-jitsu, I must internalize the techniques, that is, make the body's movements conscious, and thereby anchor the body with the mind. But that is a choice that is mine and springs out from the fun of learning and perfecting something in which playfullness was the initiator.