The Jiu Jitsu World Championships is coming up, and it gets me wondering, how many are truly sacrificing everything they can, and how many are hoping to get lucky off talent, or are just doing it to be cool. Everyone’s sacrifice is different, whether you are in school, you have a job, or you train full time, sacrifices can be made for each lifestyle. There are some in each of these lifestyles who are hoping to get lucky, and there are some sacrificing in each lifestyle that will not be lucky enough to win it all, it will not be their time. I know this path, and most who compete know this path. There can only be one champion, it is just the way the game is played. Not to say that there is more then one who deserves to win, but when it comes down to it, maybe the two finalists sacrificed equally in respective amounts, maybe they have been training nearly the same amount of time, so each is equally deserving to be crowned champion. But one had their game together more, one was more sharp that day, one wanted it just a little more towards the end of the match, fought to stay on top, or fought out of a bad position and scored at the last minute to seal the top spot.
Champions do not make excuses; champions do not see impenetrable walls, or dead ends. They see obstacles to climb, and different paths to the top. Everything is a challenge to the final goal, the goal of winning and being crowned the best in the world. Nothing more, nothing less, simply to be proclaimed the greatest, and that should not be too much to ask. If you want it bad enough, and you do everything you know to be right, you do everything in your power, and do not rest on your laurels and or talent, it is not too much to ask, because you will be taking it with out question.
The truth is nobody has anything to rest on, not even the world champions in our sport or any sport. Each day is a new day to fight, each competition a new battle to fend off enemies who want what you have, and if you think they are going to take it easy on you, or be afraid of you because you are considered the best, think again. So no one has it easy, not you, not a champion, not anyone. So if you are taking it easy, riding out minimal amounts of training, and slacking, what right do you think you have to do that? Why do you have that right when the fucking champion is up early, grinding it out, dieting year round, getting beat up at practice, sweating and bleeding for something they have already attained, but want to keep, so why do you get to take it easy? That should not be the case; you should be out working everyone.
And if by some miracle, you or someone wins with minimal to no sacrifice and is crowned world champion, it was not right to begin with, it was not something worth winning. If it is so easy anyone can do it by slacking, the title was bullshit to begin with. But I’ll tell you, any IBJJF world title is something that only those who sacrifice and devote every waking spare minute to attaining it, will achieve it, those are the ones, at any belt level. The black belt titles are the only significant ones, more specifically, the absolute title is the one, this is the significant one, but if you are working towards that, your work ethic better be that of a black belt absolute champion starting now.
Follow this link to learn my 5 tips to getting over your jiu jitsu competition fears, if you are good and mentally prepared, oss, kick ass and take names 😉 see you on the mats.
Jiu Jitsu Stevie 