By Guest Author: Timothy Almeida
It is 11:01 a.m. In approximately 29 minutes my Brazilian Jiu jitsu class begins. Here I am, standing in my kitchen, contemplating if I should go or not. Is my being tired from a lack of good sleep a reason to not train? Does it matter that one of the kids is sick and the dog is old and seemingly falling apart every time she climbs the steps, and that some asshole was lighting off fireworks at two in the morning, preventing me from benefiting from the limited amount of time I was hoping to turn into quality sleep? Today, is my mind making excuses, or is my gripe with my lack of motivation legitimate? To roll or not to roll…that is the question, and answer.
I could stand in this kitchen for the next twenty minutes, singing that song from the group The Clash, “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” (one of the greatest bands to ever walk the planet, mind you) or I could splash some cold water on my face, grab my gear, and get to training. I could walk into my living room, sit on my couch, and do nothing. I could do a lot of things, but the only thing that will benefit my Jiu Jitsu game, my manhood and my well being, is the actual act of training, and so, I need to flip the mental switch from off to on, from tired to awake, from dead to alive, but how?
Sun Tzu (He was a real interesting guy. Check him out if you have a minute) is quoted as saying; “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” In this case, when I am engaged in a full on battle with my mind as to whether or not I should train, I need to be able to center myself amid the awareness that is attached to my conscious thought. I must subdue my mind. I need to understand that in this given moment I am in full control of the decision I make, and that because my mind is under stress from a lack of rest and strength, my human conditioning is going to want to take the easiest route out. Fight or flight, to train or not to train. Because of this awareness I can now empower myself to overcome the natural tendency I am feeling at this very moment, to want to stay home and relax, to instead push myself to, at the very least, get in the car and start driving to the academy. At least then I can continue to engage in this mental battle of self-mastery knowing that with every green light I drive through, the couch is further and further along in my rearview and the sweaty, slippery mats are that much closer.
11:18 a.m. The parking lot is crowded, which means that a lot of people showed up to train today. I am 150 lbs., 37 years old and have nagging injuries from a lifetime of sports and 15 years of breakdancing professionally. Yea, I know, it sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. And it’s a big part of why I transitioned into Jiu Jitsu so smoothly. Both art forms are very similar. That’s for another article.
I know that inside there will be guys that are much bigger than me, teammates who are much younger than me, and above all else, there will be thoughts inside my head that will try to prove that they are much stronger than me. But that is part of the game, isn’t it? For me, it is the part of the game that consistently proves to be the most important aspect to decipher and hone; perhaps maybe even the biggest part. Is my Jiu Jitsu a product of my thoughts, or are my thoughts a product of my Jiu Jitsu?
The entrance to the academy is forty yards away. I have successfully forced myself into completing the hardest part of todays training; I’ve made it here. Everything else is just a matter of routine, or is it? I am not on my couch even though part of me would love the feeling of that soft leather leaning against my backside. Instead, I am in my car, staring at the Soca Brazilian Jiu Jitsu sign, taking my last few deep breaths before I go inside to continue what is often the case in life: mental warfare with my own conscious. One step at a time, I Grab my bag, open the door, walk inside and put on the Gi. It’s 11:22. In eight minutes I will be in a full on scrap with my mind. Damn, I…am…tired.
To be continued…
The post To Roll or Not to Roll? That is the Question Part 1: The Decision appeared first on Science Of Skill.