The only way to improve in BJJ is to fail first

The only way to improve in BJJ is to fail first

Must like life, the only way to improve in BJJ is to fail first. I was speaking to my students last night about how the only way to improve in BJJ is to fail first. We’ve all heard the “if you’re not tapping, you’re not learning” quote and while I think it’s an awesome quote, sometimes I think it goes in 1 ear and out the other to many. So I told an experience I had as a student coming up through the ranks to my students last night about how when I was a purplebelt training with a guy who was probably the best blackbelt in the Renzo Gracie Academy at the time. Being the top guy at the Academy, I was a little in awe of him and I was getting worked pretty good. He was obviously working on his passing directly to mount ala Roger Gracie and must’ve mounted me what felt like 20 times. Futhermore, I couldn’t escape or do anything even remotely offensive to him. But instead of pouting, saying “I suck or I’m not making progress”, I wrote down everything he did to me that night, worked it with some of my training partners and last night, about 15-16 years later, I was teaching that pass to mount series to a room of 35-40 of my students. Don’t ever give up, sometimes what seems like your worst day can lead to the biggest breakthroughs.