I recall the smell of fuzzy peaches as a chunk of my bicep was being forced inside my mouth. The aroma of fruit scented body wash pairs nicely with a head and arm choke. Like the bucket that collects my tears after every open mat, this choke was deep. But I don’t remember if this was the fifth submission I tapped to or the ninth. What I do know is that I need more practice.

I hadn’t attended a No Gi class in a long time, months. This was the first No Gi specific open mat class I’d ever been to, it was a new open mat they started on Sunday afternoons. There was five of us. My partners were all much heavier than me but that wasn’t the issue, or at least it’s not entirely my excuse for sucking.

Have you ever had a moment of realization that is so clear to you that it feels like you’re a yogi who just had an existential breakthrough about the nature of the universe? An idea so profound you considered starting a cult around it?

Perfect Practice

The moment I realized I could no longer coast on my almost five years of grappling experience is the moment I realized that the adage of “practice makes perfect” is as real as the synthetic, moisture-wicking, and stretchy materials used to make those cool branded No Gi rash guards we all wear. I love when other members of the gym get better as I get better. But this past weekend of getting absolutely smashed was a wake up call. Of course I know practice make perfect, especially for us mortals, us 40 year old working folks with lives outside of grappling. But it’s nice to have a reminder now and then. Only our reminders come in the form of hyperextended limbs and loss of consciousness.

I rolled five times. Five minutes each. That’s 25 minutes where at no point did I have positional control, dominant grips, led the pace, or win any scramble.

Before I got my new job my mat schedule was more flexible. I would usually go Mondays for two hours (gi then no gi), Wednesdays for two hours (gi then no gi), and Saturdays for two hours (all levels class followed by open mat). It was heaven. A sweaty painful but fulfilling heaven. That’s six hours a week of training. Man I miss that. These days I’ll be lucky to get two hours in in a week. But hey it’s better than not going at all. You hear that fellow blue belts, don’t quit!

When I train more frequently I notice a few things: -I enter flow-state sooner and it lasts longer -my defense is on point -my movements have meaning

‘When the challenge of a task matches ones skill level’ is when you enter flow state. For me when I’m feeling it, my performance is better, I’m more creative, and I’m happy. My breathing and pace are matched and I don’t gas out as fast. I attempt more submissions from anywhere regardless of probability of success. And I feel zen, at peace while at war, so to speak.

Why Mat Time Matters

Everything just works when you’ve put the time in. Your timing is on, your reaction is smooth, your body is loose, and your body remembers your go-to techniques. The muscle memory is remembering. There is the saying “drillers make killers” and I think that has to do with grinding. Putting in the work. But regular folks who don’t have super powers and have other obligations than living on the mat, we have to find the sweet spot of training just enough where we see improvement but not too much where we neglect our daily responsibilities or increase the chances of injury.

You and I are in it. We have committed to making jiu jitsu a part of our lives. We think about it everyday  and maybe even beat ourselves up for not training as much as we could. But this is a reminder (for me too) that the mats aren’t going anywhere and there is never a point at when you ‘win jiu jitsu’ or know every possible technique.

Find the time for that sweet spot and don’t be too hard on yourself. This is supposed to be fun. And yes it would be more fun if we could be successful more often and didn’t get our ass kicked all the time. Or maybe that’s why we love it so much? We’re all sort of masochists in a way. We submission grapplers. We like the pain and triumph. This is our Fight Club.

Jiu Jitsu rewards mat time over anything else. So when you have time, I’ll see you on the mats.