The sport of Jiu Jitsu is both physically and mentally challenging. Indeed, BJJ is often referred to as a physical chess! What is wonderful about this sport is that even if you are physically the best player out there, you can still be beaten by your opponent if he is stronger mentally.

In the early part of the 1990s, an excellent illustration of this can be seen in Royce Gracie and his jiu jitsu matches. He was always the smaller and less athletic guy, but he ended up winning UFC 1, 3, and 4. This was incredible, and it was obvious that he possessed abilities that his opponents could not defeat.

So, you might be asking how this applies to you.

The mental game is just as important as the physical. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Know those of your opponent as well. Put together a jiu jitsu plan that’ll let you maximize your strengths and take advantage of his weaknesses. Then put it into practice.

If you are a small and fast guy, don’t play bottom against someone much stronger. If you are heavy, be sure to utilize your weight when playing top. If your best submissions are arm bars, stick to them and make them even better!

Now don’t mistake this tip for making your game one dimensional focusing only on what you are good at. Your jiu jitsu foundation should always be as broad and deep as possible so you understand the full breadth of your art. Instead, use this as a motivator for actually thinking about how you approach competition and live training. If you use your brain you’ll be ahead of half of the other guys out there!

My advice to you is to write down on a piece of paper: what you are good at, what you need to improve on, and the two techniques you intend to develop. Set out to train in the 2 areas you want to develop. Once you finish your training session, determine what your weaknesses and strengths are. After you get these on paper, you will be more apt to follow through, but you’ll need to be accountable to yourself for perfecting them.

While John normally sells for used autos in Houston, he loves to practice martial arts and lives that passion. Just remember to give him a shout if you are ever looking for Houston used auto sales!