Prepare to achieve your BJJ goals
It is the start of a new year and a good time to reflect on the challenges, experiences, and accomplishments associated with the past year. It's a time to lay out and plan your goals for the upcoming year. Granted, 2020 was an unprecedented year that threw unforeseen curveballs to all of us. Some of us were hit harder than other; all of us had to adjust our lives and were faced with more limited opportunities to work toward any pre-COVID goals or expectations. In 2021, all the challenges we faced in the past year will not completely disappear, however, we can plan big and will be more prepared to respond to similar challenges and to pivot our goals in response to these challenges.
As a BJJ practitioner, you should be thinking about your personal jiu-jitsu goal As a coach, I encourage you to take this a step farther than just thinking -- take action, develop a plan, and start working towards accomplishing your goals. Below are a few key tips to help you get started.
Identify your goals and establish a strategy.
You can have a long-term goal in mind, however, start out with smaller goals that are achievable in the short term. Lay-out and commit to immediate actions that will help you conquer your short-term goals and pave the way towards achieving your long-term goal. For example, you may want to compete in a BJJ tournament. Some good short-term goals would be to attend at least 3 BJJ classes a week, develop a routine fitness plan, set-up private lessons with your coach, and conduct some research to see what tournaments are available in your area.
Challenge yourself but train smart and be reasonable; build your fitness-level up responsibly from your current state to avoid injuries. Don't do too much too fast.
Keep track of progress and stay motivated.
Write out the game plan you developed to achieve your goals. Develop a method record your progress such as tracking in a journal or excel spreadsheet. Assess your progress on a weekly and monthly basis.
Share your goals. One way to help you follow through with your goals is to share your goals others. Discuss your intentions with your coach, make a public commitment through social media.
Find others who are working toward similar goals and work together.
As you start working towards your goals, recognize that unforeseen circumstances may occur and adjust your goals accordingly. Don't feel down if you aren't able to make your goals one week, but make an extra effort to follow through on your planned actions the next week. Realize that some things are out of your control (e.g., injuries, gym closures due to health pandemic restrictions) and try and pivot your goals as best you can to adapt to these situations. Most importantly, stay positive. Have fun doing what you love and keep learning and practicing jiu-jitsu.
