One of the biggest battles an individual faces in their training is a battle that many lose. There is no blood loss, no death, or bruises, it is in fact, a battle with themselves.
Few reach the level of black belt, in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu alone there’s a joke that 90% of students quit at blue belt…but it’s less a joke and more of an observation. It’s not that students of any martial art are kept from reaching the black belt, it’s that the journey is a long one and requires inner strength and fortitude that fewer and fewer possess today. We live in an instant gratification society, whereas everyone wants what they want and they want it and expect it now…regardless of the work.
The inner battle is the lazy self saying;
- We can skip a day.
- We have a sprain/bruise/pain we can miss a few classes and catch up.
- I can smoke or drink this and be fine for class.
- I don’t need a good night’s rest before class.
- I don’t HAVE to practice at home if I do so in the dojo.
- I trained that technique enough.
- I don’t need to diet for working out.
- I don’t need to work out a top doing my classes.
Those are the things that you must fight back to excel and grow as a martial artist. Sure you need downtime to recoup, you can have a cheat day, but it’s when you extend those things beyond their necessity, that it becomes an issue. This is where self-discipline becomes the cornerstone of life and where the warrior spirit is driven to new heights.
It is this inner battle, that makes or breaks a martial artist… it forges their spirit in steel, or breaks them like brittle dry wood. This is where the martial spirit is found, this is where it’s honed, this is where the student finds out what they are made of.
Martial arts works in the way that, you get only what you put into it!