Ask a Black Belt - Jiu Jitsu Podcast

138. Jiu Jitsu Homework

Thomas Rozdzynski

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What if you could optimize your time to not just practice Jiu-Jitsu, but truly master it, regardless of your hectic schedule? In this in-depth conversation, we uncover the secret to making every moment count and how to implement structured 'homework' for exponential improvement. We dig into the real questions about time - do we really lack it, or do we simply mismanage it? While acknowledging the importance of other priorities in life, we make the case for a deeper commitment to Jiu-Jitsu because it’s not just a sport, but a journey of self-discovery.

We walk through practical steps for self-reflection, recounting past lessons, and preparing for future training. As we discuss, this isn't about ticking boxes or doing chores, but willingly seeking out tasks that lead to better understanding and performance in Jiu-Jitsu. So, if you've been grappling with time management issues or feel stuck in your progress, tune in and discover how you can transform your training efficiency, celebrate your successes and view every setback as an opportunity for growth in the exciting world of Jiu-Jitsu!

Ask me questions on IG @rozdzynskibjj, I will personally respond to you and record the episode with an official answer.

Links you need to check out:
www.rolacademy.tv
www.therolradio.com

Speaker 1:

As you continue to train in Jiu-Jitsu and as our life gets busier and busier, and Jiu-Jitsu is our getaway, is our free time, is our mind clearing our, or two? However much you train, oftentimes we step off the mat, we go home and we disconnect, and I think for some of us that's that's great. Simply because we have, we don't have much time left, and this is where the tricky part comes in. Do we really not have time? We all have the same amount of time. We have 24 hours every single day and we have seven days a week, so not some of us are not gaining the advantage of having a little bit more time than the others. However, the life is life and some of us are busy and our careers, families and things that we do for our work and outside of Jiu-Jitsu are important, and most of the time they are more important than Jiu-Jitsu itself. So acknowledging that is extremely, extremely important. At the same time, we come to Jiu-Jitsu to learn things. We come to Jiu-Jitsu to get better at it. We come to Jiu-Jitsu to explore new opportunities, stimulate ourselves physically and mentally. So saying that we don't have time for Jiu-Jitsu yet we want to do it and we're looking for a certain point of success. It's almost conflicting itself. It's conflicting with each other. What we're trying to achieve in this situation is find out how much time we have available to us to understand what's available from a training perspective, and now we want to bleed these two and find the best schedule that we can have to work to get better with Jiu-Jitsu. Now there's one more thing that we can do, and that's the homework part. This is the part where, oftentimes, a lot of students underestimate the value and the return that you can really get on your investment. Five minutes a day watching video, reviewing notes, comparing what was done in a class, what you need to improve on the things, the focus points that you want to work next time you go to the class, could change the way how you think about Jiu-Jitsu and they could change your results within Jiu-Jitsu. So what should we do? Well, what I encourage all of my students is one attend two or three classes a week at the minimum, but two make notes and three seek homework, whether it's you talking to your instructor and finding out what else you can do on a weekly basis to improve yourself, to get better, but also you self-reflect on the situations that you found yourself this week. Every single person, in my opinion, can find room for improvement. Every single person can find areas in our Jiu-Jitsu where we can get slightly better.

Speaker 1:

But see, all of this stance starts with point of reflection. All of this starts with the simple thoughts what did we work on this week? What do I need to change? What went well and celebrate those successes, but also acknowledge the fact that not everything went well. There are things that we could get better at. And don't misunderstand me, this is not me looking at what I do wrong. This is me looking at where I can get better. Just because I want to get better at something does not mean I'm doing something wrong. This just means that this area I can get more efficient. I can hunt specific position. I can understand deeper what is the point of control that I found myself in? Or maybe what did my partner do in order for me to have such a limited mobility? Just thinking about that puts us on a path of success.

Speaker 1:

So how do we homework? Homework could be anything from your reflection. Homework could be anything for you writing down what happened and what needs to change. Homework could be doing a little bit of research on the positions that you struggle with or positions that you want to improve Homework. It could be a conversation with your peers about the things that are coming up, or, just past this week, maybe reviewing some old videos of you sparring. You've been reviewing some old seminar that took place at the academy, maybe looking at YouTube or other platforms to find out what techniques will be taught then this next week and mentally preparing yourself to what is about to happen. See, all of these things is extra time that you're putting on them into Jiu-Jitsu, off the mat, and that is what I refer to.

Speaker 1:

Homework. It does not have to be a drag, it doesn't have to be a chore. A homework is subset of tasks that you are willingly doing to get better. And let's be honest for a moment, we all want to get better at Jiu-Jitsu. This is why we are paying for it. This is why we are showing up. We want to invest into ourselves in order for us to continue improving and have a lot of passion around this beautiful sport, this beautiful hobby, this beautiful activity that we all call Jiu-Jitsu. Don't underestimate the value and the power behind homework Once you continue doing some horror for several months. Just do me a favor, drop me a line and just tell me how it's going and if I can help you in any way to improve some of the homeworks that you are doing. Always drop me a line. I'm always happy to help.