How To Get Comfortable With The Discomfort Of Jiu Jitsu
Getting Comfortable With Discomfort in Jiu Jitsu
If you have been around the jiu jitsu world long enough, there is a good chance you were strangled by someone you did not think would be capable of causing you such a great level of discomfort. No matter if you are just starting out, or have tons of experience, you are subjected to discomfort not only physically but emotionally. How well you handle this type of comfort depends on the level of control you have over your ego. And as a new student to BJJ, you have two choices:
One: You can walk out the door and never return, giving yourself an out with whatever menial excuse you come up with. There is a bit of cognitive dissonance in this scenario, and likely that a person does not have a true understanding of their nature.
Two: You allow a seed to be planted in your mind. This seed gives you a thirst for knowledge, and you walk back through the door wanting to know more.
It is quite obvious to even someone who does not train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu which is the better choice. Yes, it sucks to be uncomfortable. We spend most of our lives trying to make ourselves comfortable, in our jobs, our homes, and with our family and friends. But jiu jitsu is about familiarizing yourself with being stuck in uncomfortable situations. And because of this, it takes the right mentality to keep yourself from quitting.
Tom DeBlass is master of escaping and finding his way back to powerful positions. His secret is not only in the technique, but he possess the mindset to never quit and always find a way to success.
Practitioners of jiu jitsu and many other martial arts or self defense often will find themselves in uncomfortable and compromising positions. A good practitioner intentionally puts themselves in bad positions. But why? If you want be a better swimmer you need to jump into the pool. Is escaping from underneath a person who is crushing you with their body weight what you desire to learn? Well, then get comfortable with being crushed by guys who are bigger, stronger, and more experienced than you. In training your approach need not be about winning. Thinking if it more like sharpening your sword.
The ability to escape a disadvantageous position can be the determining factor in whether a match is one or lost. In this video Tom DeBlass escapes a body triangle and enters the legs. If Tom were in a tournament setting he would be at a huge point differential due to back control. But in a real life street fight scenario this would not matter, because now you have Tom DeBlass hanging from your leg.
These types of battle tested techniques will only come from getting comfortable with discomfort. You must be willing to spend countless hours getting out of your comfort zone and getting in trouble in especially bad positions. And when you think about it, this applies to real life as well. Once you have handled a BJJ gorilla on the mats who was doing everything in his power to dominate and crush you, everything else in life seems a lot easier to deal with. The stressors of modern day work life balance will be much easier to adjust to and deal with.
Escapes = power in jiu jitsu. When you have the confidence and ability to get out of all bad positions in BJJ, you know that you are never truly in trouble. You are always able to find your way back to a powerful position to attack again... just like in life.
Tom DeBlass is not only a warrior on the mats, but in life as well. This is evident in his DVD / On Demand series called Submission Escapes. You can tell through the years of experience that Tom has competing and training, that the ability the escape submissions and bad positions is one of the most important things any Jiu Jitsu fighter or martial artist should know.
Get his DVD series Submission Escapes and gain the confidence to escape every thing and find your way back to power whenever you face adversity.
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