The Reality Of Change

[Chad Clark]

Beautiful.

[Kyle Spalla]

I really needed this.

[Trez "Rat" Reyna]

Inspirational BMac! Thanks for the kick in the a $$!

[Niko Rotko]

Today as I was listening to the Joe Rogan podcast, I heard something that really stood out to me, and I wanted to share it with you guys.

Joe and his guest (Katy Bowman, episode #601) were discussing disturbing trends in health and fitness. Specifically, they were discussing "quick fix" diet pills. Bowman said that what she found most offensive about these kinds of products is that they ignored "the reality of change." That reality, she stated, is that change requires time and effort.

Change=time+effort

So elementary, and yet incredibly profound.

We live in a quick fix society. Very few of us are willing to put in the time and effort required to produce real change in our lives in any area; be it our physical health, our Jiu Jitsu, our addiction, our marriage, etc... Name the arena, and we could probably use quite a bit more discipline.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone says to me, "Man, I wish I could just come up here and do Jiu Jitsu all day, but I got a real job," as if I rolled out of bed one day and acquired my Brown Belt on a whim. I changed and improved as a practitioner through time and effort. Lots of each. Much of it uncomfortable. But this was the cost, and I was willing to pay it.

There is no magic pill. There is no secret sauce. There are no secret techniques or magical teachers that have the tricks that will set you apart from everyone else. There is only time and effort. The longer the time and the greater the effort, the more profound the change.

There are no overnight successes.

Everyone is crazy over Eddie Cummins right now (rightfully so, might I add). But he didn't magically become a lethal footlocker over the course of a week. Change came to him, as it does all, as a result of time and effort.

As I heard Renzo Gracie eloquently state it once, "You have to be the nail for a long time before you get to be the hammer."

So Ronins and white belts, take good courage. You don't have to worry about finding all the secrets on YouTube anymore. You don't have to spend your money on the newest DVD hoping that it will have the technique that finally gets you that coveted Blue Belt. Those things are nice resources and really helpful, but they are not the magic pill.

Do you want to improve your marriage? It took 10 years to let it fall apart, it won't get fixed overnight. Time and effort are your friends. Do you want to lose weight? It took you 10 years to gain that 40 pounds, don't expect to shed it in a month. Time and effort.

This is the great gift that the martial arts really give those of us who truly embrace them: excellence as a result of discipline. The mats don't lie, and they expose us all as products of our own time and effort.

Here's to hoping that 2015 is a year of tremendous positive change in all of your lives. Whatever change you need in your life can realistically be achieved, no matter how far-fetched it may seem. The question is, are you willing to pay the price to achieve the dream you dream? It really is a simple equation.

Change=time+effort

Brandon Mccaghren

Respect 😊

[alan de garay]

this is why i love 10th p

[Ron Benore]

Well put. Usually things I want to do come fairly easy to me. I'm not gonna say I can be an expert at the activity or subject but generally I can do what I want with a decent amount of success. Unfortunately, BJJ and most athletics do not come naturally to me. I really have to consistently remind myself "where were you 6 months ago compared to today". Its only then that I can rationalize why I continue to train in BJJ and other forms of grappling (especially now that we have been doing alot of wrestling and I really suck at it). There is improvement albeit very small increments. I can't even count how many times I had that "aha!" moment .... when something I learned a year or more ago finally clicked. Usually, it is when I am learning another technique and somehow it translates to performing something I never could before. Thanks for breaking it down for us the way you did. I need to put this somewhere that I can consistently look at it. I don't know what it is about this struggle that keeps me coming back. Thanks Brandon.

[VJ Bella]

Great post Brandon! People are going crazy over Eddie Cummings? He is one of Danahers guys from my way...hes got some nice foot locks but I don't remember him winning anything of significance around here (I saw him in a PGL match a few months ago)? I know hes good friends and trains with Gary T. so my guess is if hes getting pushed its via Gary. Not saying hes not good or he doesn't deserve it...hes excellent from what I've seen...just surprised to see his name in your post and that people know who he is....

[Brandon Mccaghren]

Great post Brandon! People are going crazy over Eddie Cummings? He is one of Danahers guys from my way...hes got some nice foot locks but I don't remember him winning anything of significance around here (I saw him in a PGL match a few months ago)? I know hes good friends and trains with Gary T. so my guess is if hes getting pushed its via Gary. Not saying hes not good or he doesn't deserve it...he's excellent from what I've seen...just surprised to see his name in your post and that people know who he is....

People in the know are hot for him right now.

We all watched him rip through the ADCC Trials in December. Lost on points in OT to Enrico Cocco, but had him on the run the entire time.

I heard he is confirmed for EBI 3, as well. Should be interesting.

[Gary Meek]

People in the know are hot for him right now.

EddieC.png

[Brian Debes]

Today as I was listening to the Joe Rogan podcast, I heard something that really stood out to me, and I wanted to share it with you guys.

Joe and his guest (Katy Bowman, episode #601) were discussing disturbing trends in health and fitness. Specifically, they were discussing "quick fix" diet pills. Bowman said that what she found most offensive about these kinds of products is that they ignored "the reality of change." That reality, she stated, is that change requires time and effort.

Change=time+effort

So elementary, and yet incredibly profound.

We live in a quick fix society. Very few of us are willing to put in the time and effort required to produce real change in our lives in any area; be it our physical health, our Jiu Jitsu, our addiction, our marriage, etc... Name the arena, and we could probably use quite a bit more discipline.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone says to me, "Man, I wish I could just come up here and do Jiu Jitsu all day, but I got a real job," as if I rolled out of bed one day and acquired my Brown Belt on a whim. I changed and improved as a practitioner through time and effort. Lots of each. Much of it uncomfortable. But this was the cost, and I was willing to pay it.

There is no magic pill. There is no secret sauce. There are no secret techniques or magical teachers that have the tricks that will set you apart from everyone else. There is only time and effort. The longer the time and the greater the effort, the more profound the change.

There are no overnight successes.

Everyone is crazy over Eddie Cummins right now (rightfully so, might I add). But he didn't magically become a lethal footlocker over the course of a week. Change came to him, as it does all, as a result of time and effort.

As I heard Renzo Gracie eloquently state it once, "You have to be the nail for a long time before you get to be the hammer."

So Ronins and white belts, take good courage. You don't have to worry about finding all the secrets on YouTube anymore. You don't have to spend your money on the newest DVD hoping that it will have the technique that finally gets you that coveted Blue Belt. Those things are nice resources and really helpful, but they are not the magic pill.

Do you want to improve your marriage? It took 10 years to let it fall apart, it won't get fixed overnight. Time and effort are your friends. Do you want to lose weight? It took you 10 years to gain that 40 pounds, don't expect to shed it in a month. Time and effort.

This is the great gift that the martial arts really give those of us who truly embrace them: excellence as a result of discipline. The mats don't lie, and they expose us all as products of our own time and effort.

Here's to hoping that 2015 is a year of tremendous positive change in all of your lives. Whatever change you need in your life can realistically be achieved, no matter how far-fetched it may seem. The question is, are you willing to pay the price to achieve the dream you dream? It really is a simple equation.

Change=time+effort

Brandon Mccaghren

With Jiu-Jitsu being the truest example of this equation I have ever seen. Great post as always Brandon