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I know mginaction some what skews my view, but also listening from some interviews also it doesn't seem like anyone rolls as.much as Marcelo, for him to roll with all these visitors plus his students all day long can become a grind, but he just goes no stop
He doesn't even lift or do any other working out, just teaching and rolling
He is a highly athletic but I would say almost every medium-larger sized academy has someone just as athletic as him.
What made him succeed was his unflinching drive to train bjj. In his heyday, he told me he knew of nobody that trained more than him.
Why do we imagine that bjj is different from other sports where athletic prowess is foremost.
We're not, everyone at that level is athletic, some other things come into play also
Attitude comes 1st everything else is an excuse. Never be envious of what someone else has or can do if your not prepared to do what they've done to get it.
It is very important, but I would not say it is foremost, especially when weight classes are concerned.Quote:
Originally Posted by brent_littell
There are many BJJ world champs that I do not think are freaks of athletic abilities (of course they are all excellent athletes to a certain extent- but not phenoms).
I think the amount of hours and years of mat time, ie. technique, can overcome some physical deficiencies.
Cobrinha, Mendes Brothers, Marcelo, etc- they all used to train around 6 hours of mat time on a daily basis. That is more than most competitors (although nowadays, it seems a little more common).
I think Demian Maia is a good example of someone who is at the top level of grappling without being a superior athlete.
Jon Fitch got a long way on superior work ethic without tons of natural ability. I've also seen vid of Eddie discounting athletic ability as a major factor in his success.
I guess popovitch loved bjj more when he beat Marcelo.
Btw It sounds like many are mixing up love and hard work. He's in the gym 8 hours a day, that's why he wins. Even if he hated bjj, he would still win with that work ethic.
Matt horwich spends 6 hours in the gym and lives and breathes mma and bjj. Where's his UFC belt. Henderson fucked around a lot and skipped practices and he has had many belts
I know we would all like to imagine we have limitless potential to be a world champion but I would venture to say we all can't be that guy. We can be good but greatness is innate. I've been around long enough and rolled with enough world champions at the bb to know it.
I guess dreamers got to dream even if this is a hard reality to face. We aren't all world champions, but it's what we indentify with. Just because some one never holds a belt or wins a world championship doesn't mean they shouldn't make the attempt or quit. Call it naieve and nor am I disagreeing with your experience or knowledge, but it's the love that brought me back to the mats and the dream of winning world championship that keeps me coming back.Quote:
Originally Posted by brent_littell