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Life priorities and what you're willing to sacrifice. Like coach said, all about showing up. Some aren't willing to part or find balance with time, money, or family. Its in you, or it isn't. Good instructors are huge, but even they see potential turn their back. Just that way it is.
true if i left my awesome gf and gave up wanting a family, sold all I have, I could sleep at a hostel and be training with denny. Of course the first major injury I had would bankrupt me and Id have to get a job and then its back to square one. Maybe getting a position teaching martial arts in a country with first world health care is the solution?Quote:
Originally Posted by bobby rivers
sorry for posting so much and hijacking the thread. I gotta start a new thread for my own question.
Well, our wedding required very little planning. We invited our families to an engagement dinner and then surprised them before desert by getting married right there. But if you figure I work 8-5 five days a week (during the winter), and during the summer field season my schedule is that I work whenever the contractor says I work (8-5 being the minimum), jits is 6-8 mwf, 10th planet no gi is 7-8:30 t/th, that means by the time we get home it's pretty much feed the kiddo and get her in bed. That leaves very little time for anything else. If I was rich and had nothing to do but hang out with the wife and kiddo all day, then sure, I'd have a greater degree of flexibility towards training. As it is, it's not that I've lost passion, or love for jits, I love it just the same, it's just that there are now things in my life that I love even more. So it gets prioritized accordingly.
As for the injury, I didn't want to have surgery, so I hoped if I took a bit of time off it would heal up enough that I could deal with it. I do have insurance, so I could have treated it far more aggressively then I did.
Think my wording was clumsy. By "learning curve" I meant the chunks of knowledge you learn. Its a different focus. More on finesse. If you follow me.
I think there is a perception that the learning curve drops off, but it's an artifact of the learning process. As you progress you learn how much you DON'T know. When you first start, you don't know how big the world is and everything is new. So you feel like you're learning at a mile a minute. But as you grow and develop you learn that you only know a fraction of what is out there. As a white belt you might say "yeah, I know how to do an armbar." By the the time you're a purple, you've learned just how much nuance there is to a simple armbar and just how many set-ups there are. So instead of feeling like you're learning at the rate you were before, you feel like you've stagnated -- but only because you SEE how much more there is to learn. If you could see the whole world from your first day the way a 20-year black belt does , you would see the regular progression of your art.
I'd say, people quitting abruptly after they have reached blue or purple, has a lot to do with over emphasis on belts. Some people treat the belts like world titles. Belts shouldn't be goals. I know that sounds crazy, but if you make a belt your goal, you may slack off or completely drop off after reaching it. Starting over every time you get a belt and setting a goal to get the next one can get redundant and overbearing for some people. Once again, it's all about the person. I have seen this several times though. We call it the blue flu
The Applegates are dropping some truth on this thread. I agree with them. Especially the note about over emphasizing belts. Jiu Jitsu, and many other pursuits, are a life long conquest, an endless marathon, there is no finish line. Even the few men who achieved the rank of Red belt didnt stop training...
I'm not at all surprised at how many quit. Jiu jitsu is physically demanding and requires time and effort above most endeavors. I'm amazed at how many of us hang in there. Through the injuries and other set backs. Be proud and just keep showing up!
Some guys would just rather sit a home and get baked then come to the gym and train. Lol.