when do you feel like you grow more ?

[Ryan Brick]

You need to be crushed as much as you crush.

IMO what will make you better quickest though is after you crush someone teach them how to properly defend what you did so it keeps getting harder and you gain deeper understanding of how the move works.

[Brian Debes]

Everyone likes to do well and run through guys, but what do you guys feel improves your game more, getting shown the holes in your game by being dominated by people with higher skill levels, or being able to run your game and be on offense with people of a lesser skill level? Or does it just take a mixture of both? Just wanted to get others perspective on this.

Every combination. Worse than you and bigger, better than you and your size, you need everybody. If there actually WERE people smaller than me, I would train with them too, but I look too old to get into a kids class….

[sean applegate]

You most definitely need them all. I also feel it has alot to do with your mindset going into your rolls with these people. If you are rolling with the lesser player to learn and grow, you will. But if you are rolling with them to just smash and get an ego boost, you won't.

Congrats on the blue by the way chris. Great job homie

[Josh Passini]

A combination. Things just starts to click that werent working before. Or when you surprise yourself with teshit you have been pulling off.

[NikNikAndCauliflower]

I find I can *discover* my weaknesses more clearly with a higher belt, but I really need to play around with solutions/ideas with lower/equal belts to actually fix them.

[rickdawson]

Losing in Competition teaches me more then a month worth of classes...... but it still sucks.

[bobby rivers]

I grow the most when I can isolate and identify my problem. You have to roll to find this but drill to fix it. And once you find the problem you have to find the proper technique to drill. Many times stuff fails because we try to force a square peg in a round hole. It's like trying to beat a nail in with the side of a wrench. Sure, you'll get it done but this is negative reinforcement. Over time you may get even get better at it, but as soon as you use a hammer you will never use a wrench again and wonder why you used the damn wrench so long in the first place. Being able to properly analyze your problem, then use the proper resources to find the right tool is invaluable. Of course you could also be using the hammer the whole time, but just need to turn the damn thing around.

I also agree that losses in competition expose these issues blatantly. Believe it or not, training around injuries also force growth. You have no choice, but to slow down and roll outside of your comfort zone. Proper form is paramount to make a tech work in this case and it stays with you when you heal.

[Chris "Beowulf" Burchell]

Thanks sean i appreciate it, and its good to hear different views on this subject. It seems like you all feel the same way, and i agree. I think the trick is being able to look at everything from a positive perspective so that we can move forward no matter if we are the least skilled grappler in the room, or in a room full of first day guys. I will be implementing some of the ideas from this thread into my mindset moving forward.

[Brandon Mccaghren]

I grow the most when I can isolate and identify my problem. You have to roll to find this but drill to fix it. And once you find the problem you have to find the proper technique to drill. Many times stuff fails because we try to force a square peg in a round hole. It's like trying to beat a nail in with the side of a wrench. Sure, you'll get it done but this is negative reinforcement. Over time you may get even get better at it, but as soon as you use a hammer you will never use a wrench again and wonder why you used the damn wrench so long in the first place. Being able to properly analyze your problem, then use the proper resources to find the right tool is invaluable. Of course you could also be using the hammer the whole time, but just need to turn the damn thing around.

I also agree that losses in competition expose these issues blatantly. Believe it or not, training around injuries also force growth. You have no choice, but to slow down and roll outside of your comfort zone. Proper form is paramount to make a tech work in this case and it stays with you when you heal.

Awesome post.