Stephan: As we’re finishing up this conversation I’ve got a question but it’s kind of weird to ask you this… You’ve been training so hard at a high level and most normal people can’t. Most people have a job. They’ve got kids. They’re lucky to train three or four times a week and they’re also starting out.
I’ll break this into two questions. First, what advice would you have for somebody who is just starting out? It’s their first week in Jiu-Jitsu. How could you help them along?
Keenan: It’s kind of like starting anything: the first month is going to be a little weird. Everything’s going to be completely new and different and at that point I think you should just stick to what your instructor tells you. Try not to do too much on your own. Try not to go and find the fanciest techniques. That’s probably the biggest thing. Fight the urge to go and look up cool moves.
You’ve got to build base first. I like to think that your entire Jiu-Jitsu game is a pyramid and the topmost peak of your pyramid are the fancy techniques and the cool submissions and the berimbolo stuff. Towards the bottom is the base; like understanding closed guard, and how to hold mount, and just understanding what happens when two people roll with each other.
You start trying to build a pyramid by throwing the top point of the pyramid on top first and start dropping those blocks then there it’s just going to be a big pile of rubbish at the end. So you’ve got to start with those fundamentals, thee foundation, and build from there.
I went through that as well when I started out – just looking for the cool moves – and my fundamentals suffered for my first five years or so. Who knows? Maybe that’s that the reason I wasn’t doing well. Then when I finally got my fundamentals sound, I started doing better in competition.
I’d say that’s the biggest thing as far as a beginner goes.
Stephan: Now what about somebody who’s been into it for a couple of years but again, can’t devote a third as much time as you devote toJiu-Jitsu? What advice would you have for them, especially if they want to compete a little bit, if they want to get better, if they want to eventually get their black belt? They already know that the black belt is going to take them ten years, 12 years to get…
Keenan: There’s nothing wrong with that. Jiu-Jitsu is a hobby for everyone, even the full time competitors. I do this because I enjoy it. You don’t find anyone out there doing Jiu-Jitsu because they hate it. It’s not one of those things.
Ultimately, it’s just a game. There’s nothing serious about it. We’re just a bunch of guys who found a way to fight without anyone getting hurt and that’s fun. So, we put on our big goofy gis and we basically just roughhouse for a couple of hours every day. And then there are a couple of guys who take it more seriously…
I’d compare us to professional video game players. It’s just a game and we – the competitors – have just spent a huge amount of time trying to get really good at a very unique and specific set of rules that make up our game.
And so if you want to get good at a game, you got to put in the practice. And if you have other things in your life that take away from you putting the time to get really good at this really complex thing, it’s just going to take you more time. And that’s not a big deal as long as you enjoy the journey. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.
Originally Posted by Keenan
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Am I being brainwashed right now??? &furthermore, am I going to be one of the brainwashers when I have my own classroom in the next couple of years? What symptoms do I look for, how do I treat it?!! 
