Jiu Jitsu and Working

Originally Posted by DerrickFlaig

I know my ultimate goal is to figure out a way to make money through jiu jitsu, but that requires time. How do you balance between training/competing and actually working?

I'm a married, working father of two...

I have mats in my garage. My crew comes together a few times a week and we train. Usually for three hours at a time. We also compete. I LOVE IT and highly recommend it!

Originally Posted by Dallas Johnson

I quit my job so I can train Mon through Friday, but I'm not a tough guy yet so I just do my best to train once a day. In order to do that I deliver Pizza on the weekends, therefor I eat for free on the weekends, and I have a $20 limit on food for the rest of the week from my tips, which usually goes to Ramen Noodles, Instant mashed potatoes, and frozen country fried steak. If I have money left over, I buy bread, and stuff for sandwiches. I have a freezer packed with frozen vegitables and rice just incase I dont make any money or I lose my job.

So for me, the secret to working and training is to work less, train more, therefor less money for food, more money for gas to get me to training, and more money for the utility bill since im doing laundry after every workout. I'm much happier doing it this way than when I was making a lot of money, but hating my life.

The balance isnt in finding when to work and when to train. The balance is in yourself, and asking what are you willing to sacrifice in order to train more. for me,,, I sacrifice food.

That's so gangster, dog.

I'll be coming down to train with y'all once a month from Dallas. I'm trying to get a Hot Box started up here.

See you soon.

Originally Posted by steveramz

That's so gangster, dog.
I'll be coming down to train with y'all once a month from Dallas. I'm trying to get a Hot Box started up here.
See you soon.

Let us know when your coming down!! I'm 280lbs, but we have guys from 135 and up. Extremely athletic guys too. Tim Kennedy and his boys drop in once a week or so as well. Contact Coach Curtis Hembroff and he can advise you when the best time to drop by so you can make the most of your time in Austin. (sorry to hijack the thread)

Originally Posted by Dallas Johnson

Let us know when your coming down!! I'm 280lbs, but we have guys from 135 and up. Extremely athletic guys too. Tim Kennedy and his boys drop in once a week or so as well. Contact Coach Curtis Hembroff and he can advise you when the best time to drop by so you can make the most of your time in Austin. (sorry to hijack the thread)

#tight

Thanks and will do!

Originally Posted by Dallas Johnson

Thank you for the great advice, I'm not starving by any means, Im currently 280lb at 6'2. I can stand to lose some weight. Last night after practice I ate 2 packets of ramen noodles, with 2 cans of sardines. this morning the wife made me some eggs and pancakes. I usually eat around 1,500-1,800 calories throughout the week days, and then I consume about 2,500 on the weekends, its just under 3,000 calorie deficit per week, which at my body weight and BMI, is just under 1 lb a week for me. I have lost 20lbs since august doing this. I started at 294lbs.

I completely agree and appreciate the advice for eating healthier, but I witnessed my father eat nothing but hamburgers, meat and bun, and potato chips my entire life, Im 31 years old, and I have never seen my father eat any fruits or vegetables in my life. He worked 16 hours a day as a mechanic for 40 years before he retired, hes 69 years old, and still a hard ass. I dont like going against the tide, but nutrition is bunk. Nutrition as we know it has only been around for the last 60 years. For 80,000 years humans have been 'mono' eaters and lived off what they could find. Thats just my 2 cents.

Thank you again though for your great advice and support. But I lost 100lbs in 1 year back in 2004, just so I could join the Marines, and I plan on losing it again. With a 3,000 calorie deficit per week in food, and training 8 hours a week, medium to high intensity, which is 400-600 calories per hour, which is just under 4,000 calories burned per week, I should be reaching the 2lb bench mark of fat loss per week, which is considered a healthy standard.

But your absolutely right, I have much more to learn about nutrition and I can certainly benefit from healthier choices, thank you again.

I'm not about that life. My body runs terrible on junk food. I can get away with drinking on weekends, but I can't get away with eating a pizza before class. But that's how my body works. I don't know how yours works. Good luck though. Stay healthy.

Originally Posted by Arman Fathi

To this point though, if you ever expect to open a school, you can't expect Jiu Jitsu to invest in you if you haven't invested in Jiu Jitsu. If caring for a sick relative has taught anyone anything, at least in my instance, it teaches us that our days are numbered. We ought to have the free will to do what makes us happy. Obviously balance is key. But if you get over the first couple year hump and train in a way that is safe from injury, and this is achieved thru knowledge, mat time, and no ego, you will connect with Jiu Jitsu more. It will become a part of you, a connection that follows you throughout the day, through your actions.

Mat time is time well spent on this Earth. And all our days are numbered, so we ought to have the free will to train if it makes us happy. Virtually no circumstance has kept every single person that it afflicts off the mats if it's that important to them. Obviously, with balance. But what the hell is balance without Jiu Jitsu? That's my perspective.

What is jiu jitsu without balance? LOL.

Nice quote on investing. The same way it's unwise to put all your eggs in one basket, it's unwise, in my opinion, to invest more into BJJ than it's going to return. BJJ isn't a guaranteed return on investment. It's a good idea to have a fall back plan.

Plenty of circumstances keep people off the mats even if it's a temporary set back. I couldn't train consistently for 3 years. Trust me, I lived it. "If you want it bad enough" doesn't work for everyone.

By God's grace I have a job that allows me to work from home and on my own schedule (computer programmer/project manager), so I'm able to train 6 days a week, 1-3 times a day. My school has evening classes Monday through Friday, and also a morning class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I get my other sessions in at home on my own mats with a friend of mine. The two biggest struggles for me are:

1.) finding others who are able to and consistently willing to train with me outside of the gym.

2.) balancing training, work, etc. with not neglecting my wife and 9 month old daughter (something I'm daily trying to master).

But what helps me is having such a laid-back job that pays well. It will be good to fall back on, and even supplement my income when I do get my black belt and start training and teaching full-time. It's an awesome job, but Jiu Jitsu is definitely where my passion is.

I'm also learning a lot about business, marketing, and entrepreneurship by working in this field. And those are skills that I know will prove to be invaluable when I do shift to full time Jiu Jitsu.

Originally Posted by David Rosado

Nice quote on investing. The same way it's unwise to put all your eggs in one basket, it's unwise, in my opinion, to invest more into BJJ than it's going to return. BJJ isn't a guaranteed return on investment. It's a good idea to have a fall back plan.

True. Though there are some investments that are not all about the financial return. The return on investment in jiu jitsu for me is already paying off in the form of relationships, health and fitness, piece of mind regarding self-defense, and self-confidence. I haven't made a dime off of jiu jitsu to date, yet I keep training. No one said that one ought to quit their job or quit school in the pursuit of being a world champion. But it seems to me that a lot of having jiu jitsu in your life is a matter of driving to the academy and jumping in a class once in a while. Making time. As insensitive as that might be to some. A lot of your posts, with all due respect, seem like glass half-empty thinking and without getting into the details of your personal life, it would appear that you're making the choice that mat time is not high on your priority list, thus, opening a school wouldn't be either. A dream can become a goal simply by listing the steps you want to take to get there. "If you want it bad enough" will work for whoever wants to make it work and whoever develops a step-by-step plan to make it happen. This plan could be as simple as "Man, I haven't trained in months, let me hit up an intro class at a local academy. No obligation. Just try it out. Maybe I'll fall in love with it. If not, I'll leave and never come back. But I'll simply show up. And at the end of the day, at least I'll have made another connection and got in another hour or so of mat time." It's the whole concept of free will and living in the country that we do which gives us a chance at the life we want.

I want to recommend a book that I read that changed my life. "Success Principles" by Jack Canfield. A lot of your rhetoric comes off in a way that, frankly, doesn't do well in the 'inspiration' department. While I appreciate your opinion, there is a lot of "can't" in your thinking, and this book molded my thinking in a way that has brought me more success in all areas of my life as of late, while still finding time to balance my priorities. I've actually been able to train MORE and be MORE productive in other areas of my life in the same 24 hour period just from the advice in this book.

Other than that, good discussion.

Originally Posted by DerrickFlaig

I know my ultimate goal is to figure out a way to make money through jiu jitsu, but that requires time. How do you balance between training/competing and actually working?

Originally Posted by Arman Fathi

True. Though there are some investments that are not all about the financial return. The return on investment in jiu jitsu for me is already paying off in the form of relationships, health and fitness, piece of mind regarding self-defense, and self-confidence. I haven't made a dime off of jiu jitsu to date, yet I keep training. No one said that one ought to quit their job or quit school in the pursuit of being a world champion. But it seems to me that a lot of having jiu jitsu in your life is a matter of driving to the academy and jumping in a class once in a while. Making time. As insensitive as that might be to some. A lot of your posts, with all due respect, seem like glass half-empty thinking and without getting into the details of your personal life, it would appear that you're making the choice that mat time is not high on your priority list, thus, opening a school wouldn't be either. A dream can become a goal simply by listing the steps you want to take to get there. "If you want it bad enough" will work for whoever wants to make it work and whoever develops a step-by-step plan to make it happen. This plan could be as simple as "Man, I haven't trained in months, let me hit up an intro class at a local academy. No obligation. Just try it out. Maybe I'll fall in love with it. If not, I'll leave and never come back. But I'll simply show up. And at the end of the day, at least I'll have made another connection and got in another hour or so of mat time." It's the whole concept of free will and living in the country that we do which gives us a chance at the life we want.

I want to recommend a book that I read that changed my life. "Success Principles" by Jack Canfield. A lot of your rhetoric comes off in a way that, frankly, doesn't do well in the 'inspiration' department. While I appreciate your opinion, there is a lot of "can't" in your thinking, and this book molded my thinking in a way that has brought me more success in all areas of my life as of late, while still finding time to balance my priorities. I've actually been able to train MORE and be MORE productive in other areas of my life in the same 24 hour period just from the advice in this book.

Other than that, good discussion.

Yeah for me the return of investment isn't just monetary. Just like you, I make no money off of it, but it helps me be a better person. I'm healthier both physically and mentally. I've earned no medals. I haven't ranked up. For years all I could do is drop in at open mats or get a free class here and there.

I appreciate the respect, and I understand how you could perceive me as a pessimist. Your assumption that I don't prioritize mat time is wrong because you are missing the details. "If you want it bad enough" sounds good, but like I said before, it doesn't take into consideration that sometimes goals take a long time. Some people can start making plans right from where they stand. Other people have to plan just to get themselves in position to train. So for you, planning to get to your dream is like, abcd. Someone else might have to plan a-s just to get to where you are in your point A. It took me 3 years just to get to your point A.

"But it seems to me that a lot of having jiu jitsu in your life is a matter of driving to the academy and jumping in a class once in a while."

What if someone doesn't have a car? What if a person is married but works an opposite shift to their wife, but someone has to stay home to take care of their autistic child who needs constant monitoring? What if, what if, what if? It's not as simple as "get in your car and go." Bruh, if it were that simple, I would've never stopped training.

You see, it's not that mat time isn't a priority or that my dream of having a school or getting a black belt isn't a priority. It's that for years it couldn't be a priority. And even now, while I've found a way to get back in the game, it's still not a higher priority than other things. My family comes first no matter what. If jiu jitsu gets to a point where I'm missing time with my family or I'm putting us in a financial bind, I'm taking another hiatus. I love BJJ but not more than my family. And because my family is my main priority, and my job is the way that I provide for my family, then my job becomes my second priority above BJJ.

My perspective isn't meant to be inspirational. It's meant to be cautionary. I've chased my dreams. Like I said, a lot of motivational speakers tell you to jump head first into your dream as if failure is impossible. I recently suffered a terrible hardship because I took that advice and my business failed. Hard. I'm not done though. I'm dusting myself off. I'm trying again. But this time, I know that it's smart to jump with a parachute. It's smarter to check the depth of the water before I dive in. If anything, I'm more inspirational than a lot of these inspirational book boys. I wanna know what slum they grew up in. I wanna know how they dealt with not having parents. I wanna know how they overcame mental illness and addiction and how they're still fighting to succeed. Most of these book writers are silver spoon boys who get to give inspirational advice from a golden throne. I'm not a pessimist. I'm an optimist. My optimism is simply cautious optimism because I've experienced some horrible things in life and I know that life can shit on your dreams at any time.

And CAN'T isn't a bad word. I can't time travel. I can't fly at will. I can't make a million dollars appear out of thin air just because I wish it would. Can't is important in dreaming. Because when you know that you can't do something, then you can focus on what you CAN do.