It happens to everyone. Nothing seems to be working. You cannot pick up anything new. Pitchers fall into slumps. Writers get blocked. It is the dreaded plateau.
Plateaus are frustrating and some people just can't overcome them. It's one reason so many students quit after they reach blue belt. They've developed their game enough to earn the rank - but they don't seem to get any better.
Sometimes it's all in your head. Other times there are real problems preventing you from taking your game to the next level.
Here are some things to think about next time you find your jiu jitsu stuck in neutral or stalled out altogether.
Diminishing Returns: You will never increase your jiu jitsu knowledge as much as you did when you first started. Think about it. You walk onto the mat knowing nothing. Anything you learn is a 100% increase in your knowledge. But as you add more and more maneuvers to your arsenal, each increase feels smaller by comparison. You will nev er have those huge leaps and bounds in skill that you had as a white belt. Adjust your expectations. Focus on fine-tuning and learning new variations on techniques you already understand.
Go Deep, Not Wide: Are you drilling one technique over and over? Or dozens of techniques a few times each? Bruce Lee famously said "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." If you spend your time trying every new technique you see on youtube, you will never master even one of them.
Go to bed: Are you getting enough sleep? Scientific research shows a lack of sleep impacts learning and athletic performance. A good night's sleep also helps recover from injuries and intense workouts. Sleep experts say adults need seven to nine hours sleep each night. Teens and adolescents need nine to ten hours. New research shows athletes who get 10 hours sleep or more run faster and perform better at skills requiring accur acy and co-ordination.
Keep it fun: Are you thinking about work while training? Trouble at home? If you're carrying stress onto the mats, it's going to distract you in training. Stress has a way of multiplying itself. If you bring it to the academy, it affects your performance - which stresses you out even more. It's a nasty feedback loop. The mats should be a place to shed the stress of everyday life. If that's something you cannot do, you need to figure out some way to separate jiu jitsu from the outside world.
Learn a Lesson: A plateau shouldn't be fatal to your jiu jitsu career. Every jiu jitsu player has experienced the same sense of frustration. Even world champions have felt like their progress stalled at some point. Keep training and never give up. The resolve needed to break out of a slump is the same mental fortitude required to come from behind for a victory or face a seemingly invincible opponent. This can only make you stronger.
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