1. Have fun!

    It’s not that I didn’t want to have fun. I just didn’t know what fun was. I thought that beating other people was fun. Which, with that sort of mindset, only one person is having ‘fun’ per rolling session, and potentially neither of you. I think it’s far more important to enjoy the challenges presented and to look at each person you roll with as a new unique challenge that you have to overcome. This allows me to train with smaller people, bigger people, better people, beginners etc. Each person challenges me in a way to use another part of my game and venture away from the safe shores of what -has- worked for me.

    The complacency in the statement of ‘It has always worked before’ implies you will never, ever, meet someone with whom that game will not work on. I’d suggest working on other skill sets before you meet that person in a setting that it ‘matters’. I will tell you from experience, that is not fun.

2. Techniques either work or they don't.

    While it may be true that some techniques are harder for beginners to figure out than more advanced BJJ players, it is not true that some techniques are for white belts and some are for black belts. A few big reason that the basics work at every level are:

    Incorporating moves into your drilling and rolling, as soon as possible, is the best way to get better at them. In addition, trying them on better and better players allows you to see the holes in the game you are working. Trust me, if it doesn’t work, it probably isn’t the technique. It’s the execution.

3. Enjoy the journey.

    Too many times I was concerned with progression via recognition and achievement but not through actual progression. This mindset is, in my opinion, very apparent in wrestling, where you compete so often that you concentrate on doing and not improving. No one remembers, or probably more importantly, cares about, the matches you lost except for you. Have fun training, embrace the grind, love competition and getting better. The progress will come when you least expect it. The best thing you will ever hear in jiu-jitsu is that people want to train with you and learn from you, not that you have some medals. Make friends, learn to overcome adversity, enjoy the lifestyle.