3 Ways to Get Out of a Jiu Jitsu Rut

Do you feel stuck in your training right now, like you hit a plateau?

More often than not, this happens because the stresses of life are not allowing you to enjoy training.

Maybe you are bringing stresses onto the mats from outside of Jiu Jitsu – family, work, money, etc.

Or maybe you have allowed the pressure of Jiu Jitsu to consume your experience – pressure to compete, pressure to win, pressure to perform, pressure to improve. Your subconscious absorbs all of this, and before you know it, you are in a RUT.

It can be hard to bounce back when you feel this way.

It can be hard to keep showing up.

“Why am I not improving?”

“What is wrong with me?”

“What is the point?”

Inevitably, these are the emotions that come up.

And THIS is when most students quit Jiu Jitsu.

Because we convince ourselves that no matter what we do, we’re not going to get better.

Then, we convince ourselves that other things in life are more important.

It is at this point that you start to forget WHY you started training.

Once you have lost your why, it is a matter of time before you stop training altogether.

Before that happens, here are some steps you can take to get your why back.

Step #1

Write down your goals by the day. Then the week. Then the month. 

When motivation is low, the best thing you can do for yourself is help encourage yourself with small goals – narrowing it down to the day.

“Today, I am going to work only closed guard, and aim for at least one submission from closed guard”

“Today, I am going to roll 3 rounds with no breaks”

“Today, I am going to practice the technique that is showed and only the technique that is showed, no matter what it is”

Once you can measure and SEE your progress, you will start to take steps out of your rut.

Once you start to get bored with daily goals, you can move on to weekly and then monthly goals.

Step #2

Design “your game”. Reflect on what it is that you are GOOD at, and start to tell yourself that that is YOUR game.

This can be daunting at first, especially when motivation is really low, and you are struggling to see anything that you are good at.

BUT – we all have moves that our subconscious takes us to before we even make a conscious decision about where we want to go.

THIS is your game.

Start to take pride in it. Work it consciously. Research and look up Youtube videos of competitors working your game.

Once you start to take pride in your game, you realize that it is unique. 

Now that you know your game is unique, it is less about competing with friends at the gym, and more about refining YOUR game.

Step #3 

Make Jiu Jitsu FUN again.

Watch this podcast with Patrick McCahon on some tips for how to keep Jiu Jitsu FUN.

Whatever you do, stick with Jiu Jitsu through these ruts.

The years are going to pass by anyways – might as well be a black belt.