What do I need to do to reach the next level in my training?

I am often asked “Coach, what do I need to do to reach the next level in my training?” Usually this question is related to competition goals, conditioning goals, advancing in belt level, and so on. I almost always answer the same way.

If you do what the average person does, you will get the average results. The average person does just the minimum required to achieve a mere fraction of their desired goal. Now, if I am describing you I promise that I mean no harm. I realize that life is full of priorities that require Martial Arts training to take a back seat to and I’m certainly not criticizing anyone who puts their family/business/priority goals first. In fact, you would be wrong not too. I am writing in response to those of you who feel stuck but really want to, and have the time and desire to take a big step forward in your Martial Arts progress. I also think the advice here can be used for ANYTHING you choose to succeed in. Just fill in the blank. So here’s what I believe.

If you want to reach the “next level” in your martial arts training you should do everything you are currently doing (coming to class, sparring, competing, cardio) and then do 20% more. All the best athletes work harder than everyone else. They come to class earlier to get in more drills. They stay later to drill more. They do more cardio training than the rest. They study the game more than the rest. They all do what everyone else does plus 20% more. I know it sounds simple but the truth is that there really are no big secrets. I love the quote “hard work will always beat talent when talent refuses to work hard”. This is so, so true. What you need is the right school, the right training partners, the right coaches, the right mindset and you need to work harder than the rest. When you start doing this, something magic happens. You cut your learning curve in half and you start seeing results faster than ever before.

As you do this you will likely encounter some negative feedback or criticism. Some people don’t like the idea of their friends or family members doing something Big and Bold or even different. I had friends that used to tell me that I was crazy for wasting all my time training Jiu Jitsu throughout high school. “You’re missing out on all the parties and fun.”(and probably alcohol poisoning, too). In the end, though you have to follow your heart and take action. Don’t talk about all the great things you could have done or would have like to have done. Make a decision, accept the good and bad that come with that decision, and take action.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes that you may have already heard but is always worth another read. See you on the mat!

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt April 23, 1910 from the speech “Citizenship in a Republic.”