I had a realisation the other day after jiu jitsu training…

The more I fk around, the worse I perform in jiu jitsu.

Here’s the inspiration:

You may have seen this meme “the more you fuck around, the more you’re gonna find out”?

If not, you’re not spending enough time on social media.

Here’s how this concept has played out in my life:

Fking around in jiu jitsu

I don’t take action when it was the right time to do so. Instead I wait, because I’m either

• tired
• think it’s more honourable to let my training partner “take an extra step” first so we are more “even”, or
• I dunno what’s the right move

The result?

Life gets harder as now I’m no longer ahead of my partner and have more obstacles to deal with.

Fking around in ultimate frisbee

A more experienced player once said to the team:

“The faster we run and get to the opponents we are marking when the round starts, the less problems we will have later.”

But if we fk around and casually jog to our opponents, we’ll pay the price later. For example, because no one is there to block their throws, our opponents are able to pass the disc faster and further upfield.

So how to improve performance?

Do the opposite.

Prevention is better than cure – the less we fk around, the less problems we will encounter later.

It all boils down to time and the compounding effect. The earlier we start executing good decisions, the higher chances of success later.

Like a snowball rolling down a hill. It starts small, but as it gathers more snow, it gets bigger and bigger

Einstein called this “the most powerful force in the universe.”

But it’s easier said than done. We often struggle with inertia, laziness, and lack of awareness etc.

Back to my earlier jiu jitsu example, this means breaking threatening grips. A black belt pointed out to me recently that I was letting him keep a sleeve grip when I should be breaking it. That sleeve grip he had was stopping me from passing his guard.

Simple solution that sounds obvious in hindsight. That’s a constant feeling in jiu jitsu for me.

So… the next time something isn’t working out the way you wanted, ask yourself, am I fking around? Am I finding out rn?

But sometimes you have to fk around, otherwise you’ll never find out!

I also realise fking around a bit is important and it’s natural – more on this next time.

the end, till next time!

ps. bonus section

Here’s a list of jiu jitsu troubleshooting frameworks I’ve gathered. When facing a problem, try to fix the following:

1. Timing: Make sure you’re executing the move at the right time.
2. Angle: Change the angle between yourself and your opponent. I either wanna be perpendicular or parallel to them.
3. Grip: Don’t let them get the grip they want or weaken the grip they already have.
4. Prevention: Guess your opponent’s next move and move your shit outta the way just before they take it. (may be hard to visualise this one)