Stay the Course

It's hard being the new guy in a Martial Arts school. Especially when you're a total beginner. Learning requires repetition and you're going to make mistakes. Sometimes you may feel like you'll never get it right. Other times you may get discouraged when someone seems to get it effortlessly. You might start to think that it's just not worth the effort. It's hopeless.

From experience, I can tell you that it's best to stay the course. I've had many beginner moments. I've started over a few times in new fighting styles. It doesn't help that I'm a very slow learner. Painfully slow. But at some point, a breakthrough always happens and things start to click. You may not even notice when you start to get better. One day you'll just realize that you're better than the new guy. For me, the magic always happens when I start to notice patterns in the application. That's when the light starts to go on for me.

I recently started Jiu-Jitsu. I have no other ground fighting experience. So where I am at right now is complete and total beginner. My experience in standup really doesn't help. I'm clueless. I've learned a few techniques but still struggle to pull them off under resistance. To be honest, I have moments when I think I'll never get it. Then I remember feeling like that before. When I started Silat. I'm sure it was the same for Kenpo. Now kicking and punching come naturally. I know the same will be true for Jiu-Jitsu in time.

So stay the course. Even if you don't feel like you're making progress. You might just be a slow learner like me. If it's something you really want and you approach training with serious diligences, you will make progress. One step at a time. One day at a time. Put focus and care into your work and you will improve.