In “Too Old For a Break” we talked about making the most of what we have while we have it. And as natural and necessary as breaks in training are to our continued progress, we give the warning to use with discretion. Being intentional over by default, we should ask ourselves why we’re taking our break? These breaks are between classes or rolls, or for breaks from the academy altogether. But for today’s thoughts, we’ll go with while in class.

Within a class:

Are we breaking to preserve our energy to make it the rest of class and finish strong?

Are we spinning from exhaustion, keeping it down, preventing our partners from slipping in our slop?

Are we just in the habit of hearing the buzzer, action stopping, and we remain stopped?

Are we doing every other or so to slowly build up our conditioning?

Are we stockpiling our energy bar for the next one so we can give our partner more? Or to lesson the chances of getting smoked by them?

 

Are we fit enough to skip the next break?

Physically fit enough to keep the belly flow down?

Technically fit enough to hold our own, even if as the nail to the hammers?

Emotionally fit enough to be unfazed by “results” of the next roll?

 

Here’s a cheers to taking breaks with intention, and to all of us working to be too fit for a break, or at least too fit to “need” one.

Best when paired with “Don’t Roll to Last ” and “Showing Up is Not Half the Battle: The Mathematics of BJJ Skill Acquisition