A Teammate on the Mat is Worth Two on the Street

If a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush, then a teammate on the mat is worth 2 on the street. A single trained teammate would serve better in a street fight than 2 scrubs polluted with bravado. But even just discussing jiujitsu ideas or intentions with the layperson doesn’t quite connect like it does with someone already on the mats with us.

At the end of a roll and looking for the next? Grabbing the teammate who is also currently on the mats with us might be a surer bet than scanning the wall for those potentially coming off their break. Those presently on the battlefield are more certain to be in the same headspace as ourselves and more likely to keep the flow going. This compared with waiting in hope someone from the bench picks us to play.

Training today when you know you can make it work, is worth more than 2 days later this week that might work. There might be cases where taking advantage of this day or week without enough forward thought might close an opportunity in the future on rare occasions…but over time, taking what you have, when you have it ready and willing, yields more training efficiency, and stacks up over time. Especially instead of waiting for the elusive  “perfect” conditions to execute.

Use what we have, what is certain, while it IS certain, before it isn’t.  This practice also builds the mental muscle to watch for and seize windows of opportunity to get shit done in general, on and off the mats.