As a martial arts practitioner, understand the value of being great at your craft. Engage with and commit to whatever it is you’re studying.
For people who are into their practice, just the the simple goal to develop a great armlock, for example, is enough. It’s like a Zen koan: the more you look at it, the more there is. The only way to it is through it.
But most people on Planet Earth don’t really see it that way. They need an external motivator in order to drive them to make their craft better. I just find it unnecessary. It’s enough just to study and improve.
When a competitive career is over, then what? Does one stop being a martial artist because there’s no target to hit?
I believe we can be motivated for the practice alone, for the interactions, the interplay, the growth.
If you’re out there and training just because you love it, I want to commend you and encourage you to keep going. We don’t need a carrot and we don’t need a stick. We can enjoy the ups and downs of learning, studying, practicing because we love to do it. There’s a value to that.
For more about our larger project of cooperative Jiu-Jitsu and martial arts training, please visit the
Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Brooklyn BJJ) website here.
For me, the joy and gratitude lie in the journey and process. The “end result” implies some sort of completion or finality. I accept “achievements” as milestones along the journey of life. Physical, emotional, mental and spiritual development are always developing (if we so choose) and only come to and end when this lifetime is completed and we take our last breath.