Let me tell you a story about the first grappling class I ever took. It was at Kombat Arts along long time ago. I was a strong kid who played rugby and any other sport I could be rough in growing up and enjoyed the physicality of it all.
We went through the technique of the day and I got paired up with this guy who was maybe 130 pounds and ho neck, now there’s guys who have neck cause they’re neck muscles are so big they just look like a big square and then there are people who are born a little different and this guys didn’t really have a neck. He was small, looked skinny(ish) and smiled at me with a kind welcoming attitude.
I mad a couple mistakes in the next few moments. Number one I judged this guy on his appearance and not his skill or work ethic. Number two my ego told me I could beat the crap out of this guy if I wanted to.
We started to roll and I just got aggressive and over the next 5 minutes I’ve never been choked out so many times in my life! I don’t know if he could read my thoughts about his neck and decided to choke my neck time after time as revenge but I took the beating of a lifetime.
I learned something very important that day. My ego needed to be checked at the door every single day. I left that day frustrated but I was determined to get better and to never judge someone by their appearance again. If I kept that attitude and showed up over and over out of stuborness I would’ve never learned a thing. Three months later I competed in my first ever grappling tournament at The Ontario Open and won Gold in my weight class. Not one person that I fought did I think I was going to destroy, because I had had the crap kicked out of me by someone over 50 pounds lighter than me.
If you come into the gym and just want to throw around the heaviest weight with the worst form cause it makes your ego feel good then you’re probably gonna end up hurting yourself. If you come in and just skip reps so you can have the fastest time on the board cause it makes your ego feel good you’re only hurting your development in the long run.
If you can check your ego at the door and come in and listen to what Coach is telling you that day and give 100% effort towards your movement quality, 100% integrity on your rep count you will leave here better than you came in.
If you go to work and check your ego at the door and listen to something somebody under you has to say you might be able to apply that in a big way for your business than if you just shrug it off.
I think everyday we have a chance to choose whether or not we let or ego run the way we act and think and everyday we have an opportunity to either grow more or take a step backwards.
It’s your choice, choosing your Ego is the easy way, turning it off is the hard and just like everything else in life the hard way is the way to GAINS!
– Coach Dan