Less is More

When I began to study grappling I had an obsession with the quantity of training I would do. My goal was always to do more training sessions and to train harder and longer in each session. If I didn’t train twice a day I would feel guilty that I had wasted valuable mat time.Like many westerners, I suffer from the “more is better” mentality. We are all taught through various overt and subliminal sources that we constantly need to be doing more, achieving more and amassing more.

For me, one of the coolest things about jiujitsu is that I can use it as a tool for my own personal evolution. It’s enjoyable to watch yourself rewarded for your efforts on the mat with increased skill and ability. And anyone who tells you that you will be able to get the most out of the art without a large volume of training and effort is either ignorant or lying to you. But over the last year I have radically changed my view on optimum quantity and frequency of training. I now believe that often, less training is better than more. In my opinion, many BJJ practitioners are chronically over-trained.

Over-training causes your ability to plateau and eventually decline! Remember that the training load is cumulative. This means that the stress that is placed on your system from working out is compounded over time. So if you train for too long with out a proper break, you incur a sort of ‘recovery debt’. This debt has to be paid sooner or later, or else your system will automatically take steps to protect itself. This is why many BJJ guys are injured all the time.

Having any of these symptoms may indicate that you are over-trained:

Delayed reaction times

Lack of Motivation to go to training

Lack of enjoyment during class

Constant soreness and tiredness

Don’t be afraid to take time off from BJJ. Counter-intuitively, sometimes training less will improve your jiujitsu. The human body and mind, and the organism as a whole, repair and grow during rest. Resting is as important as training. You will learn faster when you are fresh and as a result your training will be more efficient. Doing one class with an invigorated body and mind is better than doing three classes feeling lethargic and bored.

You will also perform better after a break. In an interview a few years back, Saulo Ribeiro, one of the greatest competitive BJJ fighters ever, said that he takes a full two weeks off before a major competition.

As Jiu-Jitsokas, we are martial artists, and every artist needs to step back from his canvas periodically. A few times per year I’ll just switch off from BJJ completely for a week or two. By ‘switch off’ I mean put that aspect of my life on hold ‘completely’. That means no instructional videos or magazines, no hanging out at the academy, no visualizing the techniques in my mind. It’s difficult to do this with something that is such a big part of your identity, but it’s worth it. When I return to the mat I find that I am sharper, fitter and more excited about the art than before.

Try it for a couple of weeks. Jiu-Jitsu will be will still be there when you get back. I promise.