A six-week summer class, a paper per week, and an 18-page final paper equaled an “A”. Bruv…I don’t think I’ve gotten an “A” since I was in elementary school, certainly never in any college course and more than likely not in high school (I can ask my mother for sure, she would know).

Back in 2015 I had a nice run of tournaments as a Blue Belt. In the space of a month and a half I won a NAGA, came in second in one IBJJF, with the culmination being a first-place finish in another IBJJF. I followed that up with another first place finish six months later. I was shocked because I never expected anything like it to occur. Things like that never happened for me. I was always a middle of the pack, average sort of person. I thought about that for a while, how did “I” get here to the podium? Was it all luck? What process did I change to get a different outcome?

After a bit I made the connection, and it was almost an admission of guilt. Focus and Effort…I was focused and put in effort. Up to this point I’d floated by on whatever ability I’d had (which wasn’t much), in academics and athletics. That focus and effort resulted in knowledge/skills and then confidence. And confidence is a funny thing. It’s something I lacked growing up, probably because I was afraid to fail. Weak confidence won’t get shattered if you don’t do anything to test it.

That pattern of Focus and Effort applied to Jujitsu, to that “A”, and to everything else in my life after that tournament run, just like it can apply to your life. In Jiujitsu, if you’re not focused your opponent will “T-off” on you, and you’re going to be at a disadvantage. In school, if you don’t put in effort, you might as well take your tuition check and sign it over to a crackhead and let them have fun. Either won’t pass, or you won’t learn which is far worse than not passing (you’ll have that false confidence).

Why settle for mediocrity, or why rue missed opportunity? Why worry what other people think of you? Do you want to be a sheep or a wolf? I guess some people are OK with that, and I won’t knock them…We all make our own choices. Think about the following and how you can apply it if you want to maximize your focus and effort and set yourself up for success, either on the mats, in the classroom, on the pitch, in the office or anywhere else you want to improve: Be aggressive, but in a controlled (tactful) manner. Exude confidence, not cockiness. Approach the situation with intelligence (be perceptive and clever). Smooth movements (which come through practice and planning) are efficient movements. Try a different option, don't force a position.