Learning To Be Successful

It is always an extraordinary feeling to feel success. Success is not always felt through a win, but we all know that a win can make you feel victorious. I had a fight yesterday at Wild bills. I walked into this fight with a 0-1 record, as of one month ago. Since my last fight, I have been exponentially more driven than normal. In the past, I have had trouble with losing. It has taken me quite some time to understand and work on dealing with the outcome of competition. I have an extremely strong desire to win, just like most athletes. I will never be happy with a loss or being unsuccessful in something I worked for. What I have learned is that it is alright to be hungry for positive achievements. More importantly, it is NOT okay to disrespect anyone around you if you are not satisfied with the outcome--especially your opponent.

Last night on the way to the fight, my head started hurting, and I didn't

want to fight. I mean, I wanted to compete, but not at that moment with those pains in my head. I genuinely thought about asking my coach if I could sit this one out. That sounds crazy now, but at the time, I was in a lot of pain. I took some medicine and tried to tough it out. During the fight, I got hit multiple times to the back of the head, and it just made the pain so much worse.

 Unlike most of my initial reactions, I did not get mad at the opponent, and I tried to see what I could do to fix it. Referees do there best to protect us and enforce rules to protect our safety, but this does not make them perfect. If I wanted to win, I just had to do my best to get out of that position. Time went on, and after all three rounds, the fight had ended, and I was so distracted throughout the fight that I truly did not know that I had actually won. With that being said, before the decision was announced, i made my rounds around the cage with my hands up, applauded my opponent, and made my way back to the ref. When the decision was announced to the crowd, I had won by unanimous decision--meaning all judges voted in my favor. This was an incredible feeling. Surprisingly, what made me most happy about this was that I was able to cope with the feelings of not knowing if I had achieved what I had put my heart completely into, without disrespecting my opponent.

Losses are never easy but like Morgan has talked about, they are necessary! Like my wise coaches have told me and my teammates, "Wins feel good but they rarely ever teach you as much as losses teach you". This is not to say that a true athletes goal should not always be to win. It means that a true athlete does not break down from a loss; instead, they get stronger.

Success is becoming a stronger, more intelligent, and more understanding athlete. Success is being able

to respect all others in the sport, even when things don't go your way. Win or lose, success is being able to hold your head up and prepare for the next battle. If these things were easy, there would be no world champions! Everyone would be at the same place in their athleteic career. I have learned that the only one to blame for an outcome is myself. My coaches, my teammates, and my training parters are all incredible. They always give me everything they can, but I am the only one who can put it into action and control the fight. I have learned to never stop working on my attitude, along with my skill level and training. Attitude is just as, if not, more important.

Thank you so much to everyone who has given me knowledge and time to work towards being my best!

-Jen

Once You Master Your Weaknesses, You'll Become Unbeatable

It's really hard to write about losing sometimes. I hate to accept the fact that I have failed at anything, just because I want it so badly--to succeed. I want to be the best, but no matter how many times I may lose a match due to a mistake I have made, I will never stay down. Losing is part of the game, and that is just something that every athlete must face throughout their career. Through competition, we are able to see something that we can't see through training. It's the smallest details that our eyes miss, but once that small mistake costs us the match, it's hard to ever overlook that detail again. 

After my match, I know exactly why I lost. It's always something that I know I could have prevented, such as a simple distribution of my weight. It's times like this, when you're really able to evaluate your game--especially after watching yourself on video. You see your jiu jitsu game in a totally different manner. I find myself watching my matches and thinking, "why is my hand there? why didn't I switch my hips in that position?"..and so on. However, in reality, this is the best way to fix your flaws. 

No matter how big or small the competition may be, I am always in awe at how much I learn when I compete. There is a unique atmosphere and mindset that you create when you walk onto the competition floor--something that you can't practice in training. I am starting to realize that this atmosphere is something that I am slowly starting to adapt to. I have only competed at about 8 tournaments, and I finally am starting to become completely comfortable with it all--the environment when everybody is staring at you and the pressure you feel as the clock counts down to 0:00. 

It's a stressful situation for a lot of athletes, but ultimately, there is one single emotion that i feel the strongest after my match is over. It's motivation. There is nothing more motivating than a loss. Whenever I compete and the outcome isn't what I had hoped for, it only makes me want to get back to training as soon as possible and work on everything that I need to prepare myself for my next competition. This attitude is what helps me get through all of the struggles of this art. Having a positive mindset is crucial in order to keep improving, and at every competition, no matter the outcome, I can feel myself performing better than the last time. It's a long, slow process to improve and see that improvement in competition, but this is just something that I have to keep reminding myself. Hard work really does pay off, and I will always believe that. The harder you work towards you goal, the more you will be rewarded. 

Now that I am back in Atlanta, it's time to hit the mats with my teammates and work on all of the weaknesses in my game. Even though the biggest tournaments of 2013 have already taken place, there are still many IBJJF tournaments that I am more than ready to tackle in the next 6 months. Next stop...Chicago Open! Ouss!

--Morgan Beverly