"The mat is honest. You can't run away from yourself when you step on the mat. It reveals your fears and the lies you might tell yourself. All the delusions you might have that there is anything that can be achieved except through blood, sweat, and tears ." @lexfridman
ALWAYS Choose to Attack
There’s a quote that says, “The best defense is a good offense.”
I think that’s even more true in Jiu-Jitsu.
Let me share a personal story.
The toughest opponent I ever faced was Rodolfo Vieira. I fought him more than 10 times, and I never beat him. In fact, every opponent I competed against more than twice, I managed to beat at least once. Rodolfo was the only exception.
In the Open Class final at the 2012 Europeans, I was actually winning the match without realizing it.
I thought I was losing.
Because of that, I kept attacking. I attacked, attacked, attacked, and never stopped moving forward.
With about a minute left, someone yelled from the sidelines:
“Bernardo, you’re winning! Just keep going!”
I was ahead by a couple of advantages, but I had no idea.
The moment I heard that, my mindset changed.
Instead of thinking about attacking, I started thinking about protecting what I had.
I started thinking about holding the position and waiting for the clock to run out.
That’s when everything changed.
Rodolfo started attacking, passed my guard, and won the match.
The biggest lesson I learned that day was very simple:
Attacking was my defense.
While I was attacking, I was winning.
The moment I stopped attacking, I gave him the opportunity to attack me.
I learned that lesson the hard way.
So the next time you train, roll, or compete, remember this:
Don’t focus on protecting what you have.
Focus on creating the next attack.
More often than not, attacking is the best defense.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments. 👇
@JiujitsuOtter White belt judo death grips. Everyone was afraid to get taken down. Just bad jiu jitsu everywhere. In gi I got second but in no gi I got smashed by wrestlers.
Double Dribble - NES (1987) and the cinematic dunk animations that absolutely blew our tiny retro gaming minds! 🏀 Watch the tape to relive the glory days.
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