Occasionally, I get approached by some grappler asking me for some “hidden secret” to improve their mat performance.
And when this happens, I generally give the same advice: show up for class on time, drill, listen to the instructor’s teaching, and trust us to give you a fundamentally sound grappling base.
That advice is usually taken with lots of enthusiasm, a promise to carry out the instructions to the letter, and some challenge to wait and see how they perform.
And that’s exactly what I do; I watch and wait for them to perform.
Unfortunately, the performance rarely happens.
The reason the performance rarely happens is because good training advice was essentially wasted on a Talker, not a Doer!
A Talker is the person that:
- Spends too much time trying to make an impression on his instructors or coaches, by talking about all the big things they’re going to achieve
- Wants to be recognized as a “big dog” in training, but won’t put forth the effort to be one
- Needs a different training approach that they approve of before doing it instead of one that’s been proven to work for others before them
- Signs up for my emails; but rarely reads them since he already knows “the basic stuff” I’m talking about anyway
Most grapplers (or people in general) will NEVER achieve their life goals because they choose to live and die as Talkers. They have the ability to choose what directions their training (or lives) will take, just like the Doers, but choose to talk rather than take action.
Fortunately, the Doers are the exact opposite of the Talkers.
A Doer is the person that:
- Takes every piece of information given to them; dissects it, analyzes it, figures out how it will work for them, and puts it into action
- Isn’t worried about getting attention or being recognized as one of the “big dogs” at the school
- Gets noticed by training and working harder than the Talker
- Doesn’t get offended or tired of hearing “the basics” being repeated because they know if it’s being emphasized, it’s both important and MUST be mastered to ensure success
So, are you a Doer… or just talk like one?
June 1, 2009 at 5:18 pm |
Good points. Too often I see students that don’t seem to have the patience to go over basics, which are the heart of the style. The talkers remind me of the comments you see on Youtube from people who’ve never practiced.
June 1, 2009 at 5:25 pm |
you’re right, dan. in fact, youtube is where they get all their grappling knowledge so they can come back to class and show the instructor what they’re doing wrong. if i had a dollar every time some white belt told me about a technique variation that he saw on youtube, especially when he can’t seem to do the technique i’m trying to teach him right, i would be living on my own private island right now!