The Launch
Hi Everyone.
For those who are curious, over the last 12+ months I have been building a product, brand, and company.
In the most literal sense, I have created, designed, and wrote a self-guided journal for Jiu Jitsu.
HOW THE IDEA CAME TO LIFE
What is Jiu Jitsu?
For those that have no idea what Jiu Jitsu is, and just assume it’s a bunch of nerds, dressed in robes, chopping bricks with the edge of their hand, while screaming at the top of your lungs (like the movies make karate out to be); you’ve thought wrong.
Jiu Jitsu is a martial art, but it is a form of grappling. There is no set choreography and you use a combination of leverage, technique, strength, speed, and timing to take control of your opponent. Think wrestling, but with submissions (chokes, limb locks, throws, and various other forms).
Jiu Jitsu was originated by the Japanese and created as a self-defense system for their army. However, it was popularized and transformed by the Brazilians and is commonly recognized as BJJ or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Oftentimes, we think about self-defense as a method to escape danger, but to truly defend yourself, you need to be able to control your opponent and ultimately put him in a position of surrender. Because it is a grappling martial art, there is no striking (kicking or punching).
If you’re still not there with it, but at least familiar, with the UFC (which I’m sure you’ve at least seen on TV) → Jiu Jitsu is what the competitors are often doing when the match gets taken to the ground.
The problem I was trying to solve
I am an avid Jiu Jitsu practitioner. However, I’m still a beginner. I’m a blue belt, which means I still have 10+ years of training left to even be on a competitive level with someone with mastery-level experience (White→ Blue → Purple → Brown → Black Belt).
Nonetheless, I am in no rush. Mastery is a journey, not a destination. To achieve mastery, we have to embrace that process. We have to show up, we have to learn, and we have to change our behaviors. Jiu Jitsu is not for the fixed mindset.
That said, one of the major problems I was having was the ability to absorb all of the information I was being taught. Most of the time, you are learning techniques that you’ve never seen, performed, or practiced. If I were to compare it to something you might be familiar with, I would say it’s like learning a new sport everyday, but you’ve never seen the sport be played, and you have to try to learn the sport with your left-hand. your left-hand.
That’s what learning Jiu Jitsu is like.
This is the problem.
How do you get more people to stick with the process?
How do you get them to embrace it, and hang in there with all of the ups and downs that the journey has to offer?
How often do we lose students in the first couple weeks, the first year, or during their blue belt blues? How do you prevent your members from quitting?
How do we create strong men, women, and children through the endless, but rewarding process of Jiu Jitsu?
There are obviously dozens of reasons why we lose students. But to reframe the problem, perhaps, is the solution.
What are some of the commonalities between practitioners who stick with Jiu Jitsu?
One predominant commonality between dedicated practitioners that I have visually seen and studied – is that the ones that are there for the long haul, are the ones that take ownership of the process.
But what does ownership of the process look like? For some, it’s attending class 3 times per week, for some it’s studying YouTube tutorials in their free time, and for some it’s taking notes after class on every technique they learned, reviewing those notes the morning before class, and going to their class with a tactical objective and strategic vision.
The ladder is rare. The ladder is for the hardcore; it’s for the student of the art; it’s for the true practitioner dedicated to mastery.
For myself, and other alike, taking notes seemed to be a very effective way to learn. That said, every time I took notes, they were sloppy, unorganized, and lacked any real structure.
The Product
Due to the struggles I was having while learning Jiu Jitsu, I started to create a systemized way to take notes, assess my training, reflect on my progress, set objectives to keep myself accountable, and ultimately accelerate the speed of my learning.
After 8+ months of revising, simplifying, and testing these ideas, the product came to life. I hired a designer, partnered with a printing broker, and published a book.
The Practitioner’s Journal in its most rudimentary form is a self-guided journal towards mastery. It’s a Jiu Jitsu specific – leather-bound journal and training log – with added elements of structure to help one progress and grow at an accelerated rate. It is a product to help practitioners of Jiu Jitsu take ownership of the process in an easily accessible and visual fashion.
In this journal you will find a discovery section that will help you understand your purpose and mission. After a self-diagnosis it will dive into the training log section to help document every technique you’ve practiced. Within the training log you will be prompted in the reflection section to intentionally review your previous training sessions to help you better understand your challenges, mindset, and goals. Finally, you will be able to document everything you’ve mastered in the catalog section, which will serve as a memory bank for your journey.
It is a tool to help accelerate the learning process for your Jiu Jitsu journey. This is not a novel idea; many have put pen to paper and taken notes after class, but this system of evaluation, reflection, and documentation is unmatched.
The Brand
The journal is for Jiu Jitsu, but the brand is much more than a singular subject. The brand is about mastery. Take this same system and apply it to anything you do that you are looking to progress in.
In the future, this brand could encompass other sports, whether that be other forms of martial arts or really any sport or art that requires mastery. For brainstorming purposes, let’s just take golf for example. Yes, there are plenty of golfers out there that just want to hit balls and drink beers with their friends. That’s fine. As there are plenty of Jiu Jitsu practitioners that just want to roll and maybe lose weight. However, there are plenty of golfers that are looking to improve their game, looking to get better, and looking to master the process. What if you didn’t just score your back 9, but you went into the back 9 with structure. You recorded how you moved your back foot over 1 inch to the left, to give yourself a better angle on your draw. You recorded how many hours of sleep you got the night before and how flexible you felt that morning.
These are variables that we often go through our ‘training sessions’ without ever putting into considering, and definitely not recording. If you want to get better at something, it’s time to take ownership of the process.
HELP
Before you go, I would absolutely love your help.
Subscribe
First off, please subscribe to my new mailing list on my website. As you can tell, the newsletters that I will be sending out aren’t going to be about Jiu Jitsu, they are going to be about the principles and virtues that embody a practitioner of action.
Follow
A few days ago I officially launched my website and started marketing on my social platforms. To integrate my ecommerce store and website with Meta (Instagram and Facebook) I need more followers and engagement. If you’ve already followed my Instagram, thank you; however, I would love some Facebook likes to match it.
Share
Do you know anyone that practices Jiu Jitsu, whether it be a co-worker, family member, friend, etc. If so, please direct them to my website or social accounts.
Support
I’m not asking anyone to buy one, but if you train Jiu Jitsu, this is obviously for you. If you don’t, but know someone who trains, this journal is a fantastic gift idea. It will be available for presale on February 1st.
Love you all so much.
Win the day,
Tim
