Developing Goals In Your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Journey
Whether you’ve just started Jiu Jitsu or you’ve been training a while, you may feel your training is more structured when you set goals. Goals are individual, unique and just for you. For many of us, they’re important for motivation, and with some input from coaches and instructors, they can be perfect for your Jiu Jitsu development. So, how do we go about setting goals? Consider the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound) framework:
1. What do you want to achieve?
The beauty of Jiu Jitsu is that it attracts people from all backgrounds that are training for a multitude of different reasons. Goals come down to what you’re looking to achieve. Long term thinking would suggest a black belt, but shorter and medium term goals may be improving the frequency of your training, building your base level of fitness, competing for the first time, or competing at larger, national events. You may even wish to set a simple but important goal such as improve your confidence.
Try and make your goals as specific as possible - how many times a week do you want to train? Which classes do you want to try more of? Which competitions do you have in mind? Think about what will be required to complete them - make them achievable in the short to medium term.
Need some inspiration? Don’t hesitate in speaking to our Programme Director for some assistance with this. If you haven’t had a goals meeting yet, drop us a message and get one booked in.
2. Make your goals measurable
Assigning a measure to your goal will ensure it’s trackable and you can monitor your own progress. Goals such as attendance are easy to track through the TeamUp app and on your attendance card. Signing up for events within a certain time period gives you a date to work towards, and even resistance training goals can be great to work towards to improve your game. Technique orientated goals are also popular choices, however these can be harder to measure, but instructors and training partners are always on hand to assist.
3. Keep your short and medium term goals achievable
As mentioned above, it’s likely we all have aspirations to achieve as much as we can in Jiu Jitsu. This might be a black belt, degrees on a black belt, or major competition wins and titles. It’s important to set realistic, achievable, shorter term goals leading up to our major aspirations to keep us motivated and focused.
If training 5 times a week is unachievable, set a shorter term goal of 3 times a week, with a view of increasing this in the future. For competition, consider local events before advancing to the European Championships. We can cover this in your goals meeting if you’re unsure of short term targets to aim for.
4. Keep the bigger picture in mind
Whilst short term goals are important, avoid losing sight of the bigger picture. Will your goals help you achieve what you want to in the long run? We need to ensure they’re relevant to the bigger picture - how will achieving these goals make us better at Jiu Jitsu? Which competitions are most appropriate for building up to big events? Again, this is a good conversation to have in your goals meeting.
It’s also important to avoid getting hung up on things outside of your control. Stay focused on your own game and Jiu Jitsu journey, and think about what habits you can instil day, in day out to achieve your goals.
5. Set Your Timeframe and Stick To It
For the vast majority, Jiu Jitsu is a hobby and we do this in our free time, around family life and work commitments. It’s important to set realistic timeframes around each of your goals. If you don’t feel you’ll be able to increase your attendance beyond your current amount of days for the foreseeable future, consider a goal around consistency. If you want to compete, consider when the next suitable, convenient competition is taking place and aim for this.
That being said, it’s good to add some ambition to your goals and targets to keep you on track - only you will know your personal circumstances and how to find the balance.
Book Your Goals Meeting
As part of your membership, you have access to structured goal meetings to help you keep on track. In these meetings, you’ll speak to our Programme Director and coaches about what you’d like to achieve in the short to medium term in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and guidance on how you could do this. Ultimately, it’s you who will achieve your own goals, and this is one of the best elements of Jiu Jitsu! Get in touch today to arrange yours at the academy.
If you feel you require additional support outside of our goal setting framework, please feel free to speak to our instructors, who can discuss additional options with you outside what is included in your membership.
For more information on goal setting, email jack@gbharrogate.com, or message or call on 07391 020858.
