Mistakes Can Be Necessary

This translated part of a song from “Pregador Luo” – known for making music about famous UFC fighters – reminds us how much life inside the mats resembles our life out of them.

One minute we are in our best moment, taking the advantage, winning the combat and suddenly, we commit a mistake and because of that error, everything may be lost. Nobody likes to make mistakes, but unfortunately (or fortunately), some are necessary for personal growth, either with or without the gi.

In the ring and in life the fight is the same one. You must face the problems.

However, not everyone knows how to see in that last error a hit for the future. They leave themselves down by the negative results and give up keep trying. It must be clear that insisting on a mistake is not a smart move. But learning from it and trying to fix it, is acting wisely.

But what about those idols who are our inspiration, have they ever erred as well? The answer is yes. Even the father of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Great Master Carlos Gracie has already committed mistakes. And more than once. Carlos, like any other human being, has not always achieved success in anything he did. Different from what we think, Carlos was not born a red belt in jiu-jitsu.

“Forget past mistakes and focus your energies on the achievements of the future”

During his life inside and outside the mats, Carlos learned throughout his journey graduating athletes and idealizing the dream of spreading Jiu-Jitsu, that many times, mistakes are necessary. But he had a different approach: Carlos would use the previous mistakes for future successes.

Aware of this need for mental maturity, Carlos left us another thought that makes a difference in our lives, especially in some situations that only those who experienced them understand, like when you spend months getting ready for a competition, following a strict diet, training three times a day and then, when the big day comes, you end up losing just because of a silly mistake. Athletes without experience or even without the necessary maturity to deal with this kind of situation will give up, stop, and in some cases, they even quit the gentle art due to such frustration.

Practicing Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, whatever your sport is, we all have something in common: we are subject to errors regardless of where or what time of life we are. Just follow the learning of our Great Master: “Forget past mistakes and focus your energies on the achievements of the future” Stop, think, look back and take a jump to the future.