Is my Jiu Jitsu journey truly productive?

At first glance, this appears to be a simple and innocent question. But take a moment really sit with it and ask yourself:

Is my Jiu Jitsu journey truly productive?

Many of you might confidently respond:

“Yes, I’ve been training for years. I’m consistent, I compete, I win often, and I’m always learning new techniques.”

These are all fair and valid points. But let’s go a layer deeper. Let’s examine the key elements we often associate with “productive training.”

1. “I train regularly.”

Training consistently is obviously important—but how you train matters just as much as how often.

Ask yourself:

•             Do I train to win, or do I train to learn?

•             Do I focus on surviving or progressing?

•             Do I default to techniques I’m already good at?

•             Do I enter each session with a specific goal?

•             Do I train with more advanced partners, or always with the same person?

•             Do I “engage to engage” (e.g., just “be first”), or do I engage with intention?

•             Do I push myself even when I’m exhausted, or do I rest to improve quality?

•             Do I match my partners’ pace and aggression—or just go through the motions?

•             Can I recall the critical details of a technique we covered three weeks ago?

If you’re honest, most of us would admit we fall short in at least some of these areas—and that’s okay. The point is to become aware of the difference between simply being present in training and being purposeful in training.

2. The Hip Escape Test

Let’s take a basic technique taught from Day 1: The Hip Escape. It’s one of Jiu Jitsu’s most fundamental movements. Most of us have done it literally thousands of times yet how often do you apply it successfully in live situations like side control, mount, scarf hold, or knee on belly?

Here’s the real test:

•             Can you describe proper hip escape mechanics in detail? (foot placement, arm, frame, direction of movement, posture?)

•             Can you name three variations?

•             Can you execute it effectively against someone bigger or more skilled?

•             Can you still hit it at the end of a hard 15-minute round?

If not, why not? It’s a technique you’ve “done” countless times. Because we’ve practiced it… but we haven’t trained it.

Now imagine this: you walk into class and say, “For the next two weeks, my only goal is to escape using hip escape nothing else.” You focus on the details. You don’t care if you get tapped; you just want to improve your ability to escape bad positions with that single technique.

Important Note: I’m not saying to drill this—I repeat I am not saying just drill. This is about live, purposeful training.

3. What happens next?

You’ll likely see dramatic improvement—not because you learned something new, but because you’ve trained to validate your technique under pressure. You weren’t training to win you were training to grow. And your training partner? The one who would always pin you down? Suddenly, they can’t or have more difficulty doing so. Now they must adjust. That’s how growth multiplies.

“But Professor… what if the lesson of the week is Spider Guard?”

Good question. Should you ignore it?

No, you shouldn’t ignore it. If your guard gets passed while trying Spider Guard, what happens next? You guessed it you hip escape. That same focus still applies. Now you see where I’m going with this…

4. Moving Forward

There’s a massive difference between knowing techniques in Jiu Jitsu and knowing Jiu Jitsu.

So, from now on, I’ll be sharing weekly insights, philosophies, focused tasks, and personal lessons (both hard-earned and humbling) to help guide you to get the most out of your journey, whether you’re a hobbyist, competitor, or complete beginner.

A longtime friend of mine, a successful competitor, coach, and academy owner recently shared his renewed outlook on Jiu Jitsu with me.

He told me: “You don’t know, what you don’t know… until you know it.”

Even with his experience, technical understanding and teaching approach he has evolved dramatically. He shares small fundamentals insights with me that I thought I had mastered which he is now relearning himself, these edits have made a huge impact on my own game.

I told him “He’s now my “call-a-friend” for advice and adjustments. After learning them I then pass those lessons directly to our morning group.

It just proves: No matter how advanced you are, there’s always room to grow.

5. Let’s Grow Together

Let’s keep learning. Let’s keep evolving. And let’s make sure our journey is truly productive.

Remember: progress in Jiu Jitsu isn’t just measured in mat time it’s measured in how you use that time. Train to learn, implement, improve, adapt, and grow.

Side Note:

If you’re interested in attending our morning sessions, they’re open to everyone:

•             Monday / Wednesday / Friday

•             5:00–6:00 AM: Open forum to cover any specific questions or concepts.

•             6:00–7:00 AM: Traditional structured training session.

~Professor Damon