FLOW — A Jiu Jitsu Narrative.

The allure of the fast life, the goal of calmness and serenity, 
Chasing the unachievable, never letting go of the comforts,
Thoughts of success for self, actions succumbing to expectations of others,
Running to keep up with responsibilities, running away from self,
Running until we're torn, torn by our own contradictions,
Such contradictions, the base of many of our lives,

Encouraging us to lead a more mechanical life rather than a human one,

Jumping from one pillar to another, the fear of the fall,
No experience counts, without a fall,

The fall is what makes us, as a person, as an individual, as an entity, as a being,
With a fall the experience begins,

Let go, let the experience begin.

2014 was the year I started training Jiu Jitsu.

At the time, I had no interest in MMA(I am not still,may be a little bit) nor was I knowledgeable about Jiu Jitsu as an art form(I am now,may be a little bit). I had a friend training Jiu Jitsu and I was just curious.

Curiosity takes you to beautiful places sometimes and what a wonderful destination Jiu Jitsu has been in this journey of life!

The reasons why I've continued training Jiu Jitsu for the past year and a half are many, I've tried to reason with myself and list down the most important ones.

How do you know what your limits are without giving yourself a chance to test them?

I wanted to give myself that chance, a chance that would unveil a world of possibilities, a world of openness, a world where I didn't hesitate to try, a world I was not so hard on myself, rather I'd give myself chances until I got it right, with focus on techniques. A world in which I could become what I wanted to become, never giving up, and I wanted that world translate into my real world and hence make a huge difference over a period of time.

In this world I could harness all my energy and know that I had more to give, have a go at it again. I truly started understanding my energy and potential, the realization that makes me more confident by the day.

The Jiu Jitsu world has no losers, only learners and I've been a learner all along. I've loved the journey so far.

Jiu Jitsu teaches you how to fall, to break the fall, to enjoy the fall, to embrace the fall, to experience the fall.There is no strength in avoiding a fall, strength comes from getting up. The more you fall, the more you get up. The more you train, more you grow, as a person, as an athlete, as a human.

The fine line between falling off a cliff and staying on course climbing a cliff is the technique. Abide by the basics, you're always good. The focus in Jiu Jitsu is always on the techniques and disciplined training, clubbing philosophies of life to make us all a better individual, from inside out.

Stop,think,observe, learn.

The day I witnessed my first roll, the day I stepped on to the mats, the day I wanted to know what this was all about, is the day I wanted to explore. The intensity which is involved in practicing this art caught my eye, and I wanted to experience that.

As I started to understand the techniques a little bit and tried them over and over again, these techniques became a part of my muscle memory and I knew what to do, when to do. These cycles of experiential learning puts you in a space where in you know what to expect, thus getting in a flow ,giving in all you got. This flow is when I experience myself to be one with the body and mind.

This when applied to learning in general opens up a world of possibilities even when it comes to photography, writing, relationships, anything.

Living in the moment has a whole new definition for me now!

I hear people talk a lot about motivation, to stay motivated, things to do to stay motivated, there is one thing that everyone's missing out in here.The flow.

I hope my mother had taught me this while I was younger, about flow, about the heart, how being true is one of the best things to do, about love and all that.

It's like a sync you experience with yourself, the oneness of the body, heart and the mind.

Incredible things can be achieved through the flow. You start to feel more simple yet powerful, humble yet strong.

I feel blessed to live, to breathe, to smile, to live in the moment.

Learn to teach to Inspire.

One thing that keeps me going with Jiu Jitsu is to learn something new every single day. You don't have to consciously tell your mind to learn. Learning in actual is a subconscious activity while your mind is observing with great interest.

Once you've understood the techniques for yourself then you look forward to helping others understand how it's done. This gives me a sense of satisfaction to share what I've learnt, helping my fellow partners in their story of evolution in the game.

While training patience is key, most of the times I don't understand the functionality of the technique that was just taught, I'm a slow grasper. It is here that it's so important to get a training partner who is accommodative of your ignorance and one that would show you where you are going wrong.

This whole process of learning and teaching humbles you and so you grow to be more accommodative and patient with people you're around.

Patience

Is a virtue all of us as humans love to have but wouldn't like to practice. This art has taught me to be patient not only with others but with the self. Many a times I would get frustrated at myself, not knowing, not performing, not functioning the way I expected myself or some one else expected of me.

Patience during the learning process is vital. If you're not patient with yourself, you'd learn in haste and that would breed negativity in many forms.

Chill, learn, breed awesomeness!

Break.Fix.Evolve

It is quite evident that injuries are common in a grappling sport such as this, high intensity, agile sport that puts you in a bad spot every now and then. But then again, we underestimate our bodies' capacity to heal.

The fear of injuries,the fear of getting hurt, the fear of getting out of the comfort zone handicaps most of our lives.

I used to be there, not anymore.

To be consistent, to be disciplined,calm and confident.

I'm basically a lazy guy who finds it real tough to be consistent. I find it difficult to be consistent at getting up at 5:30 AM every day in the morning, I find it tough to be consistent at getting to work on time, I find it very hard to be consistent at doing all the things I plan to do.

Then I started being consistent at Jiu Jitsu, I saw myself getting a little better at it every day, then I saw my self gain on confidence by the day. Once it becomes a part of your routine, a part of your system, consistency and discipline will find it tough to leave you and then the you start to feel good about yourself, people notice this, your confidence is then on an all time high.

It is difficult. All you need is to show some heart.

Relationships.

I feel more connected to the self, I know what I'm talking, I make it a point to understand and then talk(articulate better), like a way of resonating with one person. To give your full attention to a person is quite a challenge and that is key to having good relationships.

To be consistent with love is one of the toughest things to do as humans, it doesn't come very naturally to us. We need to put in effort, effort on ourselves. To love oneself is one of the noblest thing a man can do, how else would he promise to love another being without loving and understanding himself.

I feel the power, power as in not something that is going to empower me but power as in you know, you know when to let go and you know when to go all out.

Responsible for your self, your actions.

I've always been inspired by leaders, charismatic, confident people who talk the walk, the energy, the vibe you experience around them will change your life for the better. More the time you spend with these individuals, more confident you get as a person, the will to do more engulfs you, you truly start to believe in the adage, do more, be more.

I've wanted to understand what drives these people who seem to want to do more and more every single day, complete the task, move on to the next and then the next. They never stop, to think, to act, to reason, to solve, to move forward. They keep chugging along, never do they get stuck at one perception or thought.

One most important characteristic I've observed in all these people.

These guys are promise keepers. They feel responsible for their own actions, they own up to every point that comes out of their mouth.

With Jiu Jitsu you have no explanations, you have done something which has resulted in something, you have to own up.
Owning up to consequences builds you as a leader, human, fighter. People start respecting you for that, you start to see the difference.

Give up that ego!

Give up and crush that ego, as a society we're taught never to give up, to hold on until you get your way out. Unfortunately life does not give you the opportunity to win always, sometimes you need to understand that you need to let go and give up.

In Jiu Jitsu this is very important, it's not always that you will get the techniques right, sometimes you falter and you need to accept that. Sometimes you are in bad positions, you can't do a 360degree flip into a dominant position, sometimes it's better to give up than holding on to that ego and hurting your body. Your ego is not worth that pain, trust me.

Self awareness, understanding your own limitations and potential doesn't happen overnight. It takes a lot of effort, understanding thought patterns, behavioural patterns of the self is very essential in calming the self and maintaining the balance of the mind.

Jiu Jitsu has helped me in being self aware, how I behave when I don't get what I want, do I get upset or do I distract my thoughts to focus on more positive ones which would in turn have positive outcomes.

You're upset? Do 50 push-ups, listen to your mind once you get there.

Do you feel better? I'm pretty sure you do! If not, do anything that you've been thinking to do for a while but haven't found the time to do. At the end of the day, you are responsible for making your life better.

Accept yourself and identify where you're wrong, where you could get better.

All this is essential, cause when you die! You want to die a better self, a better human, a better soul!

Jiu Jitsu is a way of life that makes me a better person by the day and I'd like to hold on to this for life.