Last week I got a bit whiny about only doing BJJ one day that week. I think my words were “COMPLETE FAIL”. It’s possible I’m prone to hyperbole, but then again, hyperbole is the BEST THING EVER!
It got me thinking about an oldie but a goodie as far as blog posts go – Meerkatsu’s The BJJ Frequency-Spousal Happiness Slide Scale.
Made by Meerkatsu – click on the pic to read his article! He’s tops!
Now, to clarify, I have no spouse, I have no boyfriend, I have no best friends here, I have one friend I see once per week, I usually don’t go out. I am in serious danger of being a crazy cat lady who posts videos of her adorable Ukrainian cat on Flickr.
Crap. I have no life.
However, I do have BJJ. So that makes things all better, right? I’m in a relationship with BJJ, when it comes right down to it. I wish I could train 7 days per week, but I’m a bit past my prime, and frankly, I need some mental down time as well. It can be emotionally tough to go to work, immediately go to BJJ, stay there until 9-10, come home, do laundry, repeat. I need a date with my couch on occasion.
Yeah – I made that. Jiu Jiu. Because that’s what crazy bjj ladies do.
But still. I have no life. This means BJJ IS my life. If it isn’t, I start feeling like a loser who only works and then sits home watching Leverage and posting pictures of her cat on Instagram. So I used Meerkatsu’s graphic as inspiration and came up with this:
Made by JIU JIU!
Please note that I am being silly. Sort of. What I mean is – if I am not doing BJJ AND I have few friends, no relationship and stay home with my cat, I feel like a loser. When I do BJJ 4-5 times per week I feel like I can point at that and say “SEE, I HAVE NO TIME FOR A HOT DUDE WHO WOULD PROBABLY TREAT ME LIKE AN ICE CREAM PRINCESS AND WOULD SPOON FEED ME BLUEBERRIES WITH COCONUT MILK AND RUN HIS FINGERS THROUGH MY HAIR. ONLY TIME FOR BJJ!” Make sense?
So last week I scored super high on the loser scale. This week – I plan to be at GOOD – perhaps at GREAT! Okay stop staring at me! I’d rather be a crazy jiu jitsu lady than a crazy cat lady who dresses up her cats in weird outfits. Hmmm I need one of these shirts:
Which scale do you operate on? The spousal/WAG/BAH scale? Or the “I’m a loser if I DON’T do BJJ scale?” Or – make up your own scale! And more importantly – where are you right now on that scale? Edited to add: The REAL question is – does doing a lot of jiu jitsu interfere with your life or does it give you a life?
P.S. don’t forget to read Meerkatsu’s The BJJ Frequency-Spousal Happiness Slide Scale.
I’m not sure I fit on either scale. If my girlfriend has had a bad day/is really keen to go out for a meal etc, then I will always prioritise her over BJJ (though admittedly I do have a commitment to teach BJJ on Thursdays, which I only skip if I’m going on holiday so can give the school plenty of notice).
Jiu jitsu is fun, but even if I could train all the time, I don’t think I’d want to be in class more than 3 or 4 times a week at most. Normally it is 2 or 3 times, which includes teaching.
Of course, my girlfriend doesn’t do jiu jitsu. If she did, then I can imagine the rate of training might well go up.
Yeah – so BJJ could easily get in the way of your real life if you did too much of it, including your relationship. That would be so awesome to date a BJJ guy – then we can both train crazy hard all the time. ^_^.
I think in exchange for a hot dude spoon-feeding me blueberries, I could train one or two fewer days 😛
No spousal unit or pets for me. I used to train 3 mornings & all regular classes — 9 classes over 6 days. I was a 7+ on all sides of the BJJ scale. I felt like I was learning a lot and was very happy with my progress. But eventually I stalled. I was tired all the time. My brain and body couldn’t keep up with all the information. I started getting injured a lot and frustrated.
Right now I’m training 3 evenings. So I’m a 3 on the # days, usually a 5 on progress, and usually a 4 or 5 on the “loser” scale. The days/weeks were I don’t train well — when I feel as if I’ve wasted my limited training time — those are the days I feel worst about my progress. But, well, then I’m the one who caused the problem, aren’t I?
But you do have best friends and family around you, right?
I hear what you’re saying about quantity vs quality, though. I also know what you mean on overtraining and it leading to frustration. Good for you for listening to your body!
I do, but I used to blow them off for jiu-jitsu. Must train all the times! Now, though, I’m prioritizing the people around me, and if it’s them or jiu-jitsu, I pick them.
Wait, do you want the shirt for you or to dress up your cat? : )
I wish I were training more days/week, but with familial obligations, I’m doing pretty much all I can–3x.
Bahahaha nice one! That’s cool that you can fit in 3x per week. You have kids?
Nice. I hadn’t seen that scale before. Very funny.
I think I’m with you in the same boat. Except mine may be getting swamped and capsizing. I feel the same way as you when my attention towards bjj wanes. And my training has been on the decline.
I have found it becomes easier and easier to stay away from the gym the longer you’ve been away. Excuses in my head are much easier to accept if I have already accepted them the previous 7 days.
Going to the gym, getting good, tiring rolls in definitely gives me something to point at and feel good about. I don’t know what makes it so hard to seek out the feeling each day.
I too have no life so I really have no reason not to be going which makes it even worse.
Thanks for the post.
Steve
^_^ I loved Meerkatsu’s scale, but as a single gal it just didn’t apply to me. ^_^
Agreed – the more you don’t do jiu jitsu, the easier it is to not do it. ugh.
How many times did you go last week?
Why do you have to put me one the spot? I went 0 times last week. Despite telling myself I’d go, I didn’t. Hence the self loathing. How did your training go?
Mwa ha ha! My training went well – I got an unexpected stripe today! Gahh!
Nice! A stripe is always good. And an unexpected one at that. I’ve never been a part of a gym that did stripes, it’s just been a matter of waiting for belt promotions.
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