Question today from a young lad who’s wanting to pursue a martial arts based career. . .
Here’s the question.
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Hey Chewy, I’m a fan from the UK, BJJ blue belt and amateur MMA fighter looking to turn pro in the future. I was wondering if you had any advice for the best jobs to work to support the training necessary for getting to a high level in jiu jitsu and MMA respectively (i.e. twice a day). What kinds of jobs best support this lifestyle and how did you balance work and training when you were coming up? Really appreciate the time and love all your stuff!
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Thanks for the question Henry.
Someone asked me the other day what BJJ and martial arts in general have taught me. And 1 of the most important lessons I’ve learned and really come to understand from BJJ, Wrestling, Boxing and MMA is this.
Knowing my priorities and staying focused on them even when I’m told they aren’t the correct thing to do.
Priorities are important but most people don’t give them much thought. People really never separate what are their own desires vs what’s been pressed upon them by society.
When I was younger I avoided doing a lot of the things my other friends were doing (getting credit cards, partying, buying brand new cars, buying expensive clothes, etc). I even turned down a high paying job because it interfered with my training.
Now to some this would seem a bare existence that they wouldn’t want. And that’s ok. It’s what I wanted. Big emphasis on the “I” there.
Now, I’ll admit, for a time I broke this focus and bought into all the material trappings that I was told I “should” want and with almost immediate regret went into reverse to get away from them to get back to “MY” mission.
Nowadays, I’m blessed, I make a good living doing BJJ and running a business. My vision didn’t play out exactly how I thought it would. In fact, it’s worked out even better than I imagined. And this happened because I kept my focus on what was important to me.
Rolling back around to you my British friend.
I think the type of job you do is less important than you maintaining your training priorities above all else. If it’s what you really want.
This means you might skip a better paying job because another one has a better schedule for training or avoid certain relationships because it interferes with your goals. You might wear cheap clothes and drive around in a beater of a car for a while. (I did all these things)
Oh and be prepared for people to try and cut you down and tell you you’re an idiot for chasing such a far-fetched goal (I know this all too well). But if it’s what you want, stay the course and be focused.
And this goes for anyone who has some goal that they want.
If you’re one of those people who has a goal that you’re chasing after that people don’t quite understand. That’s ok. Stay focused and let the results later speak for themselves.
And here’s something else.
Even if you fail. The simple act of chasing after something will make you a stronger person with qualities that can aid you should you have to pivot into something different later on.
Hope that helps give you something to chew on for today.
Talk to you tomorrow.
-Chewy
Oh and just a heads up. I’ll be in Florida doing a couple of seminars in March. If you’re interested check the details on the link below.
https://www.chewjitsu.io/seminars
