I have to admit that I am embarrassed by the results from the sub-wrestling contest this weekend. Its possibly the worst result the jiu jitsu club has ever had in the many years its been running.

However, that's my own selfish pride & ego as the guys were representing my club. I wanted the club to do well and I wanted the guys (and girl) to do well. Having said that, well done for the guys for getting in & giving it a go.

I have to take responsibility for leaving the training up to someone else and not being more involved. I should have been there working on their fitness, gameplan & specific strengths/weakness, but I wasnt so I have to shoulder the responsibility!

What has pleased me though is the way some of the guys have come to me & said where it went wrong either on the day or with their preparation which shows they are learning & addressing their mistakes.

However, I have heard a few excuses. One thing I can't stand is excuses. Admitting you lost is nothing if you project all the reasons onto someone or something else. When people stop making excuses for losing that's when they can improve.

If someone says "he beat me"...thats fine as far as it goes. But you can't do anything about someone being better than you. However, if you change your perspective and admit "I lost" then you can start working out what you did wrong & doing something about it. And that's when you can learn & improve.

I heard a few times; "the guy trains 5 nights a week"! So what? He was in the same weight & experience class as you. What you really need to be thinking is "I don't train enough". Everyone had the opportunity to train 4 nights a week for this comp. If I go back & check the attendance, I wonder how many actually did!? Do you really think one or two sessions of 2 hours a week is enough to be a winner!?

Instead of "he dominated me positionally" you need to say "I let him get position on me" and replace "he was much more technical" with "I wasn’t technical enough"

It may not stop the loss but it means that losing is in your own control & your own responsibility, not your opponents. And you can do something about that!