Chip Kelly wisdom

Coach Kelly on everyday competition, disappointment versus challenge, process, focus, and priorities.

Tearing down the wall

A black belt makes you a role model by default.

Part of a good coaches job is to knocking down the pedestal people invariably put you on.  This is one of the reasons I frame BJJ as a skill-set instead of something that is going to make you happy and/or better person.

 

 

I’m not a happiness guru, and even if this link did exist, a deeper understanding of BJJ would facilitate this.  The outcome is still the same: 

Get better as a coach and student of the game.

The funny thing about this is, once you chalk BJJ up to a skill-set instead of something to make you more presentable to the world, it makes the process of study and application way easier.

The most important coaching principle

I believe the most important coaching principle is the idea that you can only give away what you are.

If you want to teach we are all one, live like it.

Source inspiration

This might seem a little obvious, as I took for granted until noticing it this morning…

In areas I want to improve, I study and watch specific people who are way, way better than me.  So much better, that if worked everyday for a year (or 5 to 10 years for that matter) I would still get taken to school.

Who and what do you study, to what end?

 

 

Progression at black belt

The more I understand BJJ, the more I realize how much the fundamentals matter and how much I need to learn.  Everyday research doesn’t seem like enough. =)

As a white belt I would have assumed just the opposite, but if you think about it, the above statement makes sense.  Every nuance you learn, no matter how obvious or subtle serves as a platform for new questions and ideas.  I guess it would be the equivalent of progressing from high school to college before post-graduate physics.  The same building blocks are there, but the rabbit hole gets deeper to more you dig.

Evolving training

A high-level college football program recently figured out a way to get an extra 60 reps (from 120 to 180) per session, and this staff is already thought to be a cutting edge!  Another thing of note is that this programs practices are notoriously shorter than the standard model.

What I take away from this is assuming I don’t know how to practice. =)

This is similar to the Roger Gracie idea I posted awhile back where he said he strives to be aware of the small detail that can make a massive difference in his game.

It follows that training 7 days a week doesn’t matter performance wise if the same amount of work can be done in 1 hour, 1 day a week. 

This begs the question:  What are you doing and why?

The myth of confidence

If you drill, rep, and spar something until it’s a part of your soul, you don’t need ‘confidence.’

Or, said another way, truly ‘confident’ action is an extension of your being.

It should be stated that the preceding examples are in skill-based contexts.  I also think we have a natural confidence that shines to the degree we live in harmony with what is versus what how we think things should be.

Teen Eric Hemphill trivia (speaking of movies, not BJJ related)

Watched a video filmed by a teenage Eric at his high school parking lot.  He caught some footage of school security officer (who coincidentally was looking for Eric), referring to him as a ‘Fuzzy little Foreigner.’

If you know what movie that line is from, post it in comments.

 

Hints:

 

Ahoy polloi… where did you come from, a scotch ad?

Work ethic

I don’t believe in work ethic so much as an understanding of return on investment.

Once you understand the role investment plays in skill development it makes it hard not to work.  The same idea plays out in training as well.  If you understand what repetition does for movement and positioning, it’s hard not to do reps because you know you’re cheating yourself.

On a related note, I’m a hardcore movie and comic book guy who went to see ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ and loved it, but understand I’m not getting a whole lot back for the 3 hours I spent on my ass.

The problem with being too critical

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” ~John Wooden

 

Let’s face it, some stuff out there is garbage designed by the ignorant.

You DO need some critical facility operating to survive in the world.

What I’ve been observing in myself though, is engaging in criticism that creeps away from intended outcomes.  When this happens all I’m doing is making myself dumber by feeding such thoughts, instead of a simple ‘no thank you’ and moving on.

 

 

Being aware of the quality of surrounding input helps the preceding process as well.  Brilliance inspires so long as you don’t place it out of reach on a pedestal.