How I Turned My Worst Year Into My Best Year
From freak out to break out.
Trying to write and do Jiu-Jitsu for a living is probably the dumbest decision that I’ve ever made.
I chose a sport with no money and I chose creative writing.
What the hell is my problem?
I set myself up for failure before I even started. From there, I continually added degrees of difficulty to make it harder and harder for myself to get by doing these things. I moved, dealt with tons of injuries, and failed constantly and consistently in the process of improving my situation.
I’m an imposter — albeit a busy one.
To make matters worse, I’m not even writing this story as a magnet of wealth or even as an ADCC champion in Jiu-Jitsu.
That’s why, instead, this article is about progress. This article is about how I turned the worst year of my career around and made it my best year yet.
Let’s dive in.
This year started before this year.
In Jiu-Jitsu, we tend to think that our training right before a competition is what is the best indicator of our ability to win matches and make progress.
A “good camp” means you will win and a bad camp means you will not do so well.
The reality is a bit more complicated.
Yes, your “training camp” does matter, but the truth is that your training over the 6-12 months prior to a competition is just as, if not more important than the 6-8 weeks of “camp” that you put in prior to something important.
The results that I had this year on and off the mat — many of which were good — were an indicator of my work and efforts over the last 5-10 years. I built good training habits, I built a habit of consistent competition, and I built a writing habit, and together all of these habits made it possible for me to have momentum this year.
Before ADCC, for example, I had kind of a shitty camp. I dealt with a pretty severe back injury for several weeks, missed a lot of time, and honestly at times worried that I wouldn’t be healthy enough to give a good showing at ADCC.
But in every month of the year before the camp (and even over the last several years), I was working my ass off trying to improve my skills on the mat.
Hard work for years allows you to work smarter in the period before the big show.
I also took a ton of chances.
Earlier this year, I competed in the ADCC Trials in Europe.
I took a chance and spent a few thousand dollars (all of it was on a credit card too) to fly myself to Europe, compete in a tournament, and go to Spain with my girlfriend. It might not have been the most financially wise decision of my life, but that was what we did. The plan was to win the Trials, celebrate my impending seminar tour with tapas and beer, and ride off into the sunset.
In the end, I lost in the Trials in the round of 16 after making a tactical error.
I was heartbroken — and on the verge of having a mental breakdown. I took about 10 days off the mat after the tournament but I wanted more. To be honest, I almost didn’t even compete at the West Coast Trials that would allow me to eventually land a spot at my first-ever ADCC a few months ago.
I registered on one of the last possible days at a weight class I didn’t even want to do.
I was down on my luck and took another chance, and that made all the difference.
Then, I got lucky.
In May, the Jiu-Jitsu world completely changed.
I stumbled my way into ADCC because of the invention of the Craig Jones Invitational. Suddenly, I wanted to compete again. I was motivated.
I was able to book seminars and sponsorships and I got a ghostwriting job for some high-profile Twitter creators. I paid off the credit card and quit the job just because I didn’t want to do it anymore.
Then, I got the chance to compete at PGF a few weeks ago. A friend at my gym named a move after me and I was able to release the most highly anticipated Jiu-Jitsu instructional of my career. This newsletter hit bestseller status on Substack.
My girlfriend moved to Texas with me and we moved in together. We were able to take a trip to France a couple of months ago that I was able to pay off before we even left. It was the least stressful trip I’ve taken in years.
Some of these things are connected to the announcement of the CJI, but all of the opportunities I’ve gotten this year are directly correlated to simply taking chances. If you take enough shots, you’re going to hit the target eventually.
There were also a lot of failures that I haven’t even mentioned. The first launch of Grappler’s Diary merch wasn’t great. I had some poorly attended seminars this year. I competed at a small tournament in Atlanta in October and didn’t perform well. There were plenty of newsletters that I put hours into that didn’t do well.
The point of this is that my best year had a lot of worsts.
Closing Thoughts
My story of rock bottom to a soaring high is a little romanticized.
It’s not that simple.
In January, I did have a complete meltdown when I came to an apartment I couldn’t afford with no power only to discover that I had rotting berries in my fridge. I did lose a lot of matches this year and consider quitting competitive Jiu-Jitsu and becoming a full-time Twitter ghostwriter.
I do now live with my beautiful girlfriend and our 2 dogs in a place that we can afford and I have a job and opportunities and things I’m excited about. I did finish in the top 4 at ADCC.
But this success I’ve had this year hasn’t been because of grand efforts paying off, it’s been because of consistent efforts compounding.
Consistent training since 2015. Consistent writing since 2020. Consistent competing since I was in high school. Consistent lifting since 2016. Consistent quality time since I met my girlfriend. Consistent reading since 2019. Consistent studying Jiu-Jitsu and self-development since 2017.
You can’t see the improvements over a day or a week, but over 12 months, they’re obvious.
So I guess, with all of that, my point is that you need to be consistent. You can’t see how the results right now are setting you up for the future.
My new leg lock instructional is now available from BJJ Fanatics!
If you want to learn how to ankle-lock all of your friends, how to never get ankle-locked again, and what exactly the ‘Woj Lock’ is, hit the link below.
This is the best instructional I’ve ever done, and I’m excited to share it with all of you.
Oh, and then one more thing.
I’m an idiot for offering this, but it’s been a pretty big week here at The Grappler’s Diary and I’m excited.
In addition to the new leg lock instructional coming out this week, today is Black Friday, and I’m running a sale where you can access The Grappler’s Diary premium for 40% off!
That’s a $96 value chopped down to just $45.
Like I said, I’m an idiot.
However, the offer ends next week, so if you enjoy reading these articles and want to access more of them (and the hundreds already waiting in my library) for the next 12 months for just $45, hit the button below and become a premium subscriber.
The Grappler’s Diary is sponsored by BJJ Mental Models, the world’s #1 Jiu-Jitsu podcast!
This week we're joined by Kelsey Carter! Kelsey is a newly minted black belt from Precision Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Sacramento.
In this episode, Kelsey discusses the physics and mechanics underlying Jiu-Jitsu techniques, emphasizing the importance of fulcrums, weight distribution, and angles during sweeps and submissions.
Kelsey provides insights into adapting techniques for different body types and teaching empowering strategies, particularly for women in the sport. The episode also delves into advanced concepts such as energy conservation, the dynamics of bottom position, and the science behind effective movements.
To listen, look up BJJ Mental Models wherever you listen to your podcasts or just hit this link.
The Grappler’s Diary is also sponsored by Gym 1801.
Gym 1801 is a brand-new martial arts and fitness facility in Evanston, Illinois.
Apart from being one of the most beautiful Jiu-Jitsu gyms in the world (and run by the man who gave me my black belt in BJJ), Gym 1801 offers world-class instruction, facilities, and training. Gym 1801 was also one of my main sponsors at ADCC 2024.
The gym offers top-class recovery tools like cryo, red light therapy, and sauna, and a wide array of classes like yoga, HIIT, and athletic training. They have everything you need to reach your potential on and off of the mat. (Hit this link to view a video tour of Gym 1801 by me!)
When I think about what I want in a dream Jiu-Jitsu Academy, Gym 1801 has everything I could think of and more.
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