Using The Flavio Almeida Mindset When Injured in BJJ.
Everyone gets used to facing difficulties in life, but we don’t all cope with them the same way. Difficulties can add up and really pin you down in life, burdening you over time. If a problem is intense, you sometimes might even need to convince yourself to do what you don’t want to do in order to grow. Flavio Almeida knows a thing or two about that. Almeida has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is a professional champion and teacher of this martial art. Brazillian jiu-jitsu is a high-energy sport focused on timing, leverage, and pressure, so Almeida has physically and mentally developed his sense of risk-reward. He had the benefit of great mentors, but what carried him all the way was his steadfast will. His take on success is that we should not only face our challenges but look forward to them. This is possible through perseverance and commitment as foundational values. Anyone, martial artist or not, can accomplish great things with this mindset.
Photo Credit - Gracie Barra North Phoenix, AZ.
If you do have an interest in martial arts, Flavio Almeida is a name you’ll want to know. He got his start fighting during the early 1990s in Brazil, first with karate, then jiu-jitsu. Within the decade, Almeida became one of Brazil’s great jiu-jitsu up-and-comers. It sounds sensational, but that good fortune was born of Almedia’s can-do attitude. This is best demonstrated by a 2018 injury he has discussed. It happened in Houston during a big jiu-jitsu tournament, fighting with a team for the Gracie Barra martial arts organization. In the midst of a fight with a heavier opponent, Almeida’s foot caved in. He did win the fight and score points for his team, but he was afflicted with foot pain. Rather than drop out, he continued to fight and helped Gracie Barra win the tournament. Having successfully tested his skills, Almeida recovered from the injury after a period of walking with crutches. Powering through the pain and putting the team’s success before his comfort brought out the best in him. It goes to show that hitting a roadblock should lead to using your discretion, instead of reflexively giving up.
Almeida fought to push his limits since competition isn’t just about winning or losing. Without pushing yourself you won’t have a sense of your own skill, so you can’t set goals that help you grow. To Almeida an injury is a challenge, and each one is an opportunity to become a better version of yourself. If you’re just in a complacent routine, you deny yourself the spice of life. He also cautions that setbacks have psychological effects which easily impede goals. When you get hurt it’s easy to say that turning back makes a lot of sense. Pressing onward might seem miserable, but hypotheticals like that are a trap. Instead of making an educated guess about further risks, you put yourself down outright. With enough negative self-talk, you will kill your aspirations. Life is ultimately about growing and changing, and the trials we face are stepping stones on the journey. It’s clear that perseverance and commitment are values that protect us from becoming our own worst enemies.
Almeida’s words are not a load of hot air: research suggests that it’s beneficial to overcome obstacles. When things don’t go your way, it makes you confront who you are, what matters to you, and what you want your life to be about. That’s because you can’t afford to be weighed down when the going gets tough. Psychologists find that it’s better to think of yourself as a protagonist, not a victim. Emerging victorious and relieved allows greater altruism, a deeper sense of purpose, and more appreciation for life and loved ones. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, as problems can be resolved incrementally, especially if you develop a coping strategy. Almeida’s strategy is to see challenges as chances to test his mettle. If you want to improve in martial arts, enter a fight you aren’t sure you’ll win. That’s the nature of challenge: it’s better to pursue goals that might hurt, rather than being safe and not surprising yourself. Steel yourself and push forward, because if you test your limits, you can then judge which adventures are worth going on.
Managing pain and gain can come down to what you want out of life. Do you really want to get used to making excuses? Slacking off can reduce your interest in what you care about. You may find yourself caught in a cycle of giving up again and again. If you want to be injury-free, sit on the couch and watch Netflix. It’s better to brave your nerves and take leaps of faith. Competing while injured forced Almedia to think more carefully, making him a better fighter. Whether you win or lose, being under pressure helps you pick up new skills and create great memories. Almeida says that martial artists need to have a vision for themselves, and it’s true that we can all benefit from some sort of plan. That way, hang-ups and hurdles are mere episodes on the way to what we want. Being a martial artist isn’t easy, and everyone should learn from its demand of consistent tenacity. Dare yourself to dream, see how far you can get, and always pick yourself back up. You owe it to yourself to be a well-oiled machine, as that will improve the lives of others. After all, a quitter can’t lead by example.
Who are you? It’s a question you can struggle with your whole life. Discovering yourself is no small feat, so hit the ground running. In a world where we’re so inundated with distractions, being sedentary can appear normal. Adversity is out there, ready to make you lose sight of your goals, so stay crafty. You won’t be unscathed, as you face things you can’t prepare for, but that’s the nature of the beast. It’s said that an unexamined life is not worth living, and the same goes for an unchallenging life. Build yourself up instead if putting yourself down, and seek companions to keep you balanced. To remain fit is to nurture body and mind, to appreciate your wins and your losses. Your problems aren’t actually barriers, they’re just rougher paths. For Flavio Almeida, that’s what it is to live life fully. In the words of Friedrich Nietzsche: “What does not kill me makes me stronger”.
