We know injuries are inevitable, and are usually perceived as a huge bummer when time is needed off from live rolling. But with every injury is opportunity, and continuing to show up to class is key to capitalizing on them.
1) We learn from watching, and everyone is at least somewhat of a visual learner, even if you’re dominantly more audible or hands-on. It’s an opportunity to analyze the jiujitsu of others, without the urgency of direct interaction with a live training partner. We are usually caught up in the trees of problem solving with our current partners when rolling, so this presents a great opportunity to zoom out and watch the forest for a change.
2) We maintain the emotional connection with your training partners, and help them along their journey, which also helps you along your’s. It shows you’re part of the team, wounded but still on the front line. It can motivate your training partners to train with greater purpose, knowing you wish you could be out there with them. For me, it always showed me that nothing will stop me from training, from showing up, and that my injury is an opportunity to show my resilience in the face of whatever gets in my way along my path.
3) We reinforce your hard earned habit of showing up. This is the most important component of your training, the way you’ve rearranged your life to consistently make time to train, not “finding time” but “making time” . For most of us it takes a decent juggling act and commitment to make it work to get to class each week, and to develop the balance in the other areas of our life. Showing up to class strengthens your current schedule pattern, and helps prevent the weeds of undesired time killers from filling the unintended vacuum.
If you can’t be on the mats, be near the mats.