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Jun
1
I’ve always believed that people should be students first. Simply put, it doesn’t matter what you know, or what you think you know. There is always an opportunity to learn. Be a student.
I like Socrates, the dude was smart. One of the things he was purported to have said was, “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” That’s good—no actually, that’s smart. Socrates had the mindset of a student. I don’t know anything—teach me.
You should have this attitude in jiu-jitsu. I love jiu-jitsu because it is infinite. You will never learn what jiu-jitsu has to offer in one life time. Jiu-jitsu is alive, it is a living art that grows each time someone discovers and shares something new—and there is always something new.
I try not to hide behind my knowledge of jiu-jitsu because I know everyone has something to teach, so when a white belt has discovered a new move on the internet, I’m excited to see it. I want to learn it. If I’ve never seen it before, I’ll tell them, “That’s cool, I’ve never seen that.” I want them to realize that I’m a student too, that yes, I know some things, but there are a lot more things I don’t know, and like them, I want to learn.
I have two of my blue belts that went to a Galvao seminar this past Saturday. I asked them if they wouldn’t mind teaching the class a move they learned from the seminar. This is a great way to have the students that went to the seminar really focus on what they learned, because if you can teach a move, then you know the move. The second reason I asked these guys to teach what they learned is that it gives me the opportunity to be the student in class.
It’s important to be the student even when you’re the teacher.
Socrates of course had it right, be smart enough to know that there is more to learn. Always let yourself be a student.
