Time off

I generally have to be quite fixated/passionate/obsessed about hobbies/interests in order for them to stick for any length of time. Usually one thing in particular sucks a large proportion of my mental energy and focus, often to the detriment of things like 'real work' or any other possible or existing hobbies...

My current fixation (and has been for a little over four years now) is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Although there have been minor fluctuations in my excitement, it has been the hobby type thing I have been most excited about for the longest period of time.

Whenever I've gone on holiday, no matter how obscure the location, I've tried to find somewhere to train, which has been valuable and has shaped my 'at home' training considerably. Exposure to other clubs around the world has given me access to a bunch of different styles and cultures and sometimes exciting new techniques/approaches/concepts.

As I've already mentioned, my brain has lacked awesomeness for the last few months and my BJJ has (for the most part) felt a bit stale and repetitive. While my usual path of research and trying out newer stuff has helped a bit, it wasn't doing what it used to do in the past. I was, for the first time in my BJJ experience, feeling like I was going through he motions, not just plateauing, but dipping slightly... even occasionally thinking seriously about quitting...

This last week though, I had a week long holiday without any BJJ (it didn't help that Rarotonga doesn't seem to have any???). While this would normally have been frustrating, I really quite enjoyed the time off and feel like my brain and body have been recharged considerably, even after such a short break.

Almost immediately upon returning, I attended a BJJ seminar with the very awesome John Will (with me running on only 4 hours sleep) and loved every moment of it. While the techniques weren't ultra new, some of the details and concepts were and I felt myself even more committed to my growth and continuation in this sport. While John has a lot to do with this, I think the week off prior was hugely significant in resetting me a little.

Sometimes the path of least non-awesomness in a given sphere may mean taking time off to enjoy awesomeness in another. A week in Rarotonga (even without BJJ!) was incredible and it also seems to have re-fired something in my BJJ expereince quite unexpectedly...