This is the theme we chose for our first design because at the end of the day we're all fighting for something. We all signed up for a reason and for some of us that reason was to get in shape, or learn how to defend ourselves. Rarely do we find someone who comes through the door wanting to compete or be a UFC champion. Once we commit to this goal of self-improvement we come out the gates hyper focused on this goal. As time goes by and we make new friends, our goals start to shift slightly and we lose sight of the reason we started in the first place.
Here comes the kicker. We become seduced by the gentle art and fall in love with the many different styles of guards and unique ways to make another person submit to our will. In this obsession we forget the reason why we started in the first place. On the mats we become complacent with accepting bad positions, or intentionally throwing ourselves to the bottom so that we can play guard or attack one of those fancy YouTube submissions.
In reality, if I had to protect my family while we're out or defend myself from somebody wanting to do me harm, I would never pull guard and start to work from the bottom. I hope you wouldn't either. It's important to remember that the habits we build in the safe space and comfort of the training room cary over to real life. Hence the phrase, train how you fight, fight how you train. Like Professor Chris Haueter says, 1. Be the guy on top, 2. Fight to stay on top, 3. If you're on the bottom, have a guard you shall not pass, and 4. Remember number 1. So whether in the training room or in the world, remember, the way you train is the way you fight. See you on the mats!