Home > Work > My Mastery: Continued Education Through Jiu Jitsu
41 " By becoming a black belt, you will become whatever it is you wanted to be in the first place, and Jiu Jitsu will have served its aim. "
― Chris Matakas , My Mastery: Continued Education Through Jiu Jitsu
42 " we must remember that the end of personal mastery is service to others. "
43 " In my own life, I have always viewed personal mastery as simply a medium through which I become capable of providing more service toward my fellow man. "
44 " We must not learn to try harder. The key is to learn how not to try in the first place. "
45 " Any advanced student will tell you the best way to recover guard is simply not to get your guard passed in the first place. "
46 " Imagine a true master of the art, someone with complete skill in every aspect of Jiu Jitsu. This master would not force anything. He would simply allow the roll to take whatever form it does, and in every position would act in the most efficient way based off what the circumstance dictates, and not what he himself prefers. "
47 " It appears, at least from my perspective, that each and every position in Jiu Jitsu regardless of the seeming complexity is really governed by no more than a handful of minimum viable products. Pursue to understand these essentials, and you will see that complexity is a myth perpetuated by lack of understanding, and it is this understanding which is possible for each of us. "
48 " When we honestly take stock of our ability, we are then granted the opportunity to improve our circumstance. Accessing where you stand is the only way to stand somewhere else. "
49 " In the history of history, there has never been someone with your particular genetic make-up or life experiences. This being the case, we have no reference points with which to compare ourselves, and therefore it is futile to attempt to measure yourself relative to others. "
50 " This philosophy teaches us to leave safe harbor for the rough seas of real-world experience, and to accept that a rough copy out in the world serves us far greater than a masterpiece sitting quietly on our shelves. "
51 " Life is so unlikely, so rare and beautiful an opportunity it is to live, we must be on constant guard to ensure that our actions are worthy of the life it takes to perform them. "
52 " Have a clear-cut plan on what you wish to improve, and seek opportunities to improve it. The more conscious and honest we can be about our shortcomings, the more strength we will have to improve them. We are going to train hard anyway, we are not going to sweat any more or less. It is simply imperative that the sweat is properly directed. "
53 " Autopilot is great, and removal of thought is one of the highest ideals of training. But removal of thought in the moment must be preceded by purposeful thought beforehand. "
54 " The best indicator of a man's philosophy is not what he reads or says, but the way in which he lives his life, the way in which he acts. "
55 " Properly directed thoughts result in properly directed actions. The only way to appropriately guide our thoughts is to know their foundation, our values. "
56 " When we know our values, we can easily measure whether or not our actions are in accordance with them. Values are the measuring sticks with which we determine the worthiness of our actions. To be better associated with one's own values is to remove a lot of the needless activities of daily life. "
57 " To know our values is to have a foundation on which to build a great life. Our environment and education will play a large part in influencing our formulation of this world view, but is ultimately ourselves that have the final say. We must decide what we value, and then live accordingly. After all, in the eyes of the world we could achieve great success, but if our actions do not coincide with what we ourselves truly deem worthy, we will find no peace. "
58 " I have always found that effort is most easily produced when performed for the benefit of something external to ourselves. "
59 " True mastery, it turns out, is not found in accumulating each and every tool under the sun. True mastery is learning that there are really only a handful of tools, and it is the proper application with correct timing and setting that makes them so useful. "
60 " Mastery lies on an infinite continuum, and as a result we will never reach the end. We can, however, see to it that we are as far along that continuum as our circumstance allows. "