The Cycle of Learning
Getting into Jiu-Jitsu can be a fun and exciting endeavor. Try to recall the first time you started taking BJJ classes at your Gracie Barra School. You were probably hyped up about all the things you could learn. I was amazed to discover I could choke someone with my foot!
You’ve got that first-day-of-school feeling a combo of nerves and enthusiasm. You start learning some basic techniques and get some practice on the mats. At this point, you feel pretty happy, and you’re still eager to learn more.
After some time, you become familiar with the basics, and you want to learn more complex techniques. After practicing diligently, you develop more self-confidence and the basics and start feeling repetitive. When you move on to newer lessons, you begin to feel that same eagerness and excitement you felt the first time you took classes.
You will notice that the more you make progress and gain knowledge, the more you’re looking for a challenge that can measure up to your skills. Sooner or later, you might be looking forward to joining your first CompNet BJJ tournament. If you’re paired with a competitor of the same skill level, you might find yourself enjoying the competition. But, if your competitor turns out to be a more experienced athlete, you might feel more anxious or frustrated rather than excited.
All these scenarios make up the cycle of learning BJJ or any kind of skill. It’s essential to balance your skill level and the activity wherein you will apply those skills to find learning both satisfying and enjoyable. By doing so, you will become more immersed in learning and achieve better success in both practice and competition. You will, eventually, reach a state of “Flow.”
The State of Flow: Balancing Skill vs. Challenge
The concept of Flow was written about by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who suggested that people are happiest and most motivated when the challenge they face is roughly equal to the skill level they possess to overcome that challenge.
In his book, Csikszentmihalyi illustrated a chart wherein he showed how your skill level is directly proportional to how much anxiety or boredom you experience based on how challenging your activity is.
The goal is to stay within the “Flow Channel,” which he suggested can be achieved in four steps. Csikszentmihalyi used tennis to illustrate this, but this can also be applied to any scenario like Jiu-Jitsu:
- Step 1: You are at the starting point and are just learning about the basic techniques for BJJ. You might be practicing some basic sweeps or chokes. While your skill level might be low, the anxiety and boredom experienced are also low because of the fun from learning. You’re in a state of Flow. After this step, two things could occur, which are discussed in steps 2 and 3.
- Step 2: During this time, you’ve likely improved your skills, and doing the same moves over and over can get boring. This means the challenge is lower than your skill level, so you are no longer experiencing Flow.
- Step 3: You take on a more challenging task by joining your first CompNet tournament. You get paired up with a competitor with more experience, and you lose the match. Because the challenge is higher than your skill level, you experience increased stress and anxiety. You are no longer experiencing Flow.
- Step 4: Depending on the choice you made, you can get back into a state of Flow in two ways:
- If you get bored doing the same moves, you can increase the challenge level by sparring an opponent of the same skill level as yours.
- If you experience more anxiety, you will need to improve your skills and knowledge by working on more advanced techniques.
The chart below shows how we move within a cycle of the 4 steps to find our ever-changing flow state. Adjust your skills and the challenges you face as you move through the processes of boredom and anxiety to find your flow state. Next week's blog will discuss some best practices to achieve this.
Check out the event calendar to find your next challenge and start flowing.
Blog Written by Veronica Street - Gracie Barra Blue Belt