A challenge, no matter how big or small, changes us. When we set up challenges for ourselves, those challenges can change us in a positive way; they can force us to grow. Any time you intentionally leave your comfort zone, you expand it.

This is an idea that is well-known in the world of education and is often referred to as “the zone of proximal development”, which is really just a fancy way of saying challenges should be just barely outside of our comfort zone. Think of it from the perspective of learning to drive. If you immediately are forced to drive on the interstate before ever driving on a side-street, or in a parking lot, or literally anywhere else, you probably aren't going to do very well on that first drive. It’s too much and way outside of most people’s comfort zone.

When it comes to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we have to keep the same sort of thing in mind, especially with new folks. Going as hard as we can or throwing everything we know at a new person doesn’t help them grow. It just intimidates them and makes them feel like they are incapable.

On the reverse side of this, we have those who have been doing BJJ for a minute, but they are too comfortable with where they are at. Being too comfortable with where we are is fine if we have ultimately reached the end of our goals and have no more desire to learn anything or improve. But if you love doing Jiu-Jitsu and love learning and performing well, you’re going to need to be uncomfortable. 

Learning should be a little uncomfortable. New information, new techniques, new skills, and perhaps even new levels of rolling may be outside of your comfort zone. That isn’t a reason to avoid them, it’s a reason to approach them. 

Everyone’s comfort zone looks different, so personal growth is going to look different for every person. Regardless, expanding our comfort zones should be pursued. This can only be done by approaching the things that are difficult and challenging for us.

Let’s take competing in BJJ for example. If you are terrified to compete, here at Academic Grappling, we are fortunate enough to have in-house competitions thanks to KruFit putting on a quarterly smoker event. Entering the smoker can be an example of what it feels like to compete, but in a very low-stakes environment.

If you’re someone who likes to compete, but don’t do anything other than your regular training to prepare, you may be stuck in your comfort zone. Try cross training. Try bad position rounds. Try positional sparring. Do conditioning outside of class. Lift weights. Put in the effort. Like I said earlier, Learning should be a little uncomfortable. That means branching out from what you’re used to.

No matter what your goals are, you should have an idea of what it takes to get outside of your comfort zone. For my own journey in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I spend a lot of time studying techniques and concepts that I am unfamiliar with. It would be easy to stick with what I know, especially now that I am coaching. But expanding my knowledge helps me expand my students’ knowledge and helps all of us grow. I try to roll with people who I know are challenging and can beat me. I don’t like it. It’s not fun to take a beating during training, but sometimes it’s exactly what we need. I want to face those difficult things and see where I am succeeding and where I am failing. 

Without facing our shortcomings, we can never improve on them. We end up stuck and stagnant; coagulated in our own aversion to discomfort. Take an honest look at what makes you uncomfortable in Jiu-Jitsu. What is it? How can you become more comfortable with it? How can you develop yourself in that area?

I don’t know about everyone else, but in many ways I feel as though I have stuck with BJJ for as long as I have because I enjoy the feeling of learning and mastering new things. And within Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu the possibilities are endless. No one ever has everything down and no one can perform everything perfectly every single time. We are humans, not machines. And thus we are granted the opportunity to develop ourselves.