Goal Setting: A SMARTER way to improve your BJJ skills

Goal Setting: A SMARTER way to improve your BJJ skills

At  the beginning of a new year many people make resolutions or set goals. Often, these goals are set without a clear plan as to how they will be achieved. Therefore  “Goal setting” is a mental training technique that can be used to increase an individual’s commitment towards achieving a personal goal. Having a short or long term goal can encourage an individual to work harder, to be more focused on the task and to overcome setbacks more easily. Goal setting is a technique pioneered by Locke (1968). It has been used to improve performance in sport for many years. Goal setting effects performance in four ways:

• focuses attention
• mobilizes effort in proportion to the demands of the task
• enhances persistence
• encourages the individual to develop strategies for achieving their goals

In order to set goals adequately, we must distinguish between short, medium and long-term goals.

Outcome Goals (Long term)

Outcome goals are to do with winning or performing better than someone else does. They refer to the desired result e.g. Win gold at European BJJ Championship 2014. These can be highly motivating long-term goals; however,  they’re not under the individuals control and are affected by how others perform. Also they are limited without related performance and process goals.

Performance Goals (Medium Term)

Performance goals specify a specific standard you wish to achieve. These performance goals are about personal standards. For a runner this might be a time for a specific distance ( run 10km in 33min) . While in BJJ training the you are in less control of your performance than the runner due to your training partners and his actions. The attacker  and as such are unaffected by the performance of others and so totally under the control of the individual. Performance goals can be used to monitor achievement of process goals and progress towards the desired outcome goal. A Simple performance goal could be:

• Not to be submitted in a 5 min match
• Retain Closed guard for 5 min
• Retain Open guard for 5 min against partner X
• Avoid submissions in my opponents guard

More attacking oriented performance goal could be:

• Try to establish omaplata in every round
• Attempt to knee curt pass 10 times in one round

Initially the time could be set at 30 seconds and then incrementally work towards 5 minutes over 1-3 months. These type of goals are something that can be adapted for all levels of BJJ practitioner. Performance goals encourage the development of mastery and can make a performer feel satisfied with a performance even if they do not win.

Process Goals (short Term)

Process goals, over which the individual has complete control, deal with the technique or strategy necessary to perform well. Therefore process goals can also be established to map the route to achieving the desired outcome goal. Examples of process goals are:

• maintain controlled rhythm while Guard passing
• run at 5 minute mile pace
• engage legs before arms when throwing the discus
• Drill triangle choke from guard paying attention to all critical details – 500 repetitions
• use a pre-event routine before each competition match. Process goals help focus attention and are very effective in helping to control anxiety or tension.

S.M.A.R.T.E.R.

Outcome Goals, Process Goals and Performance Goals all need to be SMARTER:

• Specific – make them as precise and detailed as possible
• Measurable – a method by which you can quantify or rate your current position and then determine the amount of improvement required
• Accepted – goals need to be shared and negotiated with all others involved
• Realistic – the goal is realistic yet challenging
• Time phased – date is set for when the goal is to be achieved by
• Exciting – goal motivates the individual
• Recorded – the goal and progress towards it are recorded

BJJ Sample Athlete Goals

Long Term (Dream) Goal

I want to win a gold medal at the European Jiu Jitsu Championship in Lisbon in 2014 in the brown belt -76kg adult division. To realise my long term (Dream) goal this I must;

• Specific – Improve Takedowns, Guard Passing, Guard Defence, Escapes from bad positions, Positional dominance, Competition Conditioning and Keep a good diet
• Measurable – Keep training Schedule, Measure against others
• Accepted – Share goals with coach, family and friends all details and gain support
• Realistic – Yes
• Time phased – Jan 2019
• Exciting – Extremely so
• Recorded – Keep training log to track progress

Conclusion

Goal setting is not just about identifying what you want to achieve but also how you will achieve it (process goals) and measure that achievement (performance goals). When challenging goals are broken down into realistic steps and then systemically achieved motivation, commitment and self-confidence will grow. Goals must be set according to the age, stage of development, confidence, ability and motivation of the individual. Beginners require very short term easily achieved goals to boost their self-confidence whereas the experienced individual need more challenging yet realistic goals.

Remember,“the blackbelt is just a whitebelt who never gave up.”

Reference:

• http://www.brianmac.co.uk/goals.htm

Recommended Reading:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• The One Thing by James Keller
• Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman