Ok, I’ll be honest I think new year’s resolutions pretty much suck! Statistically, most of them fail and you just see them generally plastered all over social media etc. So why add to the resolutions clutter and blog about them only a couple of days before the new year?Well despite their failure rate they do also offer people a chance to reflect and refocus on things that they may not have done another time. So I can’t totally hate them.

My advice is to simply not to see them as annual announcements. You’re simply looking at your goals for the year. Goal setting is a relatively simple process and by setting a few achievable and measurable goals you may find some extra zing and motivation.

So potential good ideas for your BJJ resolutions? There are 100’s out there but I’d like to suggest a few alternative ones:-

Learn how to coach – Ask to help out in the fundamentals or kids class (or simply help out a lower belt in open mat). If that’s not possible observe the coach in those classes look at not the “what” he’s teaching but “how” he does it. Coaching is a specific skill set and doing it will not only help you with a range of personal skills but ultimately your understanding of techniques. You might think you know a technique but working out how to break it down and communicate it to someone who doesn’t can take your understanding to a whole new level!Try to cook a new healthy dish once a month – We all try and clean up our diets in the new year. If your a competitor then diet and food can become a whole new obsession. So once a month look up a new healthy recipe. A new ingredient or a new way of preparing food will not only help with your diet but might help by varying things up and keeping it fresh. There is only so much chicken, rice, and veg a person can eat!Try something physical but off the mats! – I know there is a big debate about to be better at BJJ then do more BJJ but the mats are only open so many hours a week. Look at fitting in something to help you physically both on and off the mats. It might be taking up yoga (Yoga for BJJ might be great at home option), starting to lift weights, have regular sports massages (although I admit their not that relaxing) or going swimming with the family (cardio and time together). I hope you find my suggestions more useful than the typical suggestions e.g  “start a training diary”, “train more” or “try a new technique”. But what about my own goals? Well, I set my targets for 2018 way before the Xmas break (in fact pretty much after the world masters). I’m not going to share all of them but I will share my main theme for the year. “To enjoy my jiu jitsu and the opportunities it gives me” Through BJJ I’ve met some fabulous people, traveled the world and as a result has had some really cool experiences. However, as a competitor, I didn’t always really take the time to enjoy myself. It was all just part of the process – don’t get me wrong I had fun but I didn’t really always appreciate the moment or do what I really wanted to do at the time. The competition had to come first. So this year I’m going to try and get off that treadmill and get back to what I loved about BJJ – learning new things (without worrying about my comp game), catching up with and making new friends and generally seeing a bit more of the world without the shadow of competitions and diets!  Very much a case of using BJJ to enhance my life than taking over my life!As with everything I am sure a bunch of it will end up on here so you’ll all know how I get on!