Big ambitions start small: Very often I will be asked how athletes got to the high level of competition they currently work at. What many people are not aware of IS THE SMALL AND HUMBLE NATURE OF THE BEGINNINGS OF MOST GREAT ATHLETES. It is natural for them to make this mistake. Athletes are only noticed when they get to a certain level. All the myriad small, local trials and competitions they battled through to get to that level are unknown to the general public. This is the most natural and effective way for emerging athletes to work. START WITH SMALL, LOCAL CHALLENGES AND PROGRESSIVELY WORK YOUR WAY up. So often I see talented athletes try to skip steps in the order of progression and end up with problems. People know the squad mostly through their success in high profile professional grappling events. Few are aware of just how many low level competitions against unknown locals they fought through prior to making it to the big stages. This was a very unglamorous but very necessary step in their road to success. The experience gained at the lower levels is of critical importance when fighting at the higher levels. So many times the squad would travel on their own dollar to obscure events in the tristate region to take on unknown opponents – all the while gaining competition experience and confidence that would one day provide the foundation to much greater goals. Many emerging athletes are in a rush to shorten this important start, or worse, bypass it altogether. Don't – do your time – gain your knowledge and experience and THEN move on. This is true also for non competitive jiu jitsu players. Make your goals in the gym PROGRESSIVE. Start with small goals and THOROUGHLY CONQUER THEM before moving on. In my experience, smooth progression in goals gains better long term results than giant leaps. Here a very young looking squad (I think Gordon Ryan is eighteen here) relaxes after matching victories in local tournament in New Jersey, one of a vast number that they entered around this time. It was at these local shows they laid the foundations of the game they took to the big stage
