The “Sixth Sense” Experience

Have you ever seen the Sixth Sense?
​
It’s a movie from 1999… so some of you weren’t even born yet when it came out.
​
I’m not going to tell you how the movie ends. But at the end of the film, some crucial information is revealed to the viewers. And then they are likely to realize that they have been missing many details throughout the entire movie.
​
If they choose to watch the movie again, this change of perspective will allow them to start seeing things they didn’t notice in their first viewing.
​
If you haven’t seen it, that’s fine… the Sixth Sense isn’t the only one movie or story like that. It’s just something that came to my mind immediately.
​
But why am I talking about this?
​
It’s because BJJ is like that as well.
​
When you go through all sorts of positions and techniques for the first time, you are very likely to miss out on some critical details, even when your coach gives you every cue possible not to miss these details.
​
They might tell you that X and Y and Z are the things you should never miss… and you still forget about them.
​
And when you’re a blue belt or purple belt, you feel like you’ve seen them all.
​
This happens to many people (including myself). I don’t blame them. I don’t think it’s necessary to become perfect and learn every detail of each move from the beginning.
​
When you become a brown/black belt, you will probably have that Sixth Sense experience… and start realizing that you’ve missed so many important details.
​
It sounds like a cliche, but being a black belt is like finally arriving at the starting point of your BJJ journey.
​
It may take time to get to this starting line, but keep working… you will get there eventually if you don’t quit and if you keep training.
​
Make sure to pay attention to the details. But don’t stress too much, especially at the beginning of your BJJ journey.
​
The great thing is that you will keep having this Sixth Sense experience over and over.