Goals for 2009

Goal Setting (1/2/2009)

I'm not one for waxing nostalgic. Not one for waxing anything really; cars, moustaches, surf boards, lower back hair....but now I'm getting off topic. This time of year its natural, because the media tells us, to review the year that has past and to look forward to what is coming in the next.

Far be it for me to shrug my duty to dwell on my shortcomings and to make plans to better myself so here we go! Please realize I am typing with tongue planted firmly in cheek. I do not make resolutions. Those should be left to marketing professionals who need to sell gym memberships and weight loss meal delivery plans. I set goals.

In my business life I set, as many do, SMART goals. That is, they are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. I go thru this whole process in evaluating and setting the goals with different intervals wherein I will check back and gauge my progress. With BJJ however, well its a bit more fluid of a thing. I cant make a goal that says "Master the Triangle choke by June 1, 2009" and have that be anywhere near valid. So I set a path of areas to focus on and improve. So, keep that in mind and take a look below. From time to time I will post reports on how I am progressing in the areas I have listed.

Here is a quick summary of 2008:

• Beginning weight 195, Ending weight 162 (33 lbs.)
• Met a lot of great folks
• Got a fancy stripe on my belt
• Had so many work outs that I never thought I'd survive
• Learned so much
• Taught some of what I learned
• Had a couple of mini strokes (TIA)
• Wanted to train even more
  

Here are my BJJ related goals for 2009:

• Become a better BJJ player (Easy one eh?)
• Train more consistently
• Attend minimum of 3 classes/week
  -Attend Open Mat more frequently (it rocks)
• Improve my guard game
  -Work on it every session
  -Drill techniques at open mat
  -Start some rolls from guard
• Make the Triangle my go-to submission
  -Train it weekly
  -Try it in rolling / record results
• Improve my conditioning
  -More BJJ classes
  -Fitness kickboxing classes
  -More cycling (Mountain / Road)
• Keep my head in the “right” place
  -Allow the flow back in my rolling
  -Don’t let mat anxiety freeze me up
  -RELAX!!!
• Get more photos during training
• Write more
  -MMA Blog
  -Cycling Training Blog

There they are, my goals. Those are the things I want to work on. Some are concrete and measurable like the number of training sessions but most are intentionally vague because our sport is organic. Learning in our sport is organic. Progress in our sport slows when you push too hard. Its the paradox of force. So I wont force it, I will put myself in the best position to learn and improve these things and it should happen. So wish me luck and please help to keep me accountable.