There’s a line you hear a lot: you don’t have to try to win every round. It’s true. The point of training is to learn, not to beat your teammates.

But for some, it became the excuse. It became a reason not to try at all. When you stop trying, you stop failing. When you stop failing, you stay comfortable. And staying comfortable isn’t training.

Nobody wants to look foolish. I’ve been building my Instagram for a while now and I left my early posts up. The price of doing anything in public is some cringe. That’s true on the mat too. Except no one cares.

You don’t have to go hard every round. Some days you’re moving light. You’re nursing something. You just want to flow. That’s fine. But sometimes, really try. Put yourself in positions you’re not sure you can get out of.

That’s how you find out where you are.