It’s a good exercise to think about your future self every so often. Is the way you’re training going to be appreciated by your future self?
What about some of your other decisions?
Are you treating your training partners like your competition, or like your friends?
The techniques you’re learning right now, will they serve you in twenty years?1
I would take a look at stuff like high impact, sacrificial moves like some throws and takedowns. I would think carefully about strategies like “calm-calm-calm-explode.”
What about techniques that require extreme flexibility?
Or extreme strength?
Physical attributes diminish over time. I was told this when I was was doing silly bodybuilding workouts as a 20-something. An older guy gave me good advice but I wasn’t ready to hear it. My arrogance cost me. That arrogance came from having “success” despite myself, not because of myself.
We live in the now, but the future is inevitable. Train for fun, train for longevity.
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Maybe the question is whether you even want to be training in twenty years. If not, I would understand, because I know that not every school is run in a way to delight a student in such a way that they’d want to continue forever. That’s a shame. Because so many benefits are realized later. The obvious ones are there from the very beginning. That’s why people are so high on jiu-jitsu during their first year or two. But “suffering” through years 3-6 can be hard, even at a school where safety, fun, and progressive intensity are prioritized. ↩︎