Okay, so those of you who have been following me for a little bit here (and heckling me with  questions – in a good way!), know that recently I interviewed multi-time Black Belt World Champ Caio Terra a month or so ago.

YESTERDAY – I got to interview the most decorated American BJJ Athlete of ALL TIME:

 Rafael Lovato Jr!

– Black Belt World Champion

– Black Belt Pan Am Champion

– ADCC Medalist

– Much more…

Of the 13 TOTAL medals won in the Black Belt worlds my Americans, Rafael has 6 of them…

Pretty flipping NUTS if you ask me.

Anywho, what I wanted to share today was Rafeal’s insights on making the most of your training – and a philosophy of his that I’m going to call the “Everything is Gold” Philosophy.

Trinidad James and Lovato Only Have One Thing in Common:

ALL GOLD EVERYTHING

Yesterday he told me what when he came up in the BJJ world, he and his father had to fly and drive all over the USA and the world in order to learn from Black Belts.

He lives in Oklahoma, where BJJ is certainly not all that prevalent, so it was a 100% necessity to fly, drive, or do whatever was necessary to learn from the best.

To quote Rafael from yesterday:

 “I think that some people who have a World Class teacher actually take it for granted, and still just go through the motions in training… But for me, when I would spend so much time and money on plane tickets, hotels, and tournaments … sometimes I’d only learn maybe 4 moves in a trip… but to me EVERYTHING was GOLD.

I made the most of every lesson, and was a student of the game in terms of drilling, analyzing, studying, and testing everything I learned so that I’d never loose it – and that’s one of the reasons I have a very dynamic game today.”

The GOLD on his trophies is a testament to this GOLDEN learning strategy.

I haven’t done the math – but he might actually have more gold on his neck than Trinidad James – and he’s probably the only non-hip-hip star who’s able to claim that accomplishment.

It begs the question: How serious are we when it comes to REALLY learning? 

Are there techniques and strategies that you have a BURNING desire to ingrain into your game?

What is GOLD to you?

My assumption is that most of us can find lots more of it if we keep looking – and ALL of us would benefit from a pinch more genuine enthusiasm and eagerness to make sure that the techniques we care about are totally mastered, and that each practice matters.

What can you do in training to make TODAY matter?

(Seriously, answer this in your head right now)

Looking forward to an awesome week.

-Dan Faggella

PS: More awesome interview insights from Lovato coming soon – so if you like this interview insight drop a comment below, and don’t forget to add this page to your RSS feed by clicking the orange icon at the top right of the page!

The post What Rafael Lovato Jr and Trinidad James Have in Common appeared first on Science Of Skill.