Returning to BJJ After a Long Break
Back on the mats after time away? A practical guide to returning to Brazilian jiu-jitsu with patience, clear communication, and a routine that fits your life.
Joe Hyams
Bio
Joe Hyams was an American journalist, author, and martial artist renowned for his Hollywood biographies and the influential book Zen in the Martial Arts.
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Hyams grew up in Brookline. He attended Harvard University before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1942. During World War II, he served in the South Pacific, earning a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Post-war, he became a correspondent for Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military newspaper. He later completed his bachelor's and master's degrees at New York University.
In 1951, Hyams began his career as a Hollywood columnist for the New York Herald Tribune. A chance encounter at the Beverly Hills Hotel led to an interview with Humphrey Bogart, which launched his career in entertainment journalism. Over the next decade, he interviewed numerous celebrities, including Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, and Spencer Tracy.
When an untoward event occurs in your life, react to it without haste or passion.
The angry man will defeat himself in battle as well as in life.
To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the highest skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the highest skill.
When you lose your temper, you lose yourself—on the mat as well as in life.
Always remember: in life as well as on the mat an unfocused or ‘loose’ mind wastes energy.
Only through practice and more practice, until you can do something without conscious effort.
If you are fearful, your mind will freeze, motion will be stopped, and you will be defeated. If your mind is fixed on victory or defeating your opponent, you will be unable to function automatically.