Team Work makes the Dream Work
Congratulations to all the competitors who helped to raise over $62K for the Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Network
On Saturday, October 22, Team Hart had 10 of its members compete in the charity tournament, Tap Cancer Out. The tournament raised over $62K for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, which was double their original goal!! Team Hart played an important role in this, with 10 people competing and raising money for this awesome event! The tournament ran smoothly because our competitors were ready to compete and we had ample coaches out to divide and conquer. Thank you to Coach Hart, Coach Chris R, Coach Johnny and Coach Chris for supporting our competitors on and off the mat. Also big thank you to everyone who finished competing but kept warm to help their teammates get ready for their matches! And a big thank you to Coach Heather for running the recovery workout Friday night! And of course a big Thank you to Coach Phil for holding down the fort in Conshohocken!
Another really important part of why Saturday was such a success was the number of teammates who came out to support. We had 10 competitors and over 10 team members who came out to cheer and watch their teammates compete. Having the support of your team behind you makes all the difference when it comes time to step out on the mat. So a special thank you to the those individuals whom made the journey to come out and support! As you guys can see the success of the competitors was in their jiu jitsu and in the power of the team!
Team Hart did very well overall! Our competitors earned 2 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal! Congratulations you all worked hard and earned those medals!
So, what if you didn’t win? What if your match or matches didn’t go the way you planned? If you compete often enough, this will happen to you. Your mindset is what makes all the difference when it comes to “loosing”.
There is a famous quote by Carlos Gracie that sums up how to look at your matches from the tournament. It goes like this, “There is no losing in jiu jitsu. You either win or you learn.” So, how does this work? If your match didn’t go well on Saturday, analyze it. Where did I make a mistake? What can I do differently so that I do not make that mistake again? And repeat these questions as often as needed until you figure out how to approach your next match. There is no place better to learn about your jiu jitsu than a tournament. And honestly, I’ve learned more about my jiu jitsu from loosing in tournaments that from winning in tournaments. If you need help analyzing your match, and it is taped, bring it into the gym. Coach Hart, Coach Phil, Coach Johnny, Coach Chris or myself can help you break it down and show you how to improve. We all want you all to continue to grow and learn from this experience.
All this being said, if you have the smallest desire to compete, do it. You will learn a lot about yourself and your jiu jitsu. You will win or you will learn. Both sound like great options for everyone :).
PS: Read The Mental Edge by Kenneth Baum, it will help you to turn a loss into a gain.
