Why it matters
Writing is how training turns into learning. There are two kinds, and they do different jobs, so keep them apart.
The training log is short and technical. Two to five minutes after every session: what you were working on, what worked, where it broke, what to ask, what to fix. It's how one session feeds the next. The weekly reflection is slower and personal: fear, losing, blame, identity, goals, and whatever you read that week. It's self-guided. You get open questions and a follow-up that leads you further down. The reflection you do here is what you'll have ready when you're exhausted, losing, or hearing that the only thing that matters is winning (see Mindset).
The standard
Non-negotiable
- A training log after every session. Two to five minutes, the same five lines, on-the-mat only.
- A short log entry after every competition, within two days.
- One weekly reflection. About 20 to 30 minutes, once a week, twice at most. Mindset, not moves.
- Keep them separate. Technique goes in the log. Fear, losing and goals go in the reflection.
- Paper at night. No phone in the last hour before bed.
- It's yours. I won't read it.
This is one standard for everyone. Going Pro doesn't mean more writing: more than once or twice a week eats into school, recovery and sleep. The only Pro difference is support: a sports psychologist (see Mindset) may set their own exercises. I might ask whether you're writing. I won't be checking or following up beyond that, so this one is on you.
How to do it
Log every session in two to five minutes
Straight after training, in the car or on the bus, while it's fresh. Same five lines every time, so it takes minutes and you never have to think about what to write. Keep it on the mat: positions, grips, decisions, questions.
Training log
After every session
The same five lines work for footage. When you review a recorded round (see Technical Empowerment), the review goes straight into your log. Footage is for your own review: I don't watch recordings, so turn what you see into one question for class.
Not this
"Today I went to Jiu-Jitsu. I did the single leg. It didn't work. Did some rounds. Pretty tired."
That's a diary. Nothing was learned, nothing will change.
This
Focus: single leg, six attempts. Worked: finished once, when I got my head inside first. Broke: every miss I shot from too far away, because I'm worried about the guillotine. Question: how do I defend the guillotine from the single? Fix: head inside before I shoot.
If the same worry keeps showing up in your log, that's a good topic for your weekly reflection.
Tip: keep a small notebook in your mat bag, or use your phone's notes straight after training. At night, write on paper, because the phone stays out of your last hour. Want it on paper for the week? Print the training log sheet.
Add a short entry after every competition
Win or lose, within two days, while you still remember. It's a log entry, not an essay: the same idea as a session, one block of the season instead of one class.
Competition entry
Within two days of every comp
How you felt about the result belongs in your weekly reflection. The debrief questions on our mindset site are a good place to start (see Competition Day).
Write one weekly reflection
Once a week, twice at most, about 20 to 30 minutes. Pick a quiet time you can protect, like Sunday afternoon. Your daily reading (see Mindset) is the input. This is where you work through it. Choose one of two ways in:
- One prompt. Pick one from the prompts below, write 200 words, then answer the go-deeper question.
- What you read or watched. Write in response to an idea from this week's reading, or to the video exercise.
- PickPick a prompt or an idea. Start with whichever one makes you a bit uncomfortable.
- WriteWrite 200 words. Paper or a notes app. Don't edit, don't make it pretty. Just answer honestly.
- DeeperAnswer the go-deeper question. Another 100 to 200 words. This is the part that matters.
- ActOne action. One sentence: what will you do differently this week because of this?
- KeepKeep it. Re-read your reflections once a month and see what's changed.
Weekly reflection
Week of ____________
200 words
Go deeper
Copy it into a notebook, or print the weekly reflection sheet.
Pick from the prompts
Sixteen prompts across the things that decide how far you go. Do them in any order, one a week. Come back to the same one in a couple of months and see if your answer has changed.
01 · Fear
What are you actually afraid of when you walk out for a big match?
Write 200 wordsBe specific. Not "losing". What exactly about losing?
Go deeperIf that thing happened, what would it really cost you? And who decided it would cost that much?
02 · Losing
Describe your last loss as if you were the referee watching it.
Write 200 wordsOnly what happened. No excuses, no feelings yet.
Go deeperWhat did that loss teach you that a win never could have? What will you try differently because of it?
03 · Blame
Think of the last time you blamed something outside you: a ref, a partner, the coach, the School. Make the case for it.
Write 200 wordsArgue it like a lawyer. Give it your best shot.
Go deeperNow make the case against yourself. Which version is more useful to you, and why did you reach for the other one first?
04 · Effort
When did you last give a session your absolute best, start to finish?
Write 200 wordsWhat did it feel like? What was different that day?
Go deeperWhat stops you doing that every session? Be honest. Is it energy, fear, friends, or not caring that day?
05 · Identity
Who are you if you never win another medal?
Write 200 wordsDescribe that person. What do they do, what do they care about?
Go deeperWhich parts of that person would you still be proud of? Why do those parts feel less important than a medal right now?
06 · Goals
What's your big goal, and why do you actually want it?
Write 200 wordsKeep asking "why?" until you hit the real reason.
Go deeperIf nobody ever found out you achieved it, would you still want it? What does your answer tell you?
07 · Training partners
Who's the partner you avoid in rounds? Why?
Write 200 wordsWhat happens when you roll with them? What do you feel?
Go deeperWhat would you learn if you picked them first, every session, for a month? What's stopping you?
08 · The coach
Write about a piece of coaching you disagreed with.
Write 200 wordsExplain why you think it was wrong.
Go deeperNow write the strongest argument for the coach's side. What might they be seeing that you can't see yet? Did you try it properly before deciding?
09 · The phone
Check your screen time for yesterday. Write the number down. How do you feel about it?
Write 200 wordsWhat did all that time actually give you?
Go deeperThink of the last time you picked up your phone without a reason. What feeling were you trying to avoid right before you did?
10 · Fatigue
Write down the worst thought you had this week when you were exhausted.
Write 200 wordsWrite it exactly how it sounded in your head, and what you nearly did about it.
Go deeperRead it the next morning, after a good sleep. Is it true? What was actually going on?
11 · Comparison
Who do you compare yourself to? What does it do to you?
Write 200 wordsWhen does it push you, and when does it crush you?
Go deeperComparison is the thief of joy. If that person didn't exist, what would you be working on right now?
12 · Two voices
Write about a recent hard moment twice: once in your fixed voice, once in your growth voice.
Write 200 wordsFixed: "I keep losing, I'm just not good at this." Growth: "It's hard, but I'm learning so much." Use your own words.
Go deeperWhich voice has been running your training lately? What would change if the other one took over?
13 · Discipline
What did you promise yourself this week and not do?
Write 200 wordsNo excuses list. What actually happened, hour by hour?
Go deeperWhat will you do differently tomorrow, specifically? What time, where, and what will you say to yourself when you don't feel like it?
14 · The outcome
Imagine you did everything right before a comp and still lost in the first round. How would you want to feel?
Write 200 wordsWalk through the day, from waking up to the drive home.
Go deeperWhat would have to be true for that to still be a good day? How much of that is in your control?
15 · Trying new things
When did you last avoid trying something new because you might look bad?
Write 200 wordsWhat was it, who was watching, and what did you do instead?
Go deeperTrying is learning. What would you have learned if you'd tried it? What's it cost you not to?
16 · The team
Who helped your training this month that you haven't thanked?
Write 200 wordsWhat did they actually do for you?
Go deeperWhat have you given back to the team this month? We're not just here for us. Who could you help next week?
Or write about what you read or watched
Some weeks, write in response to your reading instead of a prompt. Take one idea from this week's book, write 200 words on where you saw it in your training or your life, then go deeper: where do you disagree with it, and what would change if you lived by it? Or do the video exercise, one I used to do with my athletes.
Do this
Watch, then write
- Watch Carol Dweck's talk The power of believing that you can improve (about 10 minutes), or any growth versus fixed mindset video your coach sends you.
- Write 200 words answering three questions:
- Which mindset do you have?
- Which one do you think is most correct?
- Why?
- Go deeper: find one moment from training this week that proves your answer, and one that disproves it.
- Eight weeks later: watch it again and answer again. Has anything changed?
Common mistakes
- Mixing the two. Moves in the reflection, feelings in the log. Keep the log on the mat, and take the bigger questions to your weekly reflection.
- Writing a diary of moves. "Did the single leg, didn't work" isn't a log. Where did it break, and why?
- Letting the log grow. Five lines, five minutes at most. Longer than that and it stops happening.
- Reflecting every day. Once a week, twice at most. More eats into school, recovery and sleep.
- Stopping at the first answer. The go-deeper question is where the real stuff is.
- Editing as you go. Don't make it pretty. Make it honest.
- Writing for an audience. Nobody else reads it. Say what's actually true.
- No fix at the end. Every log ends with one thing to fix next session. Every reflection ends with one action.
- Waiting three days to log. Write it in the car after training while it's fresh.
- Journalling on your phone at night. Paper, so the phone stays out of your last hour.
Checklist
Do this