I have been training Jiu-Jitsu for about a year and a half and 3 months ago I started to keep a journal and my game has gotten exponentially better.
Think back a week, 2 weeks, a month ago do you remember everything from that training session. Maybe while you were rolling with someone you discovered this certain way to bump got you out of a few tricky spaces, maybe a higher level belt gave you some tips for when you were stuck in a certain position.
After each class/ training session, I record:
- The time (This way I know the total mat time I have put in);
- 1 takeaway I had for myself (Here might be the reminder of bumping a certain way, something that wasn't taught but I learned);
- Techniques we worked on (high level detail serves as a quick reminder of the techniques so I can visualize);
- Training partners I had; and
- How the class/ sparring went (Energy levels, what things did I get caught in the most, list out the good rolls I had, etc.
I have been trying to review it at the end of each month just to keep anything important fresh in my mind and all those little finer points you need to remember in Jiu-Jitsu. Lastly it just serves as a reminder how far I have come as well, I have definitely improved and my confidence on the mats has improved as well..