Getting Tough

In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing.  One definition of material toughness is the amount of energy per volume that a material can absorb before rupturing. It is also defined as the resistance to fracture of a material when stressed.  

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is hard.  It requires both mental and physical toughness of the sort most people in Western society have never had to deal with.  It requires the student to absorb the physical energy of his or her training partner and understand how much energy he or she can absorb before tapping out.  Knowing and learning your limits is a critical component of BJJ.  However, unlike techniques we learn on the mat, mental and physical toughness is something each student must learn for himself or herself -- it cannot be taught.  Your instructors can give you the tools to understand a technique and when it is dangerous, and they can encourage you to continue to train and grow, but the student is ultimately in charge of his or her level of toughness. 

For most beginners, the most important part of toughness is simply believing you are tough.  Coming on to the mat and believing that you can handle the physical pressure and mental pressure of being put in an uncomfortable position or submission.  However, some beginners can go too far in their belief about their toughness and end up injured.  Their ego, pride, and inexperience get in the way and they refuse to tap despite their body and mind telling them their ability to absorb energy without fracturing has been met.  

Mental and physical toughness go hand in hand.  As the beginner becomes an intermediate student, she learns that mental toughness is being able to handle defeat and tap early, and often, to ensure she can continue to train without injury.  She learns that physical toughness means accepting an offer to roll from a higher bent even when she is exhausted, because she knows her technique will be tested and pushed and she is in no physical danger.     

If a student does not learn mental toughness (by overcoming ego and anxiety) she will never learn true physical toughness (pushing herself to exceed the limits of what has been done before).