Can an older athlete, working a busy professional career and many other demands from marriage and family etc train to be competitive with the best Jiu jitsu athletes in the world who are much younger and more athletic and who train full time? This is a question i am often asked. Most Jiu Jitsu practitioners are enthusiastic amateurs who try to train as much as they can around their commitments to spouse, family and career while factoring their age and physical condition into the equation. It's natural to ask – how good can I really get under those circumstances in comparison to the best athletes in the world? My answer is this – how far you go will always be determined by your effort – but if you train hard and intelligently for long enough YOU WILL BE ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED HOW GOOD YOU CAN GET AS AN OLDER PART TIME ATHLETE FULL TIME PARENT, CAREER PROFESSIONAL. Here is a truly great example. This is my student Jason Lees, forty three years old, married and a highly ranked lawyer in a prestigious New York City law firm. He took on the outstanding BJJ world champion Muhamed Aly, one of the most athletic and physically gifted Jiu Jitsu players in the world at a Grapplers Quest US Nationals event in NJ a couple of years ago. After a brief spell of hand fighting and a single leg attack, Mr Lees performed a very nice ashi garami entry from standing and won in around forty seconds via heel hook from ashi garami – an incredible result for an older athlete who trains part time and juggles marriage and a very busy legal career as his primary interest. How many people can show up to work on Monday morning and tell their co-workers they beat a dominant professional world champion in their chosen sport? What an amazing example of a part time older athlete getting full time younger man results!! Don't sell yourself short on what can be achieved if your training program is a good one and there is passion in your heart backed by discipline in your mind and patience in your soul. I hope this incredible achievement by Mr Lees inspire you as much as it does me. I have so many outstanding older students who I am sure can inspire you all to greater success in your own journey
