Celebrate Everyone

Progress may be personal, but it is never solitary. You walk your own path, yet that path is carved alongside countless others, each person rising, struggling, evolving in their own rhythm. The temptation to compare is always there: why them, why not me? Why now, why not yet?

Life tends to reward those who lift others up — some people don’t clap for others, and that’s why it’ll never be their turn.

Jiu-Jitsu reveals who we are. It doesn’t just expose holes in your game — it exposes holes in your character. If you struggle to celebrate someone else’s success, even an opponent's, you’ll struggle even more when it’s time to step into your own. That kind of mindset weighs you down more than any pressure from side control ever could.

The world is not against you; your mindset is.

So, clap for your teammates when they get promoted. Clap when they hit something they’ve been working on for weeks. Clap when their dreams take off, not out of obligation, but out of understanding. Their rise doesn’t diminish your own; it opens the door a little wider. It proves what’s possible.

In this art, there is no finish line. The next belt is just the start of something deeper. The journey humbles all of us eventually. You will be tapped by someone smaller. You will have off days. You will wonder if you’re good enough. On those days, the applause you gave others — the genuine support you offered when it wasn’t your turn — will echo back to you.

This is a community, not a competition. One where every tap, every belt, every moment of growth deserves recognition. Because when you clap for others, you’re clapping for the art. You’re honoring the process. And in time, that energy returns. Your time will come — and when it does, wouldn’t it be powerful to know you never had to dim someone else’s light for your own to shine?

So be the one who claps — loudly, sincerely, consistently. Especially when it’s hardest. Especially when you’re still waiting for your turn.

Because your turn will come. And when it does, it will mean more, not just because of how hard you worked, but because of who you chose to be while you waited.