Shaping Your Practice

Before you step onto the mat, you shape your practice. You choose the problem you’ll solve. Maybe it’s passing a stubborn guard, sharpening a transition, or understanding why you keep getting stuck in the same position. You set the scope of what you will be working on today.

But you also set the appetite, meaning, how much time and energy you'll commit.

Not everything deserves an eternity. Some things are best approached with a clear boundary—enough for today—a deep enough dive to gain insight, yet contained enough to prevent you from drowning in details.

Shaping your training in this way creates a productive freedom. You know the direction, but you’re not rigidly choreographed. There’s room for discovery, for artistry. At the same time, you define the hazards ahead of time. If you know a certain position tends to turn into endless scrambles or confusion, you call it out early. You choose to avoid the rabbit holes that drain your attention and stall your evolution. This keeps your time on the mat purposeful rather than reactive.

And then—after a cycle of focused work—comes something just as important: reflection.

This may be a couple of weeks where you don’t chase big improvements; rather, you let things settle. You clean up details that surfaced in the past, revisiting techniques that need refinement, or follow curiosities without pressure. These periods prevent your practice from calcifying. They allow your instincts to reorganize, and your understanding to mature.

Reflection is where many breakthroughs quietly take root.

When you return to structure, the loop begins again—shaped intention followed by open assimilation. This rhythm protects you from burnout, keeps your learning sharp, and ensures that each new cycle builds on a foundation that’s both technical and deeply felt.

It isn’t only about what you train, but how you pace your evolution.

Define the shape of your pursuit. Respect the cycles of work and rest. Let structure guide you, and let reflection refine you.