I recently published a short digital download entitled ‘Trust the Process’, which offered 10 lessons to survive the monotony and arduous training that comes with jiu jitsu, an antidote to the attrition.

Section 9: Be Mindful, focuses on training with intent. It’s a reframe that pivots the mindset of chasing a far-off end goal and potential distraction to one with [AIM] engineered solely towards attitude, intent, and mindfulness.

The introduction, isolation, and integration only happen now. Maximise those minutes.

The message, instead, is to imagine yourself as the guardian of your belt, investing time in being the best you can be – you will never get that time back – a reference for others to follow, a custodian of your rank.

In Japanese culture they have a role known as shugosha. Shugo – means “guard” or “protect” and sha – means “person”, so shugosha is someone who guards something.

Perfect. Guarding your belt maybe?

Not quite, it’s missing something.

The All Blacks, mantra #14: “Plant trees you’ll never see”. The moment players express their commitment to “leave the jersey in a better place.”  In a nutshell, it’s about individual players adding to the legacy of this great team.

True leaders, by being stewards of the future, can outlast the competition. Character takes a higher place in the All Blacks than reputation because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

That’s better, but it’s not a simple word that carries forward a meaning about being present enough to represent your rank as an attendant to all it stands for.

“Kahu”.

As soon as I read about the Hawaiian word “Kahu“ I knew that was what I was trying to convey. “Kahu”: meaning protector, honoured attendant, guardian, steward, or beloved attendant.

Ask yourself: What are you doing to ensure all that comes with your belt is preserved, protected, and passed on at a level better than when you received it?

In essence, learning to become your rank “Kahu”.

When I began training in jiu jitsu, blue belts were gods. Those that held the rank were either early adopters in the UK, often in the right place at the right time or had achieved their rank in Brazil – I distinctly remember there not being many at my first gym, the Tokei in London Bridge, the head coach; Ronaldo Campos, was a brown belt at the time.

The blue belt at that point was a distant dream for me and those that had achieved it were gods among men. I had no comprehension of what the blue meant. In one class, as a white, I tapped an established blue belt and thought: “Well, that’s me, I’ll get my blue belt at the end of this class! It’s a given now”.

Idiot.

Prime example of an individual with no understanding of what the belt means, what it represents and stands for and someone intent on crashing their way through the system as fast as possible – ego written all over it.

All I knew was there very few of them in the UK and those that were blue belt were very good.

Fast forward five years and those gods had graduated on to purples and browns – this was now the rank to hold forth, another five years on and the UK now had black belts, the first three being Marc Walder, Rick Young and Jude Samuel – all promoted by Mestre Mauricio Gomes.

Set in stone. Protectors, honoured attendants, guardians, and custodians of UK BJJ and a legacy set-in history as a reference of how to be.

That’s them, so what about you?

You too can become that custodian, steering, captaining, marshalling the legacy of your rank.

What attitude are you bringing to the mats?

One that seeks to further your knowledge or one fixated on the colour of your belt.

Are you training with an intent on being the best version of yourself or comparing and conspiring?

What mindset are you adopting so people recognise you as an example?

What are you doing to ensure you are a custodian of your rank?

If you continue, the longest belt at which you’ll remain is the black belt, don’t wait until then to become the best you can be.

As a parent you wake up every day striving to be the best version of yourself, to protect and provide – you are the custodian of your children, the beloved attendant – you are planting trees, you’ll never see.

As you work your way through a meaningful career in any professional sphere, you have stature, reference, patronage, and aegis in your position.

Jiu Jitsu is the same.

I could name individuals that I believe are amazing custodians of their belt, I’m not referring to the ‘gatekeeper’ of the gym – those at which you throw visitors, the members that stand your academy tall as the benchmark of toughness that your team brings. I mean people that I look at and can honestly say, “they are a good example of how a blue, purple or brown should be”.

Empathetic, emotionally intelligent, able, full of skill, workhorses that are driven to be better. They understand team-ship whilst, at the same time, never stop developing themselves, their character and skill set – balance not bias – and if they must change teams, stay in touch and are authentic about doing so.

I could equally name those that aren’t very good in this respect: late for class, assume no responsibility when they forget kit, roll rough with junior grades, leave before it’s time to clean the mats and seem to jump from gym to gym, asking for reduced training fees as they go.

Community, tribe, belonging all aspects of the experience that is Jiu Jitsu, strange for an individual sport. So as part of the group, how are you insuring you are that reference?

Are you ready to leave your belt better than when you received it?

If you are genuinely concerned with being the best version of yourself, physically, emotionally, spiritually and you are all in on the process you will eventually attain all your goals, but you’ll also become an inspiration to others.

Don’t wait until you reach the black belt to become a “Kahu”.