Plateau at 13 months — what helped me push through

Around the 13-month mark in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I hit a wall. My progress with armbar wasn't improving and I felt like I was spinning wheels. It's apparently common but that didn't make it less frustrating.

What helped: going back to fundamentals with my coach, spending more time drilling open mat slowly rather than at full speed, and watching Bernardo Faria breakdowns to understand what I was missing. first competition experience eventually returned once I let go of trying to advance too fast. ego adjustment in early rolling sessions was actually the underlying cause of the plateau — once I addressed it, things moved again. If you hit that wall, stick with it. It passes.