Your progress is not always apparent to you

Tonight's training was a little grueling. I endured repeated hits to the head during kickboxing sparring, and fell victim to 3 armbars during grappling. I normally don't do that bad against my training partners, but tonight I almost felt like I was losing my touch as a fighter. But in the very last round of our rotation, I ended up with the newest member of the circuit. I find that new people in the circuit are usually new to grappling. But still, he was about 40 lbs heavier, he looked strong, and I did not know what his skill level was. I was cautious. After we started rolling, it became apparent that he was using his strength to get out of things, but didn't know exactly what to do. I submitted him two times and almost got a rear choke when the round ended. After each submission, I would tell him what exactly he did wrong and he sincerely thanked me. That round of domination for me, among the ump-teen rounds of frustration, reminded me how far I had actually progressed with my training. It wasn't apparent to me because the people with whom I was training were also progressing. I couldn't see just how skilled I had become until I was compared against someone who was starting out.

When you feel stale at what you do and don't think you've progressed, step out of your shoes for just a minute and appreciate what you have learned. You will be pleasantly reminded of your investment.