Scary and Good

Should Jiu-Jitsu be hard? I believe primarily it should be. At the end of the day you are learning a combat art, and should you ever have to use what you learn in a situation outside of the gym, it's better to feel like you've been there before. A fight is a stressful situation, and part of what hard training does is improve critical thinking in sequential order under duress. By training hard you are improving skills that are both physical and psychological, and benefit you in ways that have nothing to do with fighting or grappling. I know it sounds like I'm advocating for every match to be for gold at the Mundials, but that's not the case. Training hard is something that has levels. Training hard in the beginning is working on mental fortitude, dealing with chaos and claustrophobia. As you progress training hard becomes about imposing your will and not conceding to those near your skill level, or acquiring new skills against lower ranks. As an instructor and training partner I know that pushing yourself gets results. I've seen it with myself and people I've trained. It's scary for sure, but it's also good.
"There's no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone"