Tuesday, July 31, 2012

No stripes, no problem.

Hi, I'm Terry. I'm a Jiu Jitsu addict. I've loved the martial arts for years, participated in a few but think I've found my niche with Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

Unfortunately, I'm also 31. And historically a video-game playing, couch potato, fat kid.

So why am I blogging? Well, this blog will hopefully track things like epiphanies, tips/tricks and injury log. Also, I think I'm funny so yeah...be prepared for puns, bad jokes and maybe the occasional pity chuckle. It's as much for me as it is for anyone else so I can look back in a few years and see what I've learned.

So, now, onto the subject of this post:

Gracie (Brazilian) Jiu Jitsu is rough.

It's rough on your body (I think I'll start a category for injuries after a few posts), rough on your ego and rough on your ability to stay fat. All good things in their individual ways. I've only been doing this for around 2 months and already had to take a two week break due to a (I hope) sprained MCL...so I've got about 6-7 weeks worth of training under my non-striped white belt.

So far so good...well, about half the time. It's amazing how you can come home from class some nights after learning a great sweep or guard pass, pull it off during rolling, etc and feel like "Yeah, yeah, I'm getting this."  Followed by a night where you appear to have 6 arms (all of which stay extended to be armbar'd), no legs (which means everyone and their granddad is passing your guard) and a neck with the words "choke me" tattoo'd on it. Last night was one of the latter. It's hard having nights like that but is a great reminder that I'm just a beginner and I have to leave my ego at the door of the academy. If I bring it in with me, it's sure to get hurt and honestly probably increases the chances of my physical body getting hurt as well. 

So what good things can I take from last night?


  • North-South choke is a sweet little choke that I didn't even know existed and requires no strength at all (good for me). 



  • I don't gas out too fast.... 



  • I'm tall and thin...I have potential to reach/do things that some others I train with might not have. 


See you all after next class...




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