This one is for...

From time to time I will make reference to other members of our academy, I will identify them as "(belt color) + (first initial) who kicks my ass".

This post is for Blue belt K who kicks my ass. He said this during training one night when talking about when/how to use our Jiu Jitsu...always for defense but make sure you use enough of it to end the confrontation and ensure the person is not going to come at you again. When he said it, I loved it and came across this on Pinterest. (Insert laughter at being a dude on Pinterest...yeah, I'm a male nurse too, what of it?!)

Enjoy:

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...