New Addictions
It’s safe to say that I am now officially addicted to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu . It’s almost counter-intuitive: I attend class pretty much to get owned. Yes, I realize that I will continue to get owned for quite a long time, since I am the newest student at the gym. The thing is…I know I am getting something out of it. Every time I attend, I know I am getting better. My positioning is improving, I am noticing a lot more options, and remembering what NOT to do. I still need a lot of work before I can even consider myself a novice at BJJ, but it’s a good start so far.
My first BJJ class was June 9th…almost 20 days ago. I went in knowing a bit of what to expect, since I had watched a class a few days before, but still not REALLY knowing what it would be like. Seeing something done is completely different than doing it. Even now, when the instructors show a technique…it looks easy, and it looks like I will be able to do it without a problem…but when you are actually doing it, it’s very different. You see something done while you are standing up, and the instructors are in position, but the point of view is much different standing up, than it is when you have a 220 pound dude laying across your chest so that you can barely breathe…much less think.
On the bright side, EVERYONE that attends class is very helpful. The blue and purple belts attend the beginner classes as well, and they are more than happy to work with you until you get it right. As Cosmo (one of the blue belts) told me once: “We’re here for you…to help you out…to help you improve”. They already know most of these moves, but they show up anyway; both to improve their own technique, but also to teach it to the newbies. I don’t think I have ever felt more welcome as a newbie as I have at Gracie Phila.
After 20 days, I had expected the others’ patience toward me would have worn thin, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was not the case. They are just as happy to help you out now as they were in the beginning, even though I have at least some kind of fundamental grasp of the concept. They do not abandon you just because you know a bit…I am not thrown to the wolves.
As I said, it seems almost counter-intuitive why I attend. When the senior members are practicing the technique on me, it is pretty much the equivalent of potential power of gun to compared to a spoon. I’m not light, but I get thrown around like a ragdoll. The next day (hell, sometimes the same damned day), you walk around feeling like you got hit by a dump truck. What in hell would possess someone to keep coming back? I honestly have no idea…hence the term “addiction”. There’s something about it that makes you want to keep coming back. Perhaps it is my own stubbornness that I can’t be happy being poor at something once I start it, or maybe it’s something else that I haven’t yet figured out. Just last week, we did a takedown drill that involved me getting slammed into the ground repeatedly from 4 or 5 feet in the air. That shit STILL hurts, but yet I keep coming back.
I’m definitely addicted; I’m even buying mats for the house so I can practice anytime.
