Category: Life
-
The Art of Fear and Embracing Vulnerability in Jiu Jitsu
Fear and jiu jitsu go hand in hand. Fear of signing up for a martial art. Fear of looking weird in a Gi. Fear of looking stupid while you’re training. Fear of injury to yourself or others. What exactly are YOU afraid of? Signing Up When I first signed up for jiujitsu, I was quite…
-
Getting Your Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
I had a big dumb smile on my face on the ride home after practice. Then I thought to myself “wait a minute, now you have to compete in the blue belt division oh sh*t.” There was something in the air that night at the JiuJitsu gym. I noticed I was successfully sweeping more. I…
-
8 Match BJJ Competition Extravaganza AND Why Getting Your Ass Kicked is a Great Way to Test Yourself
Ever since I competed in that eight match extravaganza (it was actually seven, but I’ll get into that later), I’ve been wanting to write about it but for some reason, I haven’t had the urge to write it. Wanting to write about it and not being able to find the words, sucks. Since re-purposing this…
-
Walking the Dogs, Nostalgia, and Risking Permanent Injuries for Glory
It’s around noon eastern standard time here in southern Ontario Canada. It’s 2°C, cloudy, with a chance of drizzle. Currently, I’m out walking our two dogs and using speech-to-text and talking into the Notes app on my iPhone. And in less than 24 hours I will be fighting a bunch of 20 something year olds…
-
Getting My Fourth Stripe on My White Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
You’ve come a long way since walking into the gym and signing up for a jujitsu membership. Just walking through the doors and deciding that this is something you want to dedicate your time to, is a feat unto itself. A reminder that most people don’t do jujitsu, most people who do join end up,…
-
Signed up for another Jiu Jitsu tournament for January 2023
I signed up for a No Gi AND Gi competition. Round Robin. I’ve never done a No Gi Comp but why the heck not. This will be my third competition ever. I’m currently 0-2 in competing in bjj. I have a good feeling about this next one. I have to make sure I don’t psych…
-
Should White Belts Give Advice?
People have opinions about everything. Jiu jitsu is no exception. At least the people on BJJ Twitter are far more reasonable and nicer than MMA Twitter. Go see for yourself. You would think people with no fighting experience wouldn’t get so upset about the intricacies of a pay per view bought. I try and stay…
-
Losing a Match in a Jiu Jitsu Competition
I’m 0-2 in jiu jitsu competition. Remember when I said not to get discouraged in jujitsu? I should’ve taken my own advice. “Our Jiu-jitsu game is so personal to us that we take losing personal. We need to approach it more from a scientific approach. You don’t suck, you just haven’t figured out the answer…
-
Struggle, Pain, and Jiu Jitsu OR Why You Might Be Missing Something in Your Life
There’s something fun about fighting everyday. It makes me feel alive. Everyone should learn how to fight. Preferably in a controlled, safe, and friendly environment (although not everyone can). To learn a martial art. If you have a friend who does jiu jitsu, they probably wouldn’t shut up about it when they first started. Telling…
-
Your BJJ Journey and Nested Stories
Your jiu jitsu rolling tells the story about your bjj journey so far. What you’ve learned, what you’ve forgotten, what you do instinctively, how you control your mind and body, how you breathe, and how you react under pressure of simulated fighting. Your jiu jitsu journey is a collection of nested stories about what you’ve…
Down Culture 