Ask any black belt, brown belt or even purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu about injuries and you will get an ear full from bruising, rib issues, badly swollen ears, sprains, breaks, tears and swelling. You will hear about it all. Over time injuries are a fact of any contact sport. It's truly a matter of when and how bad your injuries are, not if. For some, once an injury is sustained their travels in BJJ come to an end, but the vast majority of practitioners who start in any martial art often fall by the way side well before earning even a black belt in their chosen art, so this is not extraordinary.
I have found in my own experience in BJJ which is fast approaching a decade many things in my body have changed, BJJ has changed me mentally and physically. Now more than ever I strongly believe Jiu Jitsu provides the ultimate litmus test of you, your heart, your mind and your athletic ability. It's as complete a physical and mental test as I have found in a very active athletic life.
BJJ has taught me patience most of all. They say, "anything worth while is not easy" this is most true in the case of BJJ. True you can master a few moves early on and impress your friends and family, perhaps even win some medals in tournaments. But to truly master all of what Jiu Jitsu is you must take great care and time to develop a feel and knowledge inside the art that only you and others like you can understand. You could call this the "feel" of the art.
I was taught early in my martial arts career a student learns by his Master's hand. This is very true within Jiu Jitsu. But the feel for the art must be learned through tireless repetition and practice. It cannot be taught directly by lesson. It is consumed teaspoon upon teaspoon of learning and drilling daily. To get the feel for Jiu Jitsu one must sped the time studying and practicing Jiu Jitsu.
I guess this blog post is most about my love of jiu jitsu more than anything else. I will end this post with this. Although BJJ is an individual sport I have witnessed the greatest connections with team mates i have ever felt in my life. My team mates are family, brothers and sisters. We have spent years working, bleeding, screaming, tapping, sweating, achieving and building each other up. I believe you find out the most about a person by rolling Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with them. You learn their focus, their patience, their power, their diversity and their sneeky hidden secrets (you know like the half butterfly sweep that guy Nate always catches you with).
Any how. I now sit firmly in my Brown Belt (1st degree) as of today. It's a new year, and time to hit the mats once again. Enjoy your travels. I hope to post many more thoughts here as time goes on. You can also connect to me on Twitter @ezpropertyguy and @stupidgameco.
Osss!
KK
