Weary of what such a class would entail, specifically the physical demands, I tried blowing him off for several months with numerous excuses.
I told him I needed to get in shape for it first. I told him his directions were shoddy. I told him I had too many injuries. I told him my girlfriend was afraid for my life.
He patiently deflected each of my whiny and pathetic excuses and kept reassuring me that the point of this martial art has less to do with physical pain and more to do with self defense.
I’ll never forget the time I ventured over to the high school gym in seventh grade curious to join the wrestling team. When I walked in, I was puzzled because all along the floor were mats. I needed to ask someone if I was in the right place.
I foolishly expected to find a ring, turnbuckles and guys in masked costumes. No, I didn’t think it was Halloween at the school, but rather, something I had been watching on television - pro wrestling. Needless to say, I didn’t last on the wrestling team for very long.
Earlier this year, I took a boxing class and burned 1,000 calories in an hour. I don’t have proof, but I’m willing to bet that I was in the ballpark Tuesday night at the jiu-jitsu school.
Things started off easy enough with some basic warmups. I was thinking it wasn’t bad, but then it got harder and harder.
Soon we were practicing techniques and my biggest fear was no longer that I was going to hurt myself, but rather that I was holding my partner back with my unorthodox style and complete lack of grace.
Each partner I had was very patient and encouraged me to keep working hard because eventually I would get it. I’m not sure I ever quite mastered the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but I did learn a lot about myself and that so much of the physical lies in the mental.
If you’re interested in learning more, visit www.spacitybjj.com or call 248-2080.
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