Sometimes

In Jujitsu, I feel like a one armed man in a ass kicking contest.

Jujitsu- Worship or Gift?

(This article may or may not get me in trouble, but I am willing to take the risk.)

Sometime ago I saw a T-shirt design that said “I Worship Jiu-jitsu”; at first I laughed at the idea of someone actually worshiping the very art. But as I allowed myself the time to think about this statement, I wondered if there might be some truth behind this statement, rather than it being a joke. Yet as I’ve been around looked around the grappling community, there’re people that are flat out obsessed with the art. It’s hard to not think about it, even as I was going for a ride I found myself dreaming about doing a butterfly sweep on someone than choking them to win a gold medal. Jiu-Jitsu is a great sport, and it has great health benefits for me. If you don’t get a lot of physical contact with people, Jiu-Jitsu is a great way to have that area filled in your life, you even can feel better about yourself mentally and emotionally after a hard work out on the mats, but is this very are meant to be “Worshiped”, as in the form of a deity? In my estimation, I don’t think so. Yet I think it is a gift passed down from the Japanese, Brazilians and onto today’s No-Gi experts. For me, as one with Cerebral Palsy, the ability for me to put down my canes every week, crawl unto the mats and perfect the art of choking someone is a gift. The ability to train my body to do different things involved with grappling is a gift, not something to be idolized. I can see people getting pissed off right now, because you might feel like I’m trying to take something from you, but relax and don’t wet your pants. I only want people in the grappling community to take a few steps back and maybe take a breather for a second. Have you become so obsessed with this beautiful art that you very quickly and even blindly start taking it for granted? I think of other physically challenged people who are wheel chair bound almost 24/7, and how they must love to be able to get out from their confines and do just basics of what we do everyday on the mats. Thinking in this way, it makes one slow their roll pretty quickly. It humbles me to know that I have such a low form of C.P. It humbles me that I get show up every week and grapple, because I could not be able too, I could have been born with something far worse. I am thankful for the gift that I have each and every week. Is it wrong to want to progress at this craft and have the honor of being deemed a champion? By no means, but we all need to come back down to earth and be thankful for our bodies and being able to train every day. Let us show and treat each other with respect, dignity and honor. And may are eyes be opened to this gift, and may we see it as such.

-Brandon/The CP Grappler         

PIcs from Eddie Bravo Seminar

Quick thoughts

Showing up to class is 90% percent of the battle!

Work on stretching- butterfly stretch is improving, knees almost touch ground.

Stamina-rockin

Eddie Bravo Seminar Saturday.

Eyeing july competition

Thoughts on Attitude and Respect.

Sorry for the lack of updates,

I've been finishing up some things for a second book I have coming out in the next few months or so. Beyond that, working on two other books as well. Training on the other hand is going great, i've been able to do up the pace to two days a week on the mat. I feel like I'm really improving, give or take some areas of improvement, which we all have.

I am thankful for the 134 views this blog has got of the months its been going, hope it continues to grow. That said, I'd like to talk about the areas of humility and attitude. I've noticed quite the change in myself over the past few months, in that the frustration that had been a thorn in my side isn't there so much anymore. Not to say that it would never arise ever again, but that I've been able to smile a lot more, and have fun.

A few weeks ago I was "rolling" with my coach, and in a matter of seconds he got me in a nasty choke.
I had two options: 1) I could have gotten angry, which I felt come on.. Or 2) I could have composed myself and learned from my mistake and add a new tool to the bag of tricks.. I chose the second option of course. I've found that by keeping myself grounded in humility, thinks become a lot easier.

Even you walk around in life thinking you know everything, your gonna get knocked on your ass. Trust me, I know from experience. I always stay humbled knowing that those who have gone before me in the grappling realm haven't had the luxury that most Martial Arts gyms have these days. The Gracie family, competed in grappling matches of tile flooring, british catch wrestlers would also do the same, if not have very thin, and I mean thin layers of mating, which was even much at all.

Now in todays Dojo's the mats are much thicker and forgiving, we can even go as far as saying that we have prevented health care against skin infections that you can get off wrestling mats and the like. Back in the early Catch wrestling days, people actual died due to basic skin infections, quite sad if you ask me.

Now, we have things like "Defense wipes and Defense Soap" which are awesome products. Anyway, as I was saying, I don't know all there is to know about grappling, and as I've mentioned before, I've lost several steps along the way, but I'm slowly getting them back. And for me, it's simply stepping out on the mat each and every week, regardless of the pounding that I take, I just keep coming back and coming back, because it's worth it to me.... So many people wanna argue over where things came from and what system is better.. But why can't we just shut up and grapple, because we enjoy it? And learn to encourage one another?

I miss the good old days, a lot actually.    

Headed to class!

But... I wanted to show you guys another fellow CP Grappler.:

Never to Old

Man,

what a great night of practice. I really feel like everything just clicked for me tonight. Real quick though I'd like to tell you about an inspiration of mine. He goes by the name: Guru Dan Inosanto, he was one of Bruce Lee's original students. The reason he inspires me is because even though he is 70's he is still thriving and growing as a martial artist.

He I think in his early 60's got his black belt in Jujitsu, so that for me is an kick in the rear to keep going towards the goal, no matter how old I get, because your never to old.