Back a few months ago, I began doing Brazilian Jiujitsu again. A little bit of background... martial arts have been a passion and obsession of mine for a very long time. The development of this passion was a very long and convoluted route, starting from when I was about nine years old. My first exposure to martial arts was when I was ten, and learning Judo in Farnborough, in England, for a few months (it may only have been a few lessons, but I do recall the experience quite vividly).
My next exposure was an eclectic style, Combined Martial Arts Academy, developed by Mark Carey in the Southern Highlands, in 1992. I trained with him until 1996. I was also doing Aikido at UNSW for a while, in 1993-1994. I did a little bit of Aikido in Japan in 2002, but was frustrated because their style was the complete opposite to what I had been taught so far, and I would have had to unlearn many hard-earned habits to develop in their style. In 2003, I did some Aikido training in Moscow, but the instructor did not speak English, and I did not speak Russian, so I was hampered from really getting into that.
In 2004, I did some Brazilian Jiujitsu in Tokyo for a couple of months, before moving house to Ikebukuro and being too far to travel conveniently to classes. In 2007, I did some Karate in Springfield, but the classes mainly catered to children.
That leads to 2009, and looking for a martial art to take up. I tried a few styles in the area, and decide that BJJ was what I was really after. It is hands-on, it is challenging, it is a workout, it is applicable in self defence. The style is a lot less formal than I am used to, which is taking some adjustment. Each time I start over with a martial art, I am effectively starting from scratch. My fitness level, my knowledge, my focus, my discipline, all need to be built all over again. I carry some lessons onwards, but there is a great deal of rework required, because I've let things fall into disrepair over the years, and also because the teachers have such vastly different approaches to their art.
So I have launched myself into this BJJ style, and am enjoying it immensely. I have been attending lessons, twice a week, since February, except when sickness, work or injury prevented me. I come home after each lesson sporting new bruises, earned in the sparring sessions. They don't hurt, and I have definitely put on a lot of upper body strength since starting. I do need to work more on my flexibility, strength and technique, along with various other aspects that are yet lacking, but that will always be the case.
This week I did my first BJJ grading. I haven't attended a martial arts grading since reaching red belt in CMAA, back in 1996. The grading itself was straightforward, but it was followed by a gruelling marathon of back-to-back sparring sessions. Just one of those is exhausting... to do five of them with no rest pushed me to the limits of my endurance. I was unable to move my arms afterwards for a good ten minutes, I just had to sit and rest and wait to regain strength.
So now I have my first blue stripe. It's the first step on the path...
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