With our Jits Family, I think there is less of this kind of stratification and wait & see treatment. My guess is partly because the vast majority or us have or still wear the uniform and have proven ourselves in other ways, partly cause we often know someone in the class or bring a friend, and partly cause I think we all know that being over here we share a unique bond of brotherhood / sisterhood that makes us family the moment we walk through the door. Ive seen people wanting to join in and have the wallflower shyness about it.... Samantha Kilburn is a total athlete, super fast learner, and yet took way too long to get on the mats the first few times. Ive seen the occasional Full Spaz.... Ya never go Full Spaz. Most realize this is a thinking mans game fairly early.... I remember my first days training Jiu-Jitsu under the kindness & guidance of Francisco J. Flores (Cisco Kid). I watched nearby patiently waiting till the end of the class. If I remember right, he came over to me after class & invited me to join. Of course both my left & right sides were retarded back then, and who really knows if Im much better now. But one thing I had always noticed from Cisco is how inviting & inclusive he was/is. As each newbie came into class, they were always greeted with excitement and friendship, almost as if they were the rockstar instead of Cisco. Cisco always spent time with newbies. Prob every class I saw him invite a newbie to roll with him, even when there were a dozen Jitsuka in class. After class I can remember Cisco talking with newbies about their life, job, and how Jits can be a close family. Inevitably, all the newbies get invited to our Family Dinner, where we used to talk & joke about getting rolled up too easy in someones technique, or a little (very friendly) smack talking about who should bring a pillow to the next training cause theyre going to sleep.... Ciscos easy nature & really inclusive personality is likely a large part of creating many Jiu-Jitsu addicts from our club. Part & parcel of our club is that we all have an expiration date over here. None or few of us stay in Afghanistan forever, and so there is a regular rotation of Jits family members going home. Home to a real life, home to blood family, and unfortunately home to competing priorities. Some will continue training and many will lose their sweet addiction for other important causes (family, job, etc). On a personal note, Its always bittersweet when Jits Family members rotate home. Im super happy for them to get home, stoked that they will get back to blood family. I feel so blessed to have met and had time to learn from each. But also we know its a long period before we will roll again, sweat & learn together again, and talk smack about dominating the next roll. Very often we wont see each other again.... Im grateful for each of you, whether we met 2 and a half years ago, getting snowed on rolling under a tree at Camp Eggers, or when we first meet tomorrow for your first time training Jiu-Jitsu. I hope that when I speak of Jiu-Jitsu, or when a newbie comes to class, I hope that from the first step on the mats you will feel what I so often feel.... The JOY of child-like play, the EXCITEMENT of learning & competing with your previous self, and the FULFILLMENT of being part of Family. You are all part of the World Jiu-Jitsu Family breakingmuscle/martial-arts/surviving-socially-the-beginner-phase-of-bjj
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 23:16:51 +0000
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