Category: BJJ

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Be Dangerous, Then Good

This kid got a little more dangerous today.

After years of training in the youth program at Elevated Studios, he joined the adult class and reignited his passion for the sport and art of jiu-jitsu.

Jesus told his disciples to carry swords. He toppled the money changers’ tables and whipped them. His ideas continue to upend the structures of oppression. He remains dangerous to this day.

I’ve watched a lot of good men fall in line with the oppressors. Good isn’t enough. Good avoids conflict in spite of cost. Good lets evil run free.

Good fails when it is not dangerous.

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A Good Day For Bad Jiu-Jitsu

When I first met my girlfriend in person, I doubted it would become romantic. She was seeing someone, lived an hour away, and had been clear about not wanting to be pursued.

It created a safe space, there weren’t games of seduction.

We talked about what we wanted in all our relationships, not just the romantic ones. I told her I wanted contenders, men and women who would push me as hard as they loved me.

Kristen has become one of the main contenders in my life. She loves me deeply and pushes me to be more than I am. She didn’t let me make excuses to skip jiu-jitsu training tonight. She called me out on my bullshit.

I got myself to Elevated Studios and got beat up.

I don’t think I could be more grateful for my lack of conditioning and flailing technique tonight. I pushed my self to dizziness and got off the mat before I got hurt.

We don’t voluntarily go to our uncomfortable limits often enough. Voluntary stress limits the power that involuntary stressors can have over us.

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365 Devotionals: Grace-filled Jiu-Jitsu

“‘I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”
-Luke 15:19-20

That yellow belt in white hasn’t trained in more than a year. It has disappointed me for all the usual dad reasons. Jiu-jitsu and Elevated Studios have been good to us for a long time. Isaac has devoted years to his training and he’s amazingly capable.

It has to be up to him. I don’t force him onto the mat and I try hard to shift my disappointment into grace.

Five minutes before his older brother and I left for class, he announced that he was training today. I tried not to be too excited, he’s a lovely and compassionate child, but he’s not doing this for me. I don’t know why he’s doing it. That’s the challenge fathers have that God does not: He knows why we falter and quit and then He extends grace to welcome us back.

I pray for no, “I knew you would love it again,” or “Wasn’t that great to train again?” out of my mouth. I pray to continue to hold space for Isaac to choose whether or not he trains. I pray to share the grace extended to me by God.

Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

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Experimenting with Failure

This past weekend was an unusually humbling one.

I competed in my first jiu-jitsu tournament and all my opponents were ten years younger than me. That didn’t daunt me as I regularly compete with even younger players in soccer.

I forgot that I have decades of experience in soccer and less than a year in jiu-jitsu. I had no wins, but learned through each match. I also wanted to quit more times than I can count. I’m no good at quitting and grateful that I stayed through to the later matches.

It was a long day with a lot of lessons I have yet to process.

Second place in a two-man division. Showing up matters.

I also planned to experience my first psychedelic trip with the use of mushrooms containing psilocybin. That was a most unexpected failure. I watched my girlfriend get high as I had no discernible change in my perception. I increased my dosage, more than doubling it in the next few hours. Nothing. There’s a part of me that takes a strange pride in not being susceptible to mind altering substances, but that was not the aim of this experiment.

I’m wired differently. Alcohol acted on me more like a stimulant than a depressant and my tolerance for it lead to a habit of excess. Marijuana has never gotten me high and now I may understand why (I always chalked it up to not being a regular smoker).

I remain excited and curious to experiment. There are nearly inifinite experiences offered in this world and I will continue to look for the right ones for me.

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Achievement Unlocked

My jiu-jitsu practice is full of deficiencies, consistency of training being the most glaring.

After a year of excuses, I finally struck a balance in my routine that promises to improve my soccer, yoga, and jiu-jitsu practices.

This week I had two of each discipline. Soccer is likely the most unpredictable and two tough games to draw were the challenge I needed to see if my body could prosper on the fields and mats.

Yoga is the mental, physical, and spiritual reset that seems to make it all possible.

I am confident that returning to the Wim Hof Method breathing technique (still taking lots of cold showers) as a daily routine will further enhance my overall recovery and performance.

I thank God everyday for the energy to do these things. I thank Him for the focus on health and self-improvement that has driven me during a time when the narrative diminishes these goals. I thank God for a body that treats me better as I treat it better.

Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

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Transformation

The impact of jiu-jitsu on our lives would be impossible to capture in three minutes, but Elevated Studios and Salvatore Productions did an amazing job in expressing how much the discipline can change someone.

In this promotional video, my elder son, Westen, plays a shy kid who has the typical jiu-jitsu experience of getting dominated for an uncomfortable amount of time. Through co-owner/lead instructor Stephen Plyler’s encouragement and the boy’s hard work, the kid grows into a strong, confident practioner.

Elevated has been our jiu-jitsu home for as long as we’ve been home educating, almost seven years. I began training last year and it is thrilling to have my son play the role of guide for me. He has grown into a mentor on the mat and a focused fighter in competition.

Our journey still feels near the start. Westen will be in the adult program with me next year and I will likely start competing alongside him.

If you have any interest in improving your life or the life of your child, take a look at Elevated Studios.

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White Belt Thoughts

I learned a lot tonight and was able to implement a couple tries at escapes. The format of the Elevated Studios Fundamentals class is about half technique drills and half rolling (Five 5-minute matches to submission).

I still have zero attacks from side mount, this week’s focus, but I’m learning to defend from that position.

The physical and mental challenges of each training session are immense. As difficult and draining as these sessions are, I can see why some return again and again to the jiu-jitsu mat. It is a place of constant learning under fire.

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More, Please

Rhythm. Balance. The tune is always changing and we must listen our bodies to stay in the dance.

This summer has been all soccer. I was playing 4-5 games a week. It didn’t leave me feeling able to train jiu-jitsu nor practice yoga as frequently as I wanted to.

None of these practices can be done at my whim, I need to work within other people’s schedules, although I am blessed with plentiful opportunities in all of them. In the last couple weeks I’ve gone down to one soccer match a week with increasing yoga and jiu-jitsu sessions.

My body was a little surprised. For soccer, the 6-day break shook it out of its rhythm. I certainly need more than that. Come fall, I’ll be playing at least twice a week.

For jiu-jitsu, I finally trained two days in a row and observed the benefits of close repetition. I felt the fatigue on the second day, but saw a potential in myself to roll more often.

More yoga is a no brainer. My mind, body, and spirit always feel recovered and more prepared after an hour of hot vinyasa.

I’m approaching a balance and rhythm that I hope is successful through fall and into the future.

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Wim Hof Method Breathing in the Cold

I expected to play soccer last night, but the game fell through and I decided on a jiu-jitsu class. It smashed me and I had a tough time waking up this morning. I thank God for this practice. It used to be soccer or nothing for me. Now, with yoga and jiu-jitsu, I’m not only a stronger soccer player, but I’ve got options when the Universe wants to change plans on me.

Once I wore out my phone’s snooze function (didn’t know that could happen), I saw the last glow of sunrise fading and ran out to start my daily breathing. It was the coldest (27°F) and windiest day for my practice and I’m not sure why I didn’t put a shirt on. The wind was tame, but it felt like icy electricity crackling over my skin.

I love the different sensations I experience during the 5 rounds of 30 intentional breaths with breath retention on the last exhale of each round. Different shapes appear in my vision behind my closed eyelids. Today, the first couple rounds were accompanied by forks of lightning emanating from the bottom left of my field of vision. They faded and the field became calmer and more even, a soft, five-point star appearing during the last round.

As I hold my lungs empty, I try to focus on parts of my body that need attention. I was pleased that my knees were feeling better and not surprised that a smashed toe was still healing.

Today was the most discomfort I have felt in my fingers, but I directed attention there, and that faded as well. The small, yet distinctly observable, healing moments have been incredible. In the summer I would be bitten by a mosquito or two during early rounds, yet there would be no welts after I was finished. Doing this first thing in the morning, my body is often awkward and stiff. After the breathing, I am always moving more smoothly. The places I target with my mind seem to continually and actively heal throughout the day.

I think it’s about time to get Wim Hof’s book and deepen my journey.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.