I never seemed to do anything as a kid without going “all in” or “over the top” committed or whatever you want to call it. When I was “younger” I told myself I had an “addictive personality” and I probably did. This really served me well (then and now) as I did not pick up bad habits because I knew I was not going to be able to get rid of them without some major effort or consequence.
Except I did get addicted to running! I love to run. Wind in my face, self-propelled and knowing I was able to get almost anywhere on my own two feet if I needed to, is empowering. From junior high school track to yesterday’s 8 miler, I have never had a run I didn’t like! And over time, I began to test the outer limits of just how far I “could” run on a given day. First, I started on a “double dog dare” from someone saying that I couldn’t run 50 miles in a day. Challenge accepted and completed! Addicted!
Over the next decade, I ventured into the world of ultra-running, (distances greater than a 26.2 marathon) competing at various 50 mile races and 100k races in preparation for running what would eventually end up being 7-100 mile races scattered across the country, always drifting to my favorite; high altitude, single track, low aid supply, where failure was not an option. Addicted!
Over time, running 50, then 70, then 90 miles a week in preparation for said adventures, caused my hip flexors to tighten and stay that way. Imagine that! As I whined about this issue, a police officer who I saw regularly at his donut stop said, go do “martial arts” to loosen up your hips. I asked where to do this martial art and he said Machado, and two nights later I walked into the Carlos Machado Jiu Jitsu Academy to see what it was all about.
Now I grew up on a 700 acre farm in the middle of nowhere, Texas and “martial arts” to me was Chuck Norris (who I now know personally) and David Carradine, from the TV show Kung Fu. I couldn’t “snatch the pebble from my hand, grasshopper” with anybody, but I was always intrigued with both men and their mental fortitude and physical flexibility. Oh yeah, I was addicted to this show as well!
So, on October 10, 2002, at the youthful age of 42, I stepped into the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Carlos’ original location for some “martial arts”! (Yes, I keep a log and can tell you every class and every run I have ever done, not so much the techniques covered, but the vibe that night, how I felt, my aches and pains and whatnot, so I could have a history of days trained, injury length and my attitude) Addicted to this log thing as well!
If I named names of the people on the mat that first class, you would know them all. Legends now, the best of the best back then, former UFC competitors, world champions, owning their own schools now, continuing to train and teach to this day, raising up the next generation. They continue to inspire me with their continued love of the art and their desire to train and give away the knowledge.
That first night on the mat, I felt like I had walked into a bar fight in a foreign country. The doors opened, I walked in and the light reflecting from my lily white “pj’s” and white belt must have startled the group, causing them to turn and look at me as the music stopped. I felt my blood rush to my extremities getting ready for battle, my mouth suddenly was awash in cotton and I developed a huge urge to pee on myself!
It was a mixed class of white belts and upper belts and I bowed onto the mat, joined in for some “shrimp drills” and warm up stuff. Not good, as my hip area did not work in this fashion. I was sweating profusely, both nervous and working way too hard to try and make my body do something it had never done before. After a bit of technique, it was time to spar.
During my first “match”, I felt like someone was trying to push my rib cage into my spine from a “knee ride” as it was called. My second match was with a then brown belt named Travis Lutter (Think UFC match v. Anderson Silva) My third match was with James Brown another brown belt at the time (Now a 4th degree Black Belt) who I still train with to this day. Plus, he keeps my spine and joints nice and healthy.
I had nothing to give but my arms, I kept giving ’em and people kept taking ’em! When this two hour class ended, I poured myself out the front door of that sweaty dojo, past the windows covered in condensation (most of it mine I think) and into the night air. For the first time since class started, I was able to breathe deeply. I could barely stop sweating. I had over the top cardio skill but this, this was a different animal. Addiction alert!
The next morning I felt like three ninjas beat me with pungi sticks all night! I was sore all over, had bruises on my chins and forearms, but could not stop thinking about the “adjustments” I would be making for next time. It started to consume my morning routine as I plotted how I would avoid another arm bar submission and better defend myself upon my return to class. Addicted.
And so it began, my dose of humble pie. This country boy who had always “thought” he could put a beating on anybody that needed it, using fear and intimidation as a first line of action, realized these “men on the mat” were NOT afraid and THEY did the intimidating, not me! I was not like these “men of the mat”. I realized almost anyone could take me down if they wanted to. I was weak, unskilled and ignorant in the art of defending myself or my family should the situation arise.
I was however, like Paul. A man back in Jesus’ day who called himself, “a blasphemer, and a persecutor and a violent man… (1 Timothy 1:13) I had always run with a tough crowd, thinking “I” was tough, banging heads with other “fake tough” people, a tormentor, angry, violent. I didn’t like this “me” or the results it was bringing. I was ready for change.
Little by little, being on the mat began to soften me on the inside, gentler, more humble, and not so concerned with myself. I started using the fruit of the spirit God had given me to effect change in my life. I drew the circle around me and started work inside that ring to improve what needed improving. I clung to the sayings and quotes of the Jiu Jitsu masters. It helped my inner man to contain himself and not spew out. “Be so strong that nothing disturbs your inner peace” – Gracie, was a mantra I started living with. I was determined not to cause fights and get into trouble. I was developing an inner strength, self-control was a new friend. I knew, I really knew this time, that I was growing in the right direction, “a branch but not the vine”. See also John 15:5.
Inch by inch, shrimp by shrimp, class by class, year by year, my self-control became so strong that very little could disturb me. I was no longer like Paul when he was persecutor. I had peace, I had confidence in being able to defend myself without having to defend myself! I didn’t need to “prove” anything to anybody, I knew what I could do. I stopped agitating people to their wits end hoping for a confrontation. I was embracing the gentle art! Addicted!
As the years passed and the promotions came and went, I grew content with the journey. Jiu Jitsu stopped being a sport or hobby to me and started becoming a way of life; good vibes, healthy eating, healthy friends, it was a natural fit for me. It was something that kept me mentally ready for war and humble in the same class. I quit chasing “stripes”, I relaxed. I just trained to be with the like-minded friends I was making and for the love of the effort. Addicted!
One of my favorite quotes is from a Supreme Court Justice form the 1800’s, “One day the great truth will have to be learned – that the “Quest” is greater than what is sought, the “effort” finer than the prize, or rather, the effort IS the prize, the victory cheap and hollow if not for the rigor of the game”. – Benjamin Cordoza
When I was alone on some alpine mountain top, 80 miles into a 100 mile race and suffering, I knew I would “finish” no matter how bad or painful it became, I would persevere. The “work” and my mental decision to not quit had been forged months and years before. Miles and miles of running back home, up and down “fake” hills in Dallas, the energy preparation, electrolyte management, putting in the “effort” Justice Cordoza spoke of was done, the result already cemented into my mind before the starting gun ever went off, finishing was a forgone conclusion.
And so it is with Jiu Jitsu. After that first night of “Parrada Time”, back in 2002, I sat on my deck at home and made one quality decision to get my Black Belt, to never quit, to enjoy the journey and the effort, no matter how long it took, to choose to look beyond the daily setbacks that I knew would come to test my commitment to myself. That one quality decision has made all the other Jiu Jitsu decisions so much easier, like, “will I go to class today” or “should I make that seminar”, or “I am going to work on cardio for a while”, or “should I take my gi on vacation” (of course you should) I don’t have to second guess myself, finishing “this” race either, it’s a forgone conclusion as well, it’s done!
And why would I quit anyway? This “Jiu Jitsu lifestyle” I did not understand for many years, is one I now wholly embrace, I “get it”, it’s more than Jiu Jitsu! I have friends all over the world because of this “gentle art”. Friends forged out of war on the mat and the common love of the art. I can go to Brazil or Spain or Italy you say? Yes there too, where I have trained with and developed lifelong friends who would pick me up and drive me to “their” dojo, share a home cooked meal with me, anything I might need, all because I chose not to quit. I chose to step outside of my comfort zone, I chose to stick my hand out and to trust what I was about to get into, far from home, where nobody on this earth knew where I was. And that led to so many great memories. Memories of Brazilian BBQing on a beach somewhere on the “other side of town”, where I was the only one not speaking Portuguese! Communication transcended by the common passion of Jiu Jitsu. Addicted!
I can go to 5 different cities in Cali and be treated and greeted like a long lost friend. Why? Mutual love of the sport, respect for each other, because “I” got out of my warm bed and picked someone up at the DFW airport who was stranded there. Because I was willing to serve a fellow Jiu Jitsu’er, I get blessed! Friends for life. Addicted!
Wanna go to Denver and train? I know a guy. A good guy who would do anything for me. Why? Commonality of purpose, an unexplainable bond with these long term warriors of the art, and because I was willing to help one of his students in need while he was in town.
I don’t know about you, but there is more to it than Jiu Jitsu. It is hard to put into words. Maybe that is how “all” martial arts styles are, I don’t know. For me, I see a Jiu Jitsu family everywhere I go. Friends to be had, memories to be made. I plan on training until my body just can’t go another match. When God decides that is, I don’t know. His ways are not my ways, His thoughts not my thoughts. But until He does decide that I cannot go on the mat anymore, know this; my mind is never too far from the mat, never too far from wondering why I can never get that darned cross choke to work quite right.
“See ya in a few miles”,
“See ya on the mat”,
“Come Train” – Professor Alex
Britt
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