I've been into martial arts since I was five. My folks had me and my brother train with Billy Blanks (before he created Tae Bo). We lived in LA, and I was a west coast kid. I enjoyed the beach, crayons, and karate under my sensei. Billy had us kick, punch and block. I was too young to understand what we were doing, but I loved it. I loved wearing a gi, and training. Cut to about three decades later, and I still wear the garb and practice the arts.
I love all aspects of the pursuit. I love strength and conditioning, yoga, and cardio. I recently read a quote by Socrates "No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training…what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable." I felt this sentiment before reading it from the great philosopher. I consider myself someone who has always had trouble focusing.
I was a C student at best. I wasn't the most talented in art class. I'm a late bloomer to boot, and I had no choice but to figure it out. I think that's what Jiu-Jitsu is about for every practitioner. You find what you want from it. Do you want a colored belt? Do you want knowledge? Do you want to prepare for the worst? Everybody comes at it for different reasons, but we can't ignore the martial aspect. Chris Haueter (fifth degree black belt under Rigan Machado), came to our academy to teach a couple seminars. He's a walking encyclopedia of knowledge in the arts, and offered us more than just movements. He offered us philosophy. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a long journey that's riddled with a lot of suffering. We can go down many roads, so why pick grappling? One reason is, we don't take much head trauma. That's great if you value your brain, and thinking. Two, it's three dimensional and it's constantly evolving. It's fun to be part of an ever growing entity. Three, it's one of the most realistic ways to defend yourself. Yes, we go down this road so we can survive. Nobody is born knowing how to do a rear naked choke. You need to learn it.
"You can't buy the Jiu-Jitsu. You can buy classes, but Jiu-Jitsu is earned," Chris Haueter.
We don't get fulfillment from consuming. We get fulfillment through suffering. That's the state of man, suffering. When we get to a place of comfort the demons come for us, and we need to move. So, it's about movement in a literal and figurative sense. We need to keep on moving, and Jiu-Jitsu is a limitless way to expand. That's why we all keep coming back, because the demons are waiting on the couch...