The First Two Months: The People and the Art

Early on I began to understand that there was some vocabulary that I was not familiar with, such as "closed guard" and "open guard." Even some of the warm-up exercises had interesting names I was not familiar with, such as ninja crawls, bear crawls, alligator crawls, side lunges, various types of squats, etc.  But it just took a quick question here and there to begin catching on.

I mentioned in "Our First Visit" the excellent teaching qualities demonstrated by Coach Ryan. I also subsequently learned of his many competition efforts and accomplishments. Knowing that your teacher has "been there" in a big way in the skill he/she is teaching gives great confidence and respect. I very much appreciate and value the experience that Coach Ryan has. On a related note, Coach Ryan is a relatively small guy, roughly my height but less weight, less flab, more muscle. Anyway, I can really use the perspective of a smaller guy, so Coach Ryan is a good fit for we Hunter boys.

Not only that, but Coach Ryan has BJJ Coaches Seth Williams and Matt Bricka helping out, sometimes in the same classes; sometimes in separate classes.  These guys are TOPS, not only in their experience and game, but in their teaching abilities and personalities. God, if the world could be filled with more people like these coaches!!!

One other important thing I've been learning: being a valuable training partner.  For one to progress well in BJJ, and to help others do the same, one needs good training partners. What I'm learning is that when we are drilling, one wants to offer the right amount of resistance. When first learning a technique (hand goes here, foot goes here, hip turns like this) that may mean zero resistance other than a somewhat rigid and properly positioned body so the person practicing can get the movement down (versus a limp blob which is of no help). Once the movement is down, some increase in resistance can help refine the movement. Ultimately, positional sparring gives a most realistic scenario for attempting to carrying out the technique. However, even then, if you are 200 lbs and your partner is 130 lbs, you might see if your partner would appreciate 50-80% resistance at first. Go 100% if they request it, but take care of them; they are your BJJ family!

Early on I also began to see that BJJ not only began as an adopted and adapted martial art, but continues as a changing martial art. This really is an understatement. It is not a traditional, fixed martial art with a fixed set of moves done exactly the same way by everyone. Although there certainly are many long-standing tried and true techniques, not only do different people implement them slightly differently, many new techniques or new ways to implement old ones continue to be developed. Imagine this simple dynamic: (1) a technique aims to take down or submit an opponent. (2) a technique is developed to counter that take-down or submission. (3) a technique is developed to counter or foil that counter, (4) and so on. This "countering the counter" is not the only source of new techniques. People actively engaged in BJJ for many years also discover and actively develop new techniques, some that work well for everyone and some that work well for particular body types or positional circumstances. For now, I want to focus on the most basic and reliable methods, and learning these well enough to implement them during active sparring. Over time I expect to adopt and adjust to my own body type and preferences. Ultimately, each person develops their own "custom" jiu-jitsu--favored techniques and sequences. This is referred to as your "game."

My priorities for now: learn some basics of BJJ, increase in fitness and strength, and develop positive relationships with my team.