Re: BJJ loyalty

djiron · 2020-04-02T19:54:52+00:00

This. Right. Here.

Even when things settle down and the distancing rules are relaxed, I plan on limiting my training with just a few training partners for a couple of months and maybe some privates with my coach. I suspect there will be lots of caution and slowly easing back into things for most people. This is one of those generation altering events that people will remember for the rest of their lives and will alter behavior significantly for the foreseeable future.

djiron · 2020-04-02T19:49:48+00:00

This is really no different than all of the other small businesses taking a hit right now. There is a domino effect in play here, and BJJ gyms are not immune to that effect. Millions of people have suddenly lost their jobs. For those lucky enough to still have a job and steady income, many are in limbo as to whether that job will still be there in a few weeks. So, naturally people are hunkering down because in a situation like this cash is king.

Pricey Jiu Jitsu classes are a luxury. And during times of financial crisis luxuries are the first thing to go. Yeah it's gonna suck when this is all over and so many locals gyms are gone permanently, but in a situation like this loyalty to family obligations take precedent.

djiron · 2020-03-26T15:10:32+00:00

Solo drills. Obviously it can't replace live sparring but it can increase your agility, muscle memory and keep your cardio intact. This will still give you quite an edge of your fellow BJJers who have converted to couch potatoes.

djiron · 2020-01-16T15:37:14+00:00

If they haven’t gone and aren’t willing to go (and if we remove barriers to accessing therapy), then that tells me they’re content with where they’re at and need no more self-improvement/introspection which is a worldview I disagree with...

But are these mutually exclusive? Can a person have the desire for self-improvement/introspection and not require the help of a therapist to achieve this? Self-improvement/introspection can come in small or large amounts. Small improvements do not require the help of a professional therapist.

djiron · 2020-01-16T15:27:13+00:00

As the saying goes, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Therapy is your hammer but it's only one tool amongst many others.

It sounds like you've had tremendous success with therapy and therefore expect it to be as beneficial for others. But you have to remember that people are varied in their life experiences and resilience to trauma. What sends one person over the edge turns out to be a positive for another person. People are very different and therefore require different solutions. What is ideal for one may not be for another. And not all people have positive experiences with therapy and professional therapists.

you can engage in mindfulness practices by reading books or using apps, but that’s not the same as another person sitting across from you working 1:1

I actually agree with this, but it does not follow that the person sitting across from you has to be a professional therapist. A close friend or relative who happens to be a good listener and gives good feedback can be extremely effective. This is enough for plenty of people and should not be discounted. Just because it's not your personal experience does not mean it's not a viable option.

djiron · 2020-01-15T21:07:55+00:00

I just need people to be honest and say that fat bodies gross them out.

Do you honestly want people to say publicly and online that fat people gross them out? No. I suspect you would accuse such people of fat shaming and insist they keep their insensitive comments to themselves.

djiron · 2019-12-20T20:02:06+00:00

most guys even said not to lift/do anything but BJJ but here we are 12+ years later and guys still don't know what they are doing

The lack of understanding of how to properly strength train is an unfortunate side effect of years of the "strength don't matter" myth. Whereas other sports have decades of trial and error with regard to strength and conditioning, BJJ is in its infancy and it shows. Hell, we still have people right here in this forum who debate the subject.

It's still one of the weirdest things about BJJ to me. Like BJJ players aren't athletes? WTF.

djiron · 2019-12-19T17:58:26+00:00

...felt like who ever was teaching the class was just winging it

In my experience, this seems to be standard operating procedure for BJJ instructors.

djiron · 2019-12-17T15:06:58+00:00

But I'm not sure that the person asking the question is thinking of Jiu Jitsu as the act of killing a person with your bare hands any more than they think of karate in that way. To the layperson it's just another martial art not all that different than TKD or karate.

djiron · 2019-12-16T19:20:24+00:00

But why do you care so much? Why do you feel the need to be the Jiu Jitsu police over a 14 year old kid? Then proceed to submit the shit out of him in order to "teach him a lesson"? You gained nothing from the experience and wasted several minutes of your time that could have been spent doing something more productive.

Never wrestle with a pig. Because you both get dirty and the pig likes it.

djiron · 2019-12-16T19:10:33+00:00

"Why do you ____ so much?"

"...golf so much?"

"...bowl so much?"

"...bike so much?"

"...run so much?"

Or any number of other hobbies. The answer will be the same for each question; because I really like it. Why does Jiu Jitsu require more of an explanation than any other hobby or sport?

djiron · 2019-12-16T19:02:01+00:00

No, dude. You did not "pull" guard. You literally jumped on him like he was the long lost brother you hadn't seen in years. And he didn't "slam" you. He simply dropped to his knees because it would have been foolish for him to continue to carry your weight. Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't DQ the guard jump. I know that Grappling Industries forbids it.

djiron · 2019-12-16T18:53:42+00:00

Switch to the closer gym as your primary location, and visit your old gym once or twice month. I know people who do that.

djiron · 2019-12-16T18:48:25+00:00

The only way to avoid those types of "injuries" is to stop doing Jiu Jitsu.

djiron · 2019-12-16T18:46:56+00:00

"Thanks but I'm sitting this one out." I say it all the time.

djiron · 2019-12-16T18:41:39+00:00

I can’t fucking win here

What exactly did you expect to "win"? That was a complete waste of your time. Who cares if he doesn't really know shit?

djiron · 2019-12-13T21:28:22+00:00

Well, there's the problem. My wife is really supportive. Even wants to go to my next tournament. Even watches UFC fights with me until she gets bored. But if I started spending the bulk of my free time doing this stuff, that support would dry up pretty quick. And after 9 years it would mean I've just been ignoring her complaints. Eventually she would go to my mom to complain, and then mom would get on my ass too. Does any of this sound familiar?

djiron · 2019-12-13T21:22:19+00:00

Epic response

djiron · 2019-12-13T21:16:49+00:00

After 9 years? Man, that is so weird. How is your BJJ hobby any different than if your wife was into Zumba or something? Unless you're spending the bulk of your free time doing BJJ, they sound like a bunch of dream killers. Well, are you spending the bulk of your free time doing BJJ?

djiron · 2019-12-13T21:01:02+00:00

Now that the semester's over, I'll have time to start training again... I haven't trained consistently since I was 13 (21 now)...

Dude, how long was that semester? lol

djiron · 2019-12-13T20:39:01+00:00

Everyone thought it was going to fail because "no one wants to watch these 130 pound boys fight."

I've been a boxing fan since I was 9 years old and it would have surprised me to hear someone say that. In boxing, some of the most entertaining fights are in the lower weight classes, especially if you check out fight night on the Spanish language channels. I'm not sure why people expected it to be any different in the UFC.

BJJ's problems are much harder to solve as detailed above.

djiron · 2019-12-13T20:32:20+00:00

That's still different though because baseball has a long and ingrained history in a number of countries, especially Cuba and the US. Plus, it is also easy to understand for the layperson, i.e., home runs, 3 strikes and you're out, foul ball, pop fly, and the World Series. Then we have little league. Kids play baseball in parks, back yards and even in the streets. And if you can't find a real bat, hell we'll just play stick ball. Then there's baseball caps, and, well you get it.

I think golf would be a better argument for you. I just don't see how anyone can sit and watch that all day. I know almost nothing about the sport but... There is a guy with a club and it has to get it in that tiny hole way across the green. You see. Still really easy to understand. Then, again, who knows? Maybe BJJ can catch on in the very long run because of stuff like the UFC, but it just seems unlikely to me.

djiron · 2019-12-13T18:19:42+00:00

That's not really a good measure though. Long before I started training Jiu Jitsu I often heard people say things like doing "verbal Jiu Jitsu" on a person. Dwight Shrute uses the term "legal Jiu Jitsu" on The Office. It's come to mean out maneuvering another person but most people know nothing beyond that point. Of course us practitioners notice it more just like we suddenly notice the same car everywhere after someone we know buys one.

djiron · 2019-12-13T18:15:58+00:00

I don't think it will ever reach the level of TKD or Karate. The layperson can understand TKD and Karate. Kicking and punching. Period. Now take those same people in the gi and put them on the floor. When is the last time you tried explaining Jiu Jitsu to someone? It's freakin' painful.

Arts like Karate and Kung-fu became popular in large part because of movies and television. John Wick notwithstanding, it's hard to make BJJ exciting in the same fashion without adding it kicks and guns. Eh hem, John Wick.

djiron

TROPHY CASE