Starting Jiu Jitsu

I stepped onto the mats at the end of February 2019. Nobody seemed to excited that I was there. Everybody seemed a little stand-offish. Or maybe it was just me. Maybe I was just nervous and self-conscious and only wanted one thing: don’t get your shoulder ripped out of socket.

My first few classes were pretty good, all in all. I went in knowing that I would have some trouble keeping up in the warm-ups just because I’m an old guy with no background in athletics, but I figured one we got a chance to roll, I’d be ok.

Jiu Jitsu class structure

Class would go like this: First, we would circle up and bow to each other at the same time. We would then line up across the mat and warm up in place. The warm up were a mix of yoga-type poses and calisthenics. We would then circle up again with our black belt instructor in the center demonstrating a technique on another black belt. We would then partner up and drill the techniques. All of this would take about half an hour. After warm-ups and drilling techniques, we would spar five, five-minute rounds.

Not allowed to roll…yet

At first, as a new guy, I wasn’t allowed to roll. I can’t remember exactly how long that lasted, but not very long at all, although at the time it seemed like an eternity. Sparring was what is was all about and I was itching to try.

In the beginning, while everyone else was rolling, the instructor ask someone else, usually a black belt, but not always, to take me off to the side and do things like shrimp up and down the mats, these things called bullfighters, and breakfalls. So I think maybe after about 4 classes like this, I was allowed to join the sparring. The instructor seemed skeptical. I remember him telling me with a raised eye-brow, “If you think you’re ready…” I was definitely ready.

Let’s roll

Sparring was awesome. It wasn’t at all like it had been ten years earlier when those professional mma fighters tore me limb from limb. I felt like I knew what I was doing and I felt like I was defending well. Studying the Gracie Combatives really made a big difference.  

It goes without saying that I wasn’t submitting anyone, but I wasn’t getting submitted as much as you might expect.