Journey to the Jiu-Jitsu gym in Vienna

It was so cool. I got my gi and things together in my bag and headed downstairs to the streets of Vienna on a rainy Monday night. I hopped in on an electric tram for a few stops and got out. I bounded down the steps to the subway and rode the train for a few more stops. I jumped up the stairs upon exiting the subway and made my way for a few winding blocks to find a jiu-jitsu school that I’d had obviously never been to and I didn’t have any referrals about, but it was obvious from the website that it was a legitimate jiu-jitsu school.

I walked in the door and introduced myself to the black belt instructor with whom I had texted earlier that day. He pointed out the locker rooms and I quickly changed and stepped onto the mat.

The mat space was small and crowded. There wasn’t really enough room to do the warm-ups. But I didn’t care. How awesome was it that I was in a jiu-jitsu gym half way around the world with total strangers!

After warm-ups, the instructor demonstrated the first technique, a takedown. I was really glad I had gone to those Saturday classes.

My drilling partner was a really cool guy who had just moved to Vienna from Berlin, Germany. Originally, he told me he was from  Bosnia. He was a plumber. And he made Berlin sound like the greatest city on earth. Why did you leave? I asked. His wife wanted to live in Austria, he told me. Anyway, he was a super nice a guy and a great training partner.

Rolling in Europe

After drilling, it was time to spar for those who wanted to by raising their hands. I raised mine. I was paired up with another white belt. Only, he did not have any stripes on his belt. I probably outweighed him by about 20 pounds too, but he gave me hell. He was all over me. The rounds were six minutes, and I feel like the instructor kept adding time. I was in trouble the whole round. I will say in my defense that I was trying to not go 100% all out. I was a guest there, and I was trying to be cool. Still, I found out after the round that this guy was 28 years and old and he had tons of energy. I defended armbar attempts and chokes, but finally, and this is really embarrassing, at the end of the round he locked up a triangle from the bottom. I tapped right at the bell.

Since the mat space was so small, not everyone can roll each round. And I sat next to my tormentor on a bench at the side of the gym while we watched the next round. I asked him how long he had been training. He told me two years. Suddenly, I didn’t feel quite as bad. I didn’t ask him about his lack of stripes. Again, I was a guest and I was trying to be cool. I did ask him his age. His English wasn’t very good, and I don’t speak German, so we didn’t really talk very much. Plus I was trying to catch my breath.

After sitting out a round, I volunteered to roll again. This time the instructor paired me up with an athletic looking blue belt. He, too, gave me a world of trouble, but he didn’t tap me out. He tried, too. But I went six minutes with him without being submitted.

I sat out the next round, and then when it was time for volunteers for the final round I shook my head and shrugged it off. It wasn’t going to get any better for me that night. I was pretty tired and my heart was talking to me. I didn’t want to get injured now. I had done what I came to do: I had rolled jiu-jitsu in Europe. I still can’t believe it.

When I got back to my friend’s apartment, I was on cloud nine. My mood was just so good. I was so happy. Jiu-jitsu does this for me. It makes me happy.