Interesting journey

It's been an interesting journey so far. Brazilian jiu jitsu that is. Throw Kissaki defensive tactics into that mix too. I've had my fair share of injuries, bumps, sprains, near-dislocations, near-unconsciousness rendered by over-zealous training partners eager to send me head-first into the great darkness.

I like what I do. I really enjoy it. I'm going to keep doing it and do it more until my body falls apart or I check out from Hotel Mortality, whichever comes first.

Why do I place myself in the face of clear and present danger, week in, week out? Good question and one that I wish I had a simple answer to.

Perhaps like me you could have an underlying fear of physical harm, a fear of the inability to physically defend yourself or your loved ones, the fear of feeling helpless and useless.

Maybe its just a great way to keep the entire body in good shape, injuries and personality conflicts aside, and to keep the joints and mobility in good use. The guy who popularized Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Helio is well into his 90's and still spars regularly with the young guys. I don't know many sports legends who can still do that even at 60 years old. I must take my hat off to him as whatever he's doing, he's doing it right.

For whatever reasons you enjoy mixing it up on the mats, I'm happy to say that all the people who come in to play share one common denominator: functional; it works; sometimes too well. By that I mean a gloved punch whizzing towards your head at 80mph is going to hurt if you don't defend yourself properly. If your opponent has a tight grip around your throat and you can't escape, you've just got onto the Nighty Night expressway or once a position has been locked on and there is no more room to maneuver, you're heading to the ICU ward if you don't tap quick.

I've had my share of "theory" based martial arts. There are many varieties, near and far. What do I mean by "theory" based? Well, lessee; In my years of karate, shotokan in particular, there were many lessons on how to "effectively" strike someone ~ with one blow ~ to end an encounter. Fortunately I've never been on the receiving end of one and neither had I the opportunity to deliver such a masterful stroke of combative excellence. It's more than likely I didn't train as hard as I could, but there was a point in my training when all I did was to train 6-nights a week for almost 1.5 years. I still couldn't actualise the "one punch-one kill" ideal. I dabbled in a variety of other martial arts, all based on the theory "if your opponent does this" which in reality they never do, so I never got the chance to implement Plan A of my years of training...

So back to the Kissaki Defensive Tactics and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. What makes them not "theory" based? For one, they are considered "alive" meaning the sparring or drills used involve one or more of: timing, energy, and movement. They test the techniques being drilled with progressive resistance until they can be implemented against a fully resisting opponent.

I mean you can punch a heavy bag until the cows come home but in reality a live opponent will move about and he will punch back! It's a lot like a chess game, a battle of will, strategy and tactics. And its got me hooked.

Let the journey continue!