First degree in jiu-jitsu

I started jiu-jitsu without big ambitions. A lot of athletes begin very young, but that wasn’t my case. My main motivation at first was simply having quality time with my daughter. She has been training for over a year already, so it felt like a great chance to build memories together and enjoy those family classes.

At the beginning I felt pretty lost, sometimes I still do, stiff, unsure, not really understanding what was going on. It is a lot of information, a lot of details, a lot of names, a lot of movements that maybe look natural to someone watching from the outside, but when you are just starting it feels like your body does not follow your mind. Today I move a little better and can at least try to use some technique, but there are still days when I just get smashed.

The important thing is that I have been enjoying the process. I like being there, learning little by little, noticing small improvements even while still getting beat up a lot. I am lucky that the people I train with are really supportive and patient, and I always learn something extra from them during rolls. That makes the whole environment lighter and helps me keep going, even without mastering it, even without being good at it yet.

From the outside, this first degree probably doesn’t look like a big deal. I know I still have a long way to go, but to me it means consistency. It means I kept training even on the days when I felt stuck, on the days when nothing clicked and I was just trying to survive during rolls.

This degree reminded me once again, just like running has already shown me, that consistency is the key to improvement. So I keep going, even when I do not feel ready, even without mastering it, even when it feels like I am not understanding anything. And maybe that has more value than I imagined when I started. In the end, what I wanted from the beginning was to have good moments and create memories with my daughter, and as a bonus I ended up finding a welcoming sport that helps me grow a little more with every training session.

We keep going. Oss