Why I got started in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
What got me started in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu?
In my last blog post I talked about how my students and I took a moment after training to share our reasons for taking on this sport. Well, while I was talking with my girlfriend she asked why I didn’t share my story about how I got started. I thought about it and figured it would be fun to share what actually got me started in BJJ. Now before I can jump into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu I have to start with why I got into high school wrestling which would eventually lead into BJJ.
I was a chubby kid who got beat up
So all of this grappling and athletic stuff was sparked by an event that happened when I was in 7th grade. While it had a profoundly negative effect on my life at first, I am glad it happened because without it I am not sure if I would have been drawn to wrestling.
While walking home one day from school I was followed and eventually jumped by 3 teenagers ranging between the ages of 16-18, I was 12. They punched me in the nose and struck me with a bat which hit my arm. During the attack I suffered a broken nose and a fracture in one of the bones that runs through my forearms. I had no idea who they were or why they chose me, but the event had a huge impact on my life. First off I began to gain a considerable amount of weight because I was afraid to do simple things like go outside and walk or ride a bike. When I would go outside I couldn’t help but feel like everyone was a potential attacker. I also grew scared of confrontation because I was terrified of being attacked like that again. When I younger I had gotten into plenty of young boyhood scraps and had stood up to my bullies. This event was different though and it had absolutely drained my confidence.
Beginning High School and starting wrestling
In high school I looked at all the upper classmen who were wrestled and played football. They all seemed strong, muscular and tough which is what I wanted to be. I loathed being fat and afraid and wanted desperately to join in on the sports. Unfortunately my confidence was lacking and I found myself too afraid to sign up because I figured I wouldn’t be good enough. One day one of the coaches asked me to come to try outs and that’s pretty much where I began my high school athletic career. I started first with football and then wrestling. When I started in high school athletics I was around 230lbs and 5’9.
I fell in love with wrestling and I was so mad at myself for waiting so long to start. I loved everything from the grueling practices that would make the walls sweat to the brotherhood that formed with my teammates. I was also thrilled about the effect it was having on my physical appearance. After only a few weeks I had lost 15lbs and felt amazing. My first wrestling match gave me my first nickname which was “Tugboat”. When I pinned my opponent in the 2nd period I came off the mat wheezing so hard from exhaustion that it made an almost blow horn like sound, and my coach dubbed me Tugboat. I would go on to have a moderate amount of success wrestling as a sophomore and junior.
My Senior Year
Toward the end of my Jr season in wrestling my coaches and teammates told me I should drop to 189lbs, and that I would be a beast at that lower class. After the season was over I started hitting the weight room really hard. I had always enjoyed lifting ever since my friend’s father introduced it to me when I was younger as a way to help build some confidence. Once my summer break started I began researching how to eat properly and how to exercise with the equipment I owned. I spent the summer mornings going for runs, in the afternoon I would lift or do wrestling drills. The runs took a lot of will power because I was really nervous about being out and around by myself. I ate rice, chicken, veggies, oatmeal, eggs and choked down protein shakes for the entire summer. One of the things I remember really well was running with my mp3 player and listening to the Foo Fighters. I kept envisioning myself walking off the mat after winnings regionals with a gold medal dangling from my neck.
When I returned to school to start my senior year I was about 5’11 and weighed about 200lbs. All of my classmates were amazed at how I looked and I have to admit, the positive attention was a welcomed change to the negativity I was used to.
That year I wrestled well, winning or placing in every tournament I went to and I became incredibly confident in the process. One added benefit was that I found out my newly developed wrestling takedowns were great against would be bullies.
Regionals
Regionals rolled around as it always does and I was seeded well going into it. I ended up winning my first match easily. Then a terrible thing happened . . . as one of my teammates was close to winning a close match I quickly stood up to my feet to cheer. I had been sitting indian style and when I stood I felt a rip in my knee. My leg locked out and was giving a weird pain that is hard to describe. I kicked my leg forward and felt a pop followed by a quick shooting pain. Slowly the pain subsided but my leg was very stiff and beginning to swell and to make matters worse my teammate lost that match.
I ended up wrestling two more matches and winning regionals, and by the end of the night my leg was swelling and walking was a becoming difficult. None of that matter though, I had accomplished what I had set out to do and I was very satisfied. I had won regionals and successfully improved the musculature of my body. I had went from 230lbs at the beginning of my wrestling journey to eventually wrestle at the 189lbs weight class my senior year.
I was not fortunate enough to repeat the same success at state. A bum knee and ultra-prepared opponents don’t mix well. I ended up losing my last match at state to an opponent I had already beaten three times that year.
When I actually started BJJ
In May of 2003 while I was wrapping up my last year of high school and I had originally planned to join the military but was not allowed to because the United States was now at war. My mother told me she was not losing her only son and would not allow me to enlist. That meant I was now going to be attending college and get an education. The university I was planned to join did not have a wrestling program which was kind of depressing. I really wanted to continue to do something; I wasn’t ready to simply hang it up.
I had always liked the UFC and was becoming really interested in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. BJJ seemed to mix with wrestling very well and in many ways, looked a lot like wrestling. I eventually began to look up different BJJ gyms that were in the area. I guess I should specify that an actual BJJ gym was either scare or non-existent at the time, and that all of my BJJ training from 2003-2006 would take place in various rooms inside weight lifting gyms. I wanted to compete just like I had done in wrestling, so I contacted an instructor who said he was competition oriented. His name was Mike Yanez and he would become my instructor from May 2003 till July of 2007. Accompanied by my two best friends (who also wrestled) I attended my first class. We went over attacks from side mount and scarfhold. Mike Yanez called them the “triple threat” series and I was during the class at the techniques. I instantly fell in love with the sport much in the same way that I had instantly taken to wrestling. I competed within two weeks of beginning my training and won a silver medal. After that first tournament I was hooked and have never looked back since.
Things to take away from this blog
- If you’ve never tried BJJ then you should. . . right now. . yes right now!
- Life has a way of kicking the crap out of you. Sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally! Don’t let your losses define you and instead use the failures and setbacks as a catalyst for further improvement. Failures are merely the seeds of success.
- Desire is an amazing force and if you really want something and have the desire inside of you, then go after whatever it is you want.
Lastly I hope this post illustrates why I am such a fanatic about the positive aspects of BJJ and grappling, and why I believe what I am doing is more than merely teaching a martial art. The sport of wrestling and BJJ changed my life and took a terrified overweight youth and turned him into a confident man. I hope that I am able to make the same positive impact on my students and friends that my various coaches made on me.
Special thanks go to my BJJ and Wrestling coaches :
Coach Robert Vinegar
Coach Kenny Barnes
Coach Marshall Pomeroy
Instructor Mike Yanez
Professor Colin Cannon
Professor Tommy Wales
Professor Kyle Cannon
Professor Renato Tavares
Here is the picture of my first match in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
