Ganbarimasu…

I’ve been checking out Adam Adshead’s Conceptual BJJ blog lately, which is a great read. On his “About me” page, he says:

I’m officially the worst person to have ever taken up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (please don’t try and contest this, as you will fail)

Never one to pass up a challenge, I thought I’d have a go.

I am the worst person ever to have taken up BJJ, and here’s why.

• I am incredibly lazy by nature
• I have got weak joints
• I can barely bust out ten full squats
• My frame is naturally slight
• I am constantly plagued by coughs, colds and sore throats
• I hate physical  mental violence
• Unless I wash immediately after training, I get a rash on my super-sensitive skin
• If I train more than two days in a row I get agonizing pain in my forearms

Despite all this crap, for some strange reason, I still persist at BJJ. Why? Because I really, really enjoy it, and I really, really want to get good. I want to be an example for myself, for other people, and one day, for my kids, that if you really want to do something, you can do it, even with the odds stacked against you.

When I finally get my black belt (and I will, one day) I want to look back and think, fuck me that was hard, but I didn’t give up. I did it. And you can, too! Then I’ll point at the camera with my fingers pointing as if they were a gun and I’ll make “pow pow” noises and a post-processed gleam will twinkle off my teeth.

For some reason, one thing that I always think about is teaching my kids BJJ (when they arrive.)

It is something I am really, really looking forward to. I want to have a collection of medals and grubby belts that I can show them and inspire them to do something with. I want to be able to say “Look kids! Your Daddy was weak, lazy and injury-prone, but he didn’t give up and came third in the All Japan Brown Belt absolute division!” Or something.