Passing The Guard on Monday June 3 2024
Many moons ago I started down this path of practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which led to an adjacent road of practicing Arnis de Mano, which led to superhighways of competition, belt promotions, seminars, and then I stayed put for a spell. I remember my first promotion, that tiny piece of tape on the black end of a very very white belt. I had started with low expectations for myself and after my first few classes, reaffirmed those low expectations but decided I was going to keep training anyway. That tape gave me hope. I can do this, I realized, and maybe it was time to readjust my personal expectations. Perhaps, I am improving. I was. Improvement in jiu jitsu is a slithery creature. You won't see it, but it's there, lurking in the tall trees. "Are you ever going to teach?" hmmmm....I wasn't sure....it was trail I was not sure if I wanted to follow. Years ago, my tattoo artist suggested a trade, jiu jitsu lessons for work. How could I say no? Gemma Pariente w