Attempting a Jiu Jitsu Class for the First Time

As a kid, I remember wanting to try some sort of martial arts sport whether it was karate, tae kwon do, or Brazilian jiu jitsu. It didn't matter as I thought they were all the same. In case you don't know, they aren't. I was intimidated to ask my parents if I could try it, as I had no idea how much it cost or if they would approve as it was a more "masculine sport" that normally had young boys enroll. Now as an adult, I regret not asking them. Who knows now if I would've gotten involved and what kind of person I'd be today?

As I have no time machine at this point in my life, I decided to Google some different clubs here in the city to see what was offered. I have always been interested in trying something like this but never had the courage to try it until now. I did feel slightly embarrassed about trying it since I'm an adult and I was worried about getting judged.

The next day, I came into work and was looking over our counters, and looking to update our business cards displayed. I came across "Control Brazilian Jiu Jitsu" right here in Moose Jaw. It said that is was a type of submission wrestling, so as intrigued as I was, I began to email them to get some more information.

After reading their email response over 50 times, I came to the conclusion that I'll try it. Who knows what'll happen? I may like it. I may hate it... Or I may love it, but I'm willing to find out what the answer is.

During my drive over to the club, I felt nervous and anxious. I'd never done this sport before and I don't want to get hurt or look dumb. There were so many thoughts going through my head. They stopped the moment I walked through the door. I was greeted by Jason, one of the main teachers, and he had me fill out a waiver.

We did a gymnastics kind of warm up, and afterwards, Jason led us through the first move of the night. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I have no clue what I was doing. He paired me up with Becca so I would feel more comfortable than pairing me up with a man. She was great to give me tips on how to make it better or to fix it, so I did it properly. Becca even encouraged me that I was doing a really great job for my first class.

At the end of the class, they "roll" and that means that you can practice doing a match with a partner for five minutes. Since it was my first class and I still had no clue what this sport was about, I sat on the sideline to watch what "rolling" was. I chatted with Donald who helped run the club, and we just talked about the club and even about some random shit. I felt comfortable here.

I didn't feel judged by anyone, except myself. Of course, I had thoughts like "Oh I feel so old and just starting this sport, everyone else is so much farther ahead than me, is there a point to doing this?" I shut those thoughts down quickly. I missed learning and being part of a sport even if it's a martial art kind of sport or wrestling and self defense (which this is more related to).

I missed learning something new from a teacher/mentor. Really, I missed everything about a sport: being part of a team, learning together, helping others, feeling like you belong somewhere. Once you are part of a team for a few years, and then you go without it for a while, you miss it like crazy. I did it for four and a half years. I'm surprised I didn't go insane without it.

I am still not sure if I will actually compete or not, I am enjoying being a jiu jitsu athlete and learning more every time I come to class. I love it, and I know that when I move to Swift I will miss it like crazy.