You Should Always Take Advantage of Being A Cub in the Lion’s Den.
I’ll tell you why it‘s troublesome but totally worth it…
Class Proved to be Full of Ups and Downs.
My friend and I joked about how we should probably show up. For me, it hadn’t been too long. For him, training was a bit far and few between.
We typically have a silent agreement to be partners, but this time someone broke the silence and asked to work with him.
I ended up in a trio with an amateur MMA fighter and another friend of mine from high school. The fighter was a purple belt and my friend; a fellow white.
Fun Fact: We all coincidentally attended the same high school.
The initial portion of the class started on the feet with the demonstration of a takedown, followed by drilling. Tonight’s happened to be very tricky and relied on a hefty amount of choreography.
To put it simply, I looked like an idiot compared to this purple belt.
He on the other hand was throwing it with no problem. He even felt the need to ask me if I was okay after every time he performed it.
I was pretty positive he thought I was a noob.
Then I Discovered My Roar.
It became time to undergo three rounds of live training on the feet. First, to the takedown, stand up, and start again.
Professor lurked around the heavy bag next to the cage where we were standing. Then, the timer sounded.
I had only realized he was there when I heard the familiar voice barking strategy towards both my partner and I.
I’m not sure why, but once both students are aware of Professor’s eyes, the match elevates.
It becomes a heated rivalry between two warriors fighting for glory.
I make it sound dramatic. It’s not that deep.
Anyway, it felt like I went from helpless newbie to division three wrestler in five minutes. I somehow managed to feel like I was holding my own against quite the formidable foe.
The adrenaline was so high at this point that I can’t even remember if either of us went down. It was a war on the feet for the entire two minutes and I felt myself fading. Fast.
By what felt like ten minutes, it must have been about one and a half.
He backed up and circled, a tendency of what I would expect from a cage fighter.
He threw feints and other types of fakes at me which started to culminate. They began to throw me off but I maintained composure until the end.
One more minute and I would have been toast.
I Gained Even More Respect for MMA.
Even though zero strikes were thrown, I knew in my mind if there were I’d find trouble. I’m so accustomed to watching it on TV that the effect on my mind became quite mitigated.
Our brains are too familiar with violence since that seems like the standard for a solid movie these days.
After participating in a measly two-minute round with someone who knows what they’re doing, I was humbled.
When I turned to Professor with a wide-eyed look after my partner casually strolled away, he said to me,
“Yeah, he’s training for a fight.”
I felt a bit better, to say the least. Impressed I was.
The Rest of the Class was Even Better.
We worked on a couple of guard passes and my purple belted partner helped me out a lot.
After all, they do say the purple belt is the “instructors” belt. Those who wear one should have the ability to teach new students the laws of the land.
The lion teaches the cub and he too will soon grow strong.
I greatly appreciated the time he took out of his training to focus on making sure others knew what they were doing. He even left me and my fellow white belt in the trio to drill while he went to help another pair.
At the end of our session, I sat with him against the matted walls while we reflected on our training. He’s a cool guy and once again, Jiu-Jitsu made me a new friend.
Final Thoughts.
Whenever I feel like I’m being a bit of a burden to an upper belt, I try to at least give them some sort of opposition.
At the end of the day, I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re wasting their time. I know they don’t see it that way because they were in my shoes once, but I still want to make it worth their while.
We don’t actually wear shoes while we train.
The art of Jiu-Jitsu does a great job of building bonds and creating character.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s never effortless. Though, I have noticed the more effort you put in, the more you get out.
Yet another parallel to life that has emerged out of what we practitioners like to call, this gentle art.
Next time you find yourself as the cub, don’t be afraid to run with the lions.
Now go train Jiu-Jitsu!
Thanks for reading! If you have a question leave a comment, I will respond!
