The Journey of Jiu-Jitsu

So it's been a little while since the last post....during the intermission I have been thinking on what it is that we are providing in our club as our own experience of what Jiu-Jitsu is. This little train of thought piggybacked on a question and brief discussion we had in class a month or so ago. As the discussion evolved we began talking about where the techniques that we train come from. What kind of Jiu-Jitsu do we practice? Why do we put the moves together the way we do?

I keep talking about in class, how we have an evolving curriculum, and that  it will change over time. As we experiment with new ways to drill and learn, and as we experiment with new concepts of how to play the game and embrace the art form -how we are doing things will change. This change is generated by our experiences on the mat as a group with our open problem solving and question period, with our own personal 'homework' and investigation on what works and why, and by the experiences brought to the group by our coaches and members. These things combined will give a sense of what it is that you are experiencing with us.

Back to the original question... what is it that we practice? It's no secret that we train with and take guidance from the Straight Blast Gym, and its network of clubs and coaches. We also take into account training concepts from our own experiences and the National Coaches Certification Program brought to us by Sport Canada. But what is it that makes us different from others, or for that matter, others different from each other and us too. We have had the great experiences with working out and sharing ideas with the other SBGi clubs close to ours. While all of us have access to the same materials, the same coaches, and the same opportunities- there is a distinct and unique flavor in each club that makes being there in that space with those concepts on the mats different in each training space. To some degree, the members of each space and the coaches past experiences will make the big differences in vibe and feeling. But what about the material? In each club, we train BJJ. In each club, the lessons come from SBGi. But also in each club, the unique combination of which SBG coaches the club identifies with, or trains more frequently with, along with which lessons from what DVD's, instructional materials, or what-have-you, will change the nature of what it is that you do. This is then passed along to the students and people on the mats, and what they experience is again different for each of them, as what they do in each club is just a part of it all for them.

This is the Journey of Jiu-Jitsu, this is part of where I come from, and what it is for me. For those that know me well, the next part will undoubtedly make some of you laugh, as I'm about to make a comparison to a journey that I have no interest in. But, like a good cup of coffee, the journey the art form takes before it gets to you, and how we each personally experience the unique flavors ourselves is an amazing and an incredible journey. It  is one worth thinking about (even if you don't drink coffee- like ever). So, where does YOUR Jiu-Jitsu come from?

Jiu-Jitsu's journey, much as coffee's journey from soil to cup, or club, is quite amazing. First, coffee beans come from a coffee cherry which resembles a small red fruit that looks much like a cranberry. Inside each cherry are two green beans, each made up of hundreds of compounds whose composition- and potential flavor- varies based on where and how the cherry was grown. Harvest coffee from high in the mountains and it can have a flavor reminiscent of nuts or coca. Coffee grown in other regions can be more assertive, earthy, or herbal in the mouth. The composition- and potential flavor- of your Jiu-Jitsu, will depend on the region that it was developed in. Where your coaches trained, and how they trained. Did they fly to Brazil, Japan, or somewhere else? Did they train in a state-of-the-art facility or a real down-to-earth bare-bones gym?

Wherever the location, the best beans- the ones with enchantingly complex flavors and compelling characters, known as arabica- grow under some degree of stress, like high altitudes, intense heat, or long dry periods. Such harsh weather conditions can produce high-quality beans, but also fewer beans per tree. This makes arabica coffee more costly, which is why most mass produces choose lower quality robusta beans. Produced in more predicable and mild climates, robusta beans are less expensive because they deliver a higher yield per tree.  But most robusta beans also taste harsh and rubbery. Jiu-Jitsu too is developed to the highest degree if it is learned under some degree of stress. In our gym, and the SBGi we call this stress 'Aliveness' and it is how I can ensure that we are developing Arabica Jiu-Jitsu. But again, these methods because of the mat time required, and the conditions on the mats- you have to roll, sweat, feel, and go through the stress-process yourself- yields fewer but much higher quality Black Belts. Robusta Jiu-Jitsu again can be harsh and rubbery. It is learned under predicable conditions where the stress is quite low, but so is the ability of those to perform under intense conditions. When learning without having to sweat hard, or go through those moments where you have to 'dig-deep' and push yourself through to another side, or where you don't have to think for yourself, you are developing in a high yield environment. Watch-out, or push-yourself -to develop beyond robusta Jiu-Jitsu.

After the coffee beans are grown, and harvested, they are dried out. The dried beans are roasted in particular ways (there is a whole science to this), and blended in a unique fashion. These events and processes are so specific that no two companies do it the same way. It is what makes significant differences in how the product tastes in the end. In Jiu-Jitsu it is here that we are comparing what your coaches did in their own clubs, after they took their growing experiences, how did they dry-out? What unique flavors did they develop on their own? Then once they each were ready, how does your club blend them together? What combination of coaches and instructional experiences go into the information that is being supplied to your club in particular. The roasting and blending process takes a thoughtful, exacting balancing act of time and temperature. Any producer that truly cares about quality will have their own philosophy for this process, one that strives to bring the peak experience in a manner that extracts the maximum potential of the product. This process is constantly being refined and developed. In the blending phase, there is also a guiding set of principles that make it more than a random collection of techniques and sources. Each element must be inspected on its own, and then just the right amount of it has to be incorporated into the whole, to develop a particular flavor or experience in the end product. When things are blended just right, the result is a symphony of flavor that does not exist by itself. This is what happens before the product is even brought to the store or club. Each club has its own flavor, and even in the product they are presenting- the product itself has its own flavor and character notes.

Once the product is ready, how it is ground, how it is brewed, and then poured and experienced by the customer gives more opportunity for uniqueness and development of the overall experience. Again, this is where what we spoke about briefly in the first part comes into play, as each club and its members are going to be the difference in this stage of experience.

So why am I telling you this, and why am I encouraging you to think on it? It is because of a rather interesting and nifty side-note. That with this art form and product, personal knowledge of the process and personal relationship with the product itself creates a deeper understanding and appreciation of the product. Personal expression, individualized for all. The more you can think on this process and the more you can control what unique flavors you are looking for, the better training experience you will have. Choose the quality of your sources, and pay attention to the process of how your art is developing before it gets to you. Then train with it in your own way, and enjoy the journey and process. This is why I am on the mats and part of why I enjoy it so much.