I've been reflecting a lot about my start in Ju Jitsu and how it led me to where I am today and where I want to go from here. I teach and train with my husband practically every day, so you could say its what consumes most of my time next to my full time job.
I started Ju Jitsu about 12 years ago starting about 3 years after my younger brother. I would go to class and watch and soak up all the information the Sensei (instructor) Joseph gave, and eventually I decided I wanted to join as well. I loved the chance to learn martial arts and marveled at being able to fight with my brothers and not get in trouble from my mom! I also enjoyed being a part of a sport that not a lot of women participate in. I felt like an anomaly; a girl that knew how to fight and most of the boys were scared of!
In the style of Ju Jitsu I am in, which is a traditional Japanese style, it takes a long time to work through the ranks; you cannot become a black belt in 3 years. It took time, hard work and dedication to earn the knowledge and skills needed to go up in the ranks. Anyone who knows me knows that I am as stubborn as a mule and my husband can attest that I do not give up easily, hence why Ju Jitsu was and still is the perfect sport for me. I worked my way through the ranks from white belt to brown belt and after 8 years tested for my first degree black belt which is called a Shodan. There are different degrees or levels of black belt which is great because you can keep learning and testing. Learning never stops in Ju Jitsu.
I've competed in numerous tournaments and always vowed to do better at the next one. Its a different kind of hunger to want to win and aspire to improve. As long as you stay hungry, you can always do better. Even if I won my fight by points, next time I would want to win by submission. Whether or not that actually happened is a different story but I still pushed myself. As long as I can keep pushing myself, I can get better.
I should mention that along the way in my Ju Jitsu career, I met Ernie. Ernie is actually my instructor Joseph's cousin, therefore I have known Ernie practically since I started 12 years ago. Ernie did not come around a lot when he was in high school due to him playing other sports but he did come back to Ju Jitsu as an adult. It was when he came back that we started working in class together more and more and eventually started dating around the time we tested for our black belts which we did on the same day. So we have been black belts for the same amount of time! Of course he was and still is my favorite training partner.
I will never say that I am the best fighter and martial artist, nor would I want to be. To say that I am the best to me means that I am done learning; and you can never be done learning and growing in this art. Martial arts are like science, they are all ways changing and you need to adapt and be constantly learning and growing as a martial artist. I would also never say that I win every fight, because I don't. I get tapped out, I get thrown, I get held down and find it hard to escape. However, I go into every fight with the intention to win and I refuse to give up easily; again because I am stubborn!
A throwback photo with my Sensei from when I was 15
Myself, beating up Ernie
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