What exactly is the Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle?
The alarm clock shook me out of a deep winter slumber at 4am. It was pitch black outside and the sun wouldn’t be up for hours. With my eyes swollen half shut from sleep I stumbled down the stairs to stoke the woodstove. Only a few embers from the night before were still sputtering. I opened the door and the little bit of heat still in the room chased the dog out into the dooryard. Brrr….
I pulled on my winter boots and went out to start the car with the frigid arctic air biting through my pajama pants. The helpful digital thermometer in the dashboard let me know that I wasn’t imagining things, it was 9 degrees outside. I fed the dog, took a quick shower, and finished packing the car. I pulled out right on time, 4:30 am.
I was on my way to pick up Pete and we were heading to New Jersey to film some technique for BJJ Weekly. I had stopped for fuel and coffee at McDonald’ when I realized that this was my Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle. Maine, dark, frigid cold, and McDonald’s coffee. It didn’t really mesh up too well with my mental image of Rio, sun, beaches, training, and fresh juice from local vendors.
But it did start me thinking, most people who train in BJJ these days don’t live on the beach in Rio! I wonder what your Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle is like? And so starts a new section in the newsletter, My Jiu-Jitsu Lifestyle! Tell us about your BJJ lifestyle in words, pictures, or video and we’ll share the best ones here in the newsletter and on the website. We want to know how Jiu-Jitsu impacts your daily life, what do you do to make sure you can keep training, what’s your school look like, and what you do with your training partners when you aren't on the mat.
Send contributions to mybjjlife@bjjweekly.com!
