I took a month long hiatus after the birth of my daughter in December.  While not actively training, with only a couple of workouts here and there, I started to think about what I wanted to do for the new year. I have an existing goal of boxing in a charity event in the summer and continuing my JKD training (which has become a slow process).  While I have trained exclusively in the striking arts, with a couple of ground defensive tactics classes, I really questioned how well I would do if put on the ground…the reality is that most fights quickly go to the ground.

For example, a good friend of mine was in fight and was taken to the ground in full mount.  The short story is that he was severely injured.  With the popularity of MMA, there are more and more people not only versed in striking but in also taking you down.

I had the opportunity to “roll” with my buddies at work who are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practioners.  I waited until they sparred each other and then two other people before putting my hat in the ring.  I had wrestled in high school but those days have long passed.  You know the ending…I tapped and tapped and tapped.  My forearms have never been so tired!

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for the new year

I researched Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu during my time off and found some great starting points to my journey.  One such resource is Stephen Kesting’s Road Map to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  He offers a free down-loadable eBook which goes through the very basics of Jiu-Jitsu and gives a new practitioner a beginner’s guide book to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

I also started to research the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gi and found complexities of the BJJ kimono to be mind boggling (more on this later).  Anyway, I will continue to keep Fighting Measure updated on this new and exciting journey into the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Train Hard!

CD