Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt

Last night was very exciting for me. It was a culmination of eleven months of training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I am happy to announce that I got my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt.

Early on, I knew I was going to be good at this stuff. I am almost 6’3″ and am fairly flexible for my age (36). I also have a slender athletic build. I wish I was more in shape, but nonetheless, I have a good body type for BJJ. My long legs seem to work for me and over the past year, I have worked things in such a way that they are my primary weapon.

I really didn’t know when my instructor was going to spring this test on me. I knew he wanted it as a surprise so beginning a month ago I expected it for every class I went to. I would be sure to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and banana before hand along with a power bar, just in case “tonight was the night.” Let’s just say that it was a long month waiting. I really wanted this to happen.

When I arrived last night, there was a buzz in the air. Two of the most senior guys were there and they kept looking out the window to see who else was going to show up. When the rest of the group arrived, I knew something was going on.

We started off class a bit more formal than we usually do. We all bowed in and did a nice warm up routine. Then, my instructor put one of the more senior guys out on one side of the mat and me on the other side. He was a bit surprised but I wasn’t. He was going for his first stripe on his blue belt and I was going for the blue belt.

My instructor then had each remaining guy take turns challenging each one of us. The other fella had to do combos and I was to mainly focus on escapes. I was told to start off on my back while another guy tried to keep me in side control. I had to use my choice of escape and when I did I was to start over again on my back. When I did escape, and when my instructor wasn’t looking, I would go for a quick submission. Sure, those games didn’t last for long because about fifteen minutes into the thing, I was exhausted.

By the end of forty five minutes, I could hardly breath. Some guys were fairly easy to deal with while some guys were absolutely impossible. My face was beat red and I was just flat out tired. I did my best at pacing myself the whole way through though. For a while, that has been my strategy.

Since I knew this was more of a rite of passage, I planned on sticking with my self preservation goal. At times, the guys wanted more from me but I stood my ground and because of that, I made it through. After I received my belt, I actually had enough energy to continue rolling with one of the guys.

After the class was over, I was presented with my blue belt. Three other guys got stripes on their belts. It was a great night and I am happy to give my mind a break from thinking about this belt test. Now, I can focus more on learning all of the blue belt moves and submissions. I look forward to my first stripe on this belt and working toward my purple belt. That’s a few years off though…