When I had first made this blog, I wanted to do something original. The original intent of the blog was to be dedicated as a resource for BJJ DVD instructional reviews. I own many of these DVDS and not many are good. I wanted this site to be a source that everyone could rely on, however, with the little time I have for myself, I really don't have much time to sit through whole DVD instructionals to make a solid review. In time, I would like to review some in the near future. This new blog that i'm currently writing is for me to write down all of my experiences when I first got introduced to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Martial Arts in general. I hope those of you who read this enjoy it!
CHAPTER 1...Fighting
Ever since I was a kid, I always enjoyed fighting to some extent. I'm sure growing up in the late 80s/early 90s everyone watched action movies and cartoons. It's hard to see the way things are today with pop culture. Many of the classic action flicks and cartoons are just not the same. The action stars of today do not match up with the badasses of then. For instance, you look at who is the current go-to guy for action flicks. In my opinion, Jason Statham is most likely the best action star in the genre, but there are not many more Jason Stathams. In the 80s, you had your Schwarzeneggers, your Stallones, your Van Dammes, etc. These are the flicks I grew up watching. If you are to watch any films featuring these guys I just mentioned, theres a good chance that they would feature some kind of toughness, fighting, and straight up badass acting.
Around the time I was in Kindergarten, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were very popular. They ate pizza, surfed, hung out in the sewer, and they knew how to fight via training in Martial Arts. My parents seeing my enthusiam for wanting to learn Karate signed me up in a Martial Arts school right down the street from my house. The name of the school was Golden Eagle Martial Arts. It was located right on Route 413 across the street from Gibby's Ice Cream in Levittown, PA.
I remember the time my Dad took me there. I can't recall if it was a surprise but I do remember my first encounter with the sensei. The man was in mid late 40s, balding, and full of energy. My dad did most of the talking because I was very intimidated by the man(I do not remember his name). He was showing me all of the TMNT posters on the wall, he even had a cardboard cut-out of Raphael(the red one) above one of the rooms. I remember him explaining that I would learn 5 lessons and do group classes that involved sparring in kickboxing.
My first lesson with the sensei, we were in a very tiny room and he showed me a kick that I should do if there was an attacker in front and behind me. It was a straight front kick with a kick to the back as well. I never spoke a word to him. I was so intimidated by him. As time went on, I would go there on Saturdays and learn more Ninja-Style training. This included learning how to shoot darts with the blowgun and throw chinese stars. Every once in awhile I got to be involved in a group class that was during the week. There was a student there by the name of Neil Kindig, who I went to Kindergarten class with that was also a student at the academy. Neil was a purple belt and I remember a time at recess we were talking and he would tell me that he could beat every single person out here in recess. I wasn't one to question him because he had a rank and I thought he'd be a better friend than to get on his bad side and challenge him.
During the group classes, there was a good 15 to 20 kids. We did warm-ups and i remember watching kids do Katas. That was one thing that Neil said I would have to learn to get a belt. I never understood the purpose of it. To me, it seemed like a dance of moves that I would have trouble remembering. After a few students did the Katas, the instructor asked who would like to spar. This was the one thing that I really wanted to do that I never got picked to do. There would be 2 or 3 matches. The kids wore headgear and boxing gloves and just go all out. I really believed in my ability to win in a sparring match, but, I was never picked.
My time at the academy came to end very quickly for multiple reasons. There was a Christmas party coming up at the academy and they charged 25.00 for it. My Mom thought that was too much money, she also didn't like that I was learning how to use weapons, rather than Karate. I never got to learn how to throw Chinese Stars, that would of been the next Saturday class. Another thing that really set my Mom off was I told her about a warm-up that the instructors did to us in the group classes. They had all the kids lay down on their backs and the instructor walked across your stomach. I remember this happening one time. It didn't hurt me, but, I can see why my Mom was mad about the incident. A grown man walking on top of a 6 year old's stomach. I only thought it was just gonna make me tougher. This incident will be my departure from the Martial Arts scene until 2005.
