Jiu Jitsu is (Still) Fun

July 16, 2019

I’m not taking a ton of personal photos at the moment. I thought that summer would offer more free time but as it happens, I picked up a few side gigs to earn some extra coin.

I’m still training jiu jitsu when I can which is basically about 1-2 times a week. More often than not, it’s been open mat which is actually a bit of a bummer because I miss out on actual instruction.

I was chatting with Prof. Kevin the other day about the jiu jitsu journey and I was trying to explain that I don’t feel like I’m getting any worse right now but instead, the road seems to have lengthened itself. It’s like thinking you are at the halfway point but then realizing that the latter half is actually much longer than the first. I don’t really like the term “move the goal posts” to describe this because it sounds like cheating. Is there some kind of more humble term to characterize this feeling? Enlighten me in the comments section.

two jiu jitsu practitioners standing about to fight — Sometimes when it’s super hot and sweaty at the gym, I like to take a breather outside. It’s also cool because it offers some natural textures to shoot behind.

jiu jitsu practitioner hitting a bow and arrow choke on a teammate — Ivan is the most casual dude at the gym. Look at the disparity between his non chalant Ryan Hall demeanor to Cho Nuff’s grimace.

jiu jitsu practitioner doing a footlock — Hunter got this foot lock right after this photo was taken. I liked the composition better when I could see Sean’s face too.

jiu jitsu practitioner passing guard — This guy Richard hasn’t trained in ages, or at least I haven’t seen him at the gym for at least a year. He showed up to open mat and started pulling guard passes like this. On second thought, there’s no way he’s not training somewhere.

Bahama Cruising

November 25, 2018

Somewhat selfishly, Caitlyn and I planned a cruise to the Bahamas during the week of Thanksgiving. All it took was a few calls to our families to reschedule the big family get together and we were set for a weeklong getaway. Easy enough. We caught a redeye from LAX to Miami and spent a day […]

Place in the Pecking Order

November 13, 2017

Every time I go to the gym, I get to see where I stand among my peers. Am I gonna submit so-and-so today? I better watch out for such-and-such. He’s on a terror lately. Admittedly, I’m not a very competitive person but somehow a modicum of this line of thinking always creeps back into my […]

Summer in Texas

July 9, 2018

Ian and I met Bob around the same time while training at the jiu jitsu gym. With whom we immediately became embroiled in a three way rivalry. For years, I chased Bob on the mats vowing to one day D’arce him into submission. When he told us that Toyota was moving their North American headquarters […]