Jun 17, 2023
After three years away from competition, I return to the arena and realize that five minutes of fighting contain more useful information than five years of training.
What did I learn? How do I integrate that knowledge? And how do I prepare for the fights ahead?
Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things...
Jun 9, 2023
The last few moments before action in Jiu Jitsu competition are some of the hardest. But then the ref waves you out onto the mat, the fight begins, and the anxiety dissolves into a pure state of flow and presence. We just need to make it through the agony that precedes both.
What helps us overcome it? Perhaps...
Jun 2, 2023
My purple belt was no more than three weeks old, and I was standing in the bullpen waiting for my round to start at a local competition. The guy I was supposed to fight was visibly nervous and making small talk with the other competitors.
I'm just here to have a good time, he said.
Really, I thought. I'm here to...