A Letter For My First Jiu Jitsu Team

Where do I begin? My first Jiu Jitsu team is the best team in the world. Do I sound a little biased? It's very rare to meet a community as tight knit as the rugby community and I have been both surprised and humbled by the love and support I received from my Jiu Jitsu team. I've just recently returned to the US and started to reflect on all of the things that I learned while working with Kris Kim and UFBJJ. Things I learned not only about Jiu Jitsu but also life.

1. I learned humility and how important it is to be continually humbled.

2. How to remain extremely calm under stress and in some cases (heavy) pressure.

3.To remember that I am continually learning and that even when I think I plateau and peak I still have so much to learn.

4.Real confidence.

5. The importance of health and my own well being.

6. I have really learned how to put differences a side and interact with people who I am miles removed from politically, culturally and otherwise.

7. The definition of finesse. I learned that my strength wasn't necessarily being physically strong and trusting my technique makes me more powerful.

8. To be creative and realize that there is always more than one solution to to a problem.

9.I learned that Jiu Jitsu is so much more than just a hobby or a sport and now I get it when people say it is a lifestyle. It is definitely one of the best life choices I've ever made.

I feel like I have become a much better person than I used to be and I know I have my team to thank for that! There is so much I wanted to say while I was getting my final stripe but I am not always so good at thinking on the fly...so I thought I'd write it down. Thank you:

Natalie for getting me involved in Jiu Jitsu and for continually putting the pressure on until I decided to stop being stupid and try it....you were right...as you always are! I am going to miss our Jiu Jitsu vacations. You have been the best part of my Jiu Jitsu journey and having you with me in my first tournament was the best feeling in the world!  Jes for working with me, being patient and teaching me things repeatedly even when I am a little slow on the uptake. Brittany and Ting for being amazing training partners and even better friends!  All of the Shindo's for being a fantastic extended family to me! Anna for being such an amazing advocate for women in the sport. Michelle and Jessica  for giving me a taste of my own medicine with Spider guard! Ryu, Brandon, Tyler and Dad (Kevin) you have been invaluable in helping to improve my Jiu Jitsu game, your patience, kindness and knowledge is inspiring, the things you've taught me I am so grateful for and I hope to be the type of mentor you all have been when I become a blue belt. George for always keeping it playful but also offering guidance when I had no idea what I was doing. Chapa  for the Hippity Harmbar and making training so comfortable!  Joe for the reggae tunes and for kicking my ass and teaching me little tricks that I can use, in turn, to kick someone else's ass! Jeremiah for genuinely being one of the best friends and training partners I could ever ask for...in addition to supporting and encouraging my cupcake addiction.  Jason for your massive encouragement, eagerness to teach me and pep talks before the tournament.Juan and Jose for realizing that Pico De Gallo is actually just Chunky fresh salsa! Terence for teaching me about passes as it was damn near impossible to pass your guard! Bill for being my favorite person to roll with! Ivan for never going easy on me. Jerry for beating me up until I got it right, I really think you are the reason my open guard developed so quickly! Joselo for keeping me humble with your crazy pressure game. Matt, Kaleo & Enrique for being amazingly supportive at the tournaments and helping me to get comfortable competing. Shane for teaching me how to roll like a little person. Jeff D for your infinite wisdom  Orlando for encouraging me to stick it out and being the type of training partner I would like to be Jason B for making me drill things until I couldn't do them wrong. Kaha for helping me out with my arm bars and always having such positive energy and of course my cauli -earred boyfriend, Mike, for never being afraid to be honest when I could use improvement.

Last and certainly not least, thank you Kris Kim for genuinely being the best teacher I have ever had in any sport or class in my entire life. My progress and my learning curve is a direct result of your brilliance. You truly teach and lead by example and I am so proud to have been part of a team that represents someone like you. Thank you for being more patient with me than I deserved and for helping me more than you know!

There are entirely too many of you to mention all by name but you are all very important to me. Thank you to each and every one of my team mates for the impact you have made on me as a practitioner but also as a person. I can only hope my next team will be as lovely as you all have been!

Thank you! Oss!