The White Belt Bible Trailer
Ryan Brandenburg just posted the first review of “The White Belt Bible” on his blog. Check it out!
Donnie Skaggs: BJJ Blue Belt
Congratulations to Donnie Skaggs for showing tremendous endurance and fighting spirit during his demonstration! And congratulations to Joint Lock BJJ for producing their first blue belt.
Uke: Ron Smith
Filmed by Casey Kaiser
Edited by Becky Creswell
Music: Malone Blue and Futura by Roy Dean
Best of Roy Harris Jiu Jitsu Review
Our good friend Slideyfoot, aka Can Sönmez, just posted an extensive review of “The Best of Roy Harris Jiu Jitsu.” Check it out here!
Mile Markers in the Gentle Art
There is no single way or path in jiu jitsu. The art itself is much broader than that. Many will say that life is like jiu jitsu, or jiu jitsu is like life. Either way, the informed study of one will enhance the other. Lessons learned on the mat translate to tactics and techniques in real life. This is true training.
As a white belt, you step on the mat and it seems that everything is a battle, everything is a threat. There is no discrimination between good or bad positions, dangerous techniques, or levels of intensity. It’s stop or go, with no gradations of speed, in an all out battle for survival. There’s very little feeling of what the other person is doing. It’s all about you, and measuring how far you’ve gotten. At this point, the student’s ruler is in inches, and they do not yet know that the journey is in miles.
As the belt darkens, the need for immediate feedback on progress diminishes. The satisfaction of reaching the 2.2 mile marker after the 2.1 marker is not enough to write home about, so the student learns to enjoy the journey and bonds with those on the road beside them. The aggressive sprint has turned into a steady stride. Obstacles in the road can be sidestepped, hopped, and ducked under. You realize that challenges from other runners, while occasionally fun, can break your stride and slow you down.
It’s your race, your journey. You make friends that encourage, support, and keep you on pace. Mutual welfare and benefit, to honor the maxim of Jigaro Kano, is the goal. Jiu Jitsu an individual journey, with guidance and inspiration from others, but no one can carry you over the finish line. You must make it on your own power.
For some jiu jitsu is war and nothing less than martial. For others it is a competition, a sport. But it’s also a dynamic form of yoga, a moving meditation, and a method of social bonding. Jiu jitsu is not one thing to the exclusion of everything else. It is an art that is flexible enough to afford the inclusion of everything else. It is a physical language, a method of self defense, and a proven road to personal empowerment. It has righted the ship of many a lost soul, including the person writing these words.
New Class Schedule for 2011
I’m excited about some of the new changes at the Academy, especially in regards to the class schedule.
All lunch classes will remain, but evening classes will move 1 hour earlier from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Tuesdays and Thursdays will move to 7 p.m. We’ve done away with the Friday afternoon classes, and Saturday class now starts at 11 a.m. This Monday will be the first 6 p.m. class!
The new equipment for attendance tracking has shipped, and students will soon be able to look online, and ahead of time, what is being taught in each class, and by whom. I’m looking to leverage these technologies for a deeper and more detailed experience at RDA.
Blue Belt and the Second Stage of Humility
With the exception of black belt, the blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the thickest of all belts in terms of skill. It provides a very real challenge to students to forge on and return to the mats even when the progress is not immediately evident. It requires another level of humility on the part of the student to honestly assess their own game and work on weaknesses to ascend to purple.
A white belt strives for their blue belt, not only for the skill level, but in terms of recognition that it brings. It’s an indication of skill and experience, and it’s certainly a big deal once it’s achieved. Reaching blue requires letting go of your ego, realizing that there’s a tremendous amount to learn in the art, accepting that the first 6 months are about learning to lose with dignity.
But once you receive your blue belt, you have to let it all go again. Certainly, a blue belt has a level of skill that can defeat an untrained opponent, a “normal person,” rather easily. This can boost the ego, as these skills were hard earned by many losses. But it’s a trap, as dominance over the unskilled does not equate to dominance over all. This is one reason so many people drop out at blue belt in BJJ. The blue doesn’t feel the progress the way they did at white. The markers are not as obvious. They have to become introspective and honestly assess their weaknesses, round out their game, and drill drill drill to move onwards and upwards. A blue belt has learned the techniques. A purple belt has ingrained the techniques. This is a huge difference in terms of performance.
I can only encourage blue belts to keep going. Be consistent. Your game is a flower, starting as a seed at white belt, and germinating at blue. One day you will lift through the soil and feel the sun, but you must have faith. Whether you’re one foot below the surface or one inch, the view looks the same. Do what you must to continue your growth. The day will come when you break into the light, and the weight of the earth drops away. There is no other feeling quite like it. It is waiting for you.
Jordan Mein: Rising MMA Star
Yet another MMA standout from the Harris International association. Jordan is the son of Lee Mein, an MMA fighter, coach, promoter, and BJJ brown belt under Mr. Harris. Observe the composure, technique, timing and skill. It’s not about power. Study on this!
Gracie Breakdown: Fedor vs. Silva
Love these guys, and their technical breakdowns of key MMA matches. This is an exceptionally good one. Much respect to Fedor who showed the heart of a true champion in his match against “Bigfoot” Silva, but was ultimately was overpowered and outmaneuvered in the second round.
All of the Lights
“The White Belt Bible” is well into post production, and I am working on it day after day. Every DVD in the collection has to be different from the ones before, both in subject matter and aesthetic feel. The lighting, angles, and closeness of this project makes it unique, but it will also have extras that put it into another league from what I’ve produced. It has a minimalist feel, intimate and direct, and utilizes the library of belt demos filmed over the last 4 years. The goal is to make this DVD more musical, and more hypnotic, than anything that’s come before. It’s not about crane shots, it’s about composition. Tempo, plus techniques. The goal is to make it accessible and invaluable to the beginner, yet hold the attention of experienced players. The best art works on multiple planes, affecting each person at their current level of awareness, and lifts them to another place. That’s the mission, but I still have miles to go.
An Incredible Week
I just wrapped up an incredible week with Ian Starr and Rick Ellis in town. Rick graced us with his photographic and video skills for my upcoming DVD “The White Belt Bible,” and Ian rolled up from Colorado to finalize his affiliation and get in some good training. Ian’s game felt very solid: Excellent pressure, with patience and options from all positions. To me, he felt like he had moved up another level, so he’ll be doing his brown belt demonstration when he returns this summer. Lots of teaching, training, filming, and good times since returning from Morgan Hill. 2011 is off to an amazing start.