My jiu jitsu journey

Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash

I have recently taken on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a martial art that even in my wildest imagination I never saw myself practicing. Nor did any of my friends. Though, surprisingly, they were less shocked than I was when I had told them about it.

You see, Jiu Jitsu represents just about every phobia I have—most notably: close physical contact, claustrophobia, and germophobia. On top of it, I’m not particularly disciplined, I am not great at following directions (verging on slight dyslexia), am not in the best shape of my life (not even close!), and there’s really no way to be graceful when you’re a beginner at jiu jitsu. Then there’s the matter of physical pain: not only do you have to be willing take on a certain level of discomfort, but you also have to be willing to inflict it onto others. Perhaps surprisingly, the latter is actually a bigger struggle for me than the former.

When you’re a white belt in jiu-jitsu, there can be no ego. You’re absolutely …