The climb

I've been out of the belt advancement game for a long time. My last rank exam was the one that got me my Black Belt in 1986.

Now that I'm a beginner in Jiu-Jitsu, I'm right back into it.

There is a system of stripes awarded for training done. I don't care about that at all.

There are also the exams that lead into the pretty coloured belts. In Jiu-Jitsu there are fewer colours than in Karate. They only use White, Blue, Purple, Brown and Black. White is what one gets by walking in the door.

The ranks are also intended to last much longer. Pass the exam after 3 months in Karate, and you get a spiffy Yellow Belt. Jiu-Jitsu's first test might not happen for well over a year.

The first hoops is to complete all 23 of the basic lessons three times each. I can already see what will happen to me. The completion could take as little as a year. I bet I'll have done all 23 three times, except for one. Through the entire rotation again to pick up the missed one. Bet I miss it again.

Won't that stink? Doing each of the 23 lessons ten times each, except for one of them that only get completed twice.

If it happens to anybody, I bet it happens to me.

Sooner or later, Blue will come. This gets one permission to attend the more advanced class. I really don't care if my belt is White or Blue, as they mean pretty much the same thing. Being barred from the higher class is an issue.

So I am jumping the hoops again. So I am hunting the next colour again.

I'm getting too old for this.