Generations

The kind of Jiu-Jitsu I am learning comes from the Gracie family.

The founders' generation is gone, having passed away in the 1990s.

The torch was passed to their children. These are a bunch of people more-or-less my age.

They are the senior core, but most of the day-to-day running of things has been passed on again.

The third generation run a lot of the training, the main academy, and the distance program I am part of.

These guys were born in the early eighties. That's about when I started training in Karate. I was teaching it before these guys were in school. I'd headed two clubs, taught hundreds of students, and produced Black Belts who opened their own clubs before the young crop of Gracies ever got their own Black Belts.

By the time I entered Jiu-Jitsu, the young Gracies are about 30 years of age, and have held Black Belts for about ten years. Now I learn from them, via my own instructor.

They are the experts. I am the novice.

Wheels turn.

Little me

People lie.

In Martial Arts, it usually goes, "Size and strength doesn't matter."

What a load of crap. Admittedly, it isn't all that matters, but it is very important.

Imagine two equally skilled fighters, equal form, and equal speed. The only difference is one is twice the size of the other. Who wins?

At Jiu-Jitsu, I'm bigger than most of the people. A lot bigger than some. We practice with one another, and they get to try their moves out on somebody bigger. They do it on me, and maybe it will work. I do it on them, and they're doomed.

Last class we got a new beginner. He's about 6'5", and probably 300 pounds. We weren't working on size specific technique, so it didn't matter much. Tonight the technique is one that where size matters. As a result, the two biggest guys ended up partnered for most of the evening.

That mean the big guy was with me. I got to be the little one for a change. If he did something right, I flew. If he did something imperfectly, I still flew. If I did something imperfectly, and there was no reaction. If I did something moderately well, still no reaction. Even when I did something perfectly sometimes nothing happened. Not everything works with that big a difference is size.

I only had one of the small partners once last night, and only for a few minutes. Everything worked in my favour again. It felt like I was fighting a barbie doll.

I enjoyed my big partner, but I also like my smaller ones, too.

I wonder how one of the barbie dolls would fare with the new guy.

Variety is great.

Cruel Mistress

I am almost finished my first time through the cycle of Jiu-Jitsu classes. There are 23 lessons, and you have to do each 3 times before you can test.

I only need to complete lessons #14 and #15. Oh, and of course, #11 and #12 that I missed when I was sick. Stupid illness.

Tonight, it's #14, and on Thursday #15. If not for my absences, I'd be done the first cycle. No big deal, I knock off #11 and #12 at my private lessons tomorrow and a week from tomorrow. It is nice to be an adult with a few bucks to spend on extra lessons.

I want my Blue Belt, and have tried to get a clearer idea of how long it should take to earn. The theoretical quickest should be about 9 months. Many take as long as 3 years to get it.

My goal is to be on the lower end of the scale. I'll be theoretically able to take the exam early in May, or about 7 months. The private lessons make this possible.

No more sickness allowed. No injuries allowed.

What's the rush? I don't really know. I've set myself the goal of Blue by Summer. No reason for that, but goals are good. I've already trained my way passed a large number of people who started before me.

There's one young fellow in particular. He started at the beginning of September, and I started at the end of that month. He's only there about half the time, and has accumulated 10 of the 23 lessons. What's with that? I already have twice as many lessons as him.

I can't tell you how many people I've seen join Karate. They tried a class, and really seemed to love it. They pay their fees, all keen to come back. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't.

The couch and TV can be a cruel mistress.

One guy

Every so often my mind gets blown by something. I was sitting about, trying to think of a second blog entry related to the recent, big Karate tournament. While by brain was stewing, I discovered in my email a newsletter addressing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu topics.

There was a link to a video of a Gracie Black Belt talking about his personal journey. Who was this guy? It was Ed O'Neill. You might have heard of him. He's a successful Hollywood actor, best known for his roles as Al Bundy, and more recently as Jay Pritchett on Modern Family.

He got his Belt in 2007, at the age of 61. I know what you're thinking. This old actor shows up, so they feed him a fast-track Black Belt for the publicity. Wrongo. It took him 16 years or so of regular training to earn his rank. Not fake at all.

Funny I hadn't heard about this earlier.

Provincials

On Sunday, Helen and I got going early and headed into the city. I was going to watch the Karate BC Provincial Championship. The tournament runs over two days, but Sunday had the elite events.


I got to BCIT shortly after thing started. Kata competition was well underway. Helen barely let me get out of the car door before she zoomed off shopping. She came back mid-afternoon, and seemed to enjoy the part she watched.


The competitors were mostly Brown and Black Belts. The vast majority were teens, from 14 years old and up.


The standard was very high, but there are some people that just take Kata to another level. True art.


This went on for a few hours; five rings in operation. Division after division marched in, and later marched out with medals awarded.


Then it was time for the fighting. Every type of competitor was present from deadly sharp, to slow and shuffling.


Strangely, there were few adult categories. In Men’s Kata, there were only 6 competitors. A couple were normal Black Belts and did fine Katas. The others were these tournament-style performance artists. Their forms are a joy to watch. They also took all the medals. Maybe that’s why there are not more ordinary adults competing. Really no point.


In fighting, there were more adult, but still not a large number.


I got to see several acquaintances compete. I also got to see a young girl from a neighboring club throw her hat into the ring. She had done well at the zone tournament to qualify for the big one.


Her rank is only Blue Belt, which is only about half the way through the colored belts. In her class she was facing Brown and Black Belts. By luck of the draw, her first match was against an experienced Black Belt girl who is not only the defending Provincial Champion, but the Canadian Champ as sell. Hardly a promising start.


One cool thing about the current rules is that everybody wears a red or blue belt depending on which corner they are assigned. Nobody wears their real rank. As a result nobody really knows who they are facing.


So our local girl looked as deadly as anybody else.


Coming out, she was moving well. The experienced girl was cautious. In this case, what should our kid be out for? Winning? Not a chance. Close fight? Not a chance. How about managing to score one point? This is very unlikely, but theoretically possible. How about not being outscored 8-0, which would mean an automatic early win? Possible.


The final score ended up being 6-0, but it went the full time length. She managed to look good enough to keep the other girl from daring to go for the early kill. It it were me, I’d be pleased as punch.


We left after the final Men’s Open Weight category. Caught the 7:25pm ferry, and we were home by 8:45. It was a long day, but very interesting.


I even bought a T-shirt.

Big

At Jiu-Jitsu last night I was quite pleased. There were 7 Blue Belts present. That's just about all of the Blues I've ever seen there, all at once. Besides them knowing a lot more than us Whites, all of them but one are adults.

It is nice to roll with adults instead of the teenagers. They are bigger, meatier, stronger, and move more like somebody one might have to fight.

There was also a really good turn out of White Belts. The place was pretty crowded. One of the White Belts was there for his very first lesson. He was adult, too. Not only an adult, but a really big one. Up until now there have been only two adults in the White group other than me, and they are both quite slight in stature. The new guy was the biggest guy in the room by far. I like training with everybody, but the occasional big partner is wonderful.

One is rarely attacked by people half one's size, not that Martial Arts are only about self defence.

Last night I had five different training partners. By luck, I ended up with one White Belt and four Blues. All were more or less my size. It helped with the technique sequence we were working on.

The aggressor is on top, the defender does a twisting, leg grabbing thing and pushes up violently with legs and hips, ending with an armbar. With a small partner, the violent leg-hip thing would launch them to the moon. How can you practice the armbar if the other person is flying through the air?

We have a vibrant, healthy club. For a small town, it was remarkable that over twenty people were rolling around last night; both genders, and all ages between teenagers and....well...me.

Progress

I have been fortunate in my progression through the world of Martial Arts.

I started with Karate. To me, it was the perfect first step. Most of the time it is a solo activity, even in a crowded room. Everybody is doing their own punch, or kick. Nobody else matters. Occasionally, the instructor will correct something, and then move on. By the time one ever deals with a partner, one is already skilled enough to handle it. I’ve always been a solo kind of guy, especially when I’m learning.

My next step was into wrestling. Not usually considered a Martial Art, wrestling is really a martial sport. I became the assistant to a very skilled and experienced coach. Along the way, I learned to roll around, and became proficient at a basic level. I also became something that most Karate people are not; comfortable on the ground. In wrestling you always work with partners.

Now I am grappling again, in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The Gracie family version I’m learning is perfectly designed to add on to another art. No kicks, no strikes, no blocks. Everything is a grab, takedown, and submit sequence. The submissions are all chokes or joint locks. It is adding ground effectiveness on to my earlier wrestling comfort. It was a kick to find one of the rare certified schools near my rural home.

Does my Jiu-Jitsu training mean I would take an attacker down, and then submit him? Nope. I’m a much better whacker than I am a grappler. Besides, gravel or concrete is not something I want to roll around on if I don’t have to.

The weird thing is, I don’t really consider Martial Arts to have anything to do with self-defence. It does, but not for me. I have never been attacked, or been in a fight. I figure the chances of it ever happening are quite remote. I would be a pretty sorry and pitiful figure if I’ve spent most of my life training for an event that never occurs. For me, the self-defence part is just a bonus.

Some people get their activity from smacking round objects around. Think of golf. People devote a great deal of effort and expense into perfecting their ability to put a dimpled ball into a round hole. My sister does Yoga. People their do Yoga to get better at doing Yoga. I work at Martial Arts to get more skilful at violence. I think it’s cool. I think it’s an art.

Maybe I should take up golf.

Bully

Last Friday, I was the instructor at our Karate class. There were only 5 of us there.

That meant me and only 4 students. One is brand new, and was happy to practise a few simple things. The remaining three are all facing exams, so I focused on them.

One is going for his Orange Belt, one for Blue, and the third for his Purple.

The tests all have three parts.

The first part is called Kihon, which means basics. Candidates are asked to perform several repetitions of various techniques. Each single technique or combination has a number of sticking points that the examiner watches for. We do a lot of Kihon in our club, and the lads are all looking pretty good. They should be ready in time.

The last part of the test is called Kumite, which means sparring. This is somewhat a misnomer, as the techniques are all pre-arranged. Again, I see our people being fine by test time.

The middle part is called Kata. Each candidate performs a prescribed Kata or form. They consist of between 20 and 30 movements. The entire set is considered one item, and must be performed correctly, and with correct feeling, movement, and spirit.

Our Yellow Belt's Kata is looking acceptable, as we practise that one quite a lot in class.

The Green and Purple Belt's Katas did not look up to snuff. As we only have one Green and one Purple in the entire club, we only rarely work on those Katas.

I have been in that situation myself many times. When I was an Orange Belt, I was the only one in a class of about 40 Yellow and White Belts. One test later, I was the sole Green Belt in a class of many Orange, Yellow, and White Belts. This was true for all of my later ranks as well.

I think I will focus on my disadvantaged solo middle-Belt friends. I will grab them before class and do continuous repetitions of their Katas until the class begins. Sometimes we finish 5 or 10 minutes early. I shall grab them then, too.

Sort of helpful bullying.

Baby Cars

We need a second car. Work is no problem, as I ride my electric bike, and Helen drives our Toyota Prius.

However, it can get tricky to coordinate all our evening and weekend activities. We are just getting by now, but things won't fit at all in January.

The sticking points will be Tuesdays, as Helen will go to Sechelt for ukulele, and I will be off to Gibsons for Jiu-Jitsu. Friday will be tricky, too, as Helen goes to a folk music group and I go off to Karate. Saturday will see Helen either going to art or music, and me going to Gibsons for Jiu-Jitsu. This will be plain old ordinary weeks. I will also be having at least one Karate Seminar in Vancouver per month. If Helen wants to come along, fine, or even if she wants to stay home car less. If she want a car, or has a gig, or wants to go to any of there other weekend activities we're sunk.

Time for a new set of wheels. We are proud we've gone so long with only one car.

We prefer new cars and will be going that route. I haven't thrown out the idea of another Prius as a second car, but they are pretty pricey.

I am waiting until the ScionIq becomes available before making up my mind. It is likely down to the 2012 tiny Scion or the smallest Toyota, the 2012 Yaris Hatchback.

The Yaris is the smallest Toyota vehicle, and is counted as a subcompact. For one guy driving around it would be plenty of car, almost too much. The ScionIq is an altogether smaller beast. It is in the same tiny super-subcompact class as the Smart Car. Unlike the Smart Car, the ScionIq has 4 seats (the back two are teensy), better fuel economy, and is only 1 foot longer.

Can't decide until I can get my hands on both cars.

It sounds like I'm making the decision, but really it's up to both of us. Helen lets me do the research. If there is anything about either of my little candidates she doesn't like, it's out.

I'll only be sunk if both cars get rejected by either or both of us.

Picking on them

Every so often I rant about the weaknesses of various martial arts. I don't spare my own, Shotokan Karate.

I guess it's time to hit Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Lots of strengths. Great for a small person, and better for a big one. It wastes no effort on flashy techniques. There is also a lovely, programmed training system.

Weaknesses? Of course.

We practise on mats. This is great for training, but doesn't reflect the real world at all. We don't even use the lovely wooden floor under the mats ever, even briefly to see how incredibly different it feels.

The entire art is also predicated on the idea of a single attacker. None of it will work if the bad guy has a buddy kicking away as you wrestle his buddy on the ground.

There is also nothing like free-sparring, or randori. One of the best ways to make things natural is to have to use them against a determined opponent who doesn't want to let you.

These are minor problems. I find Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to be the perfect accompaniment to what I already do, and the training style is perfect for a slightly ancient guy like me.

UFC 205 pound guys

The light heavyweight division of the UFC is on fire.

When the sun came up over Montreal on May 1 of last year, everybody said that the champion was unbeatable. His name; Lyoto Machida. His record; 16-0. Most opponents couldn't lay a glove on him. On that day, he was fighting a rematch against a man he'd already defeated.

The unbeatable champion was knocked out, and the new King was Mauricio Rua.

In November Machida tried to work his way back towards a title shot, but lost to Quinton Jackson by a razor close decision. Bad for Machida, but great for Jackson.

Most of the fighters I am naming won other fights along the way, but I'm only including the key action.

In March of 2011, the new champion Rua faced this young hot-shot named Jon Jones. Rua was badly smacked around for a few rounds before being knocked out. A new Champion.

In September Jones faced Jackson, who had beaten Machida, and knocked him out, too.

Just yesterday, Rua fought a 40-year-old fighter from outside the UFC organization named Dan Henderson. After 5 brutal rounds, Henderson pulled out a points win. As a result, he gets a shot at the Champion at the next opportunity after the already scheduled December Title fight.

In early December the Champion Jones fights the former Champion Lyoto Machida. Vegas odds makers are calling Machida a long shot. I disagree. Their styles match up in a way that I'd say makes Jones a slight favourite.

If Jones wins, he's clearly king of the hill, and will face Henderson soon as the favourite.

If Machida wins, it's all up in the air. It will be Machida beating Jones, who beat Jackson and Rua, who both beat Machida. His next fight will be against Henderson, who beat Rua, who beat Machida. No clear king.

Compared to this, the other divisions are as dull as dish water.

Brandy

Wednesday was a normal day, but I was unusually tired after Jiu-Jitsu for the workout we did.

Thursday, nasty virus strikes. Called in sick, and knew it was bad enough to arrange for both that day and Friday at home. Stayed home from Jiu-Jitsu, which I really didn't want to do. For a while I figured I could go and watch, but gave up on that as the day rolled on.

Friday, watched TV, napped, and read with plenty of chest-cold symptoms to keep me entertained. Our Karate instructor is away, so I was committed to taking that evening's class. No problem. The teacher doesn't really have to do anything or sweat. All the boss has to do is tell others what to do, and count in Japanese. By the end of the class I was bagged, and could barely talk. Lovely.

Saturday is another quiet day. Helen and I have tickets to a dinner/dance and have been looking forward to it for weeks. I'm trying to get myself together enough to handle eating in a restaurant and doing a dozen dances.

I can always recover tomorrow.

The only problem is, I've been a bit worse each day. This stupid thing could slop over into next week.

Time for more TV and a snifter of brandy.

Sick

It's a crappy day to be sick. I know it's never great, but there are definitely better and worse times.

If I miss Jiu-Jitsu, I miss part of a 23 class cycle. Won't get the missed topic again for 11 1/2 weeks. Students need every class in the cycle 3 times before they can advance. As I am taking a few private lessons, I can fill in a hole here or there, but miss too many and I'll have to do an entire extra cycle.

Also, as a teacher, I have to prepare the day for the substitute. Right now the internet is down, and I can't get anything done. I used to have paper resources, but that was during the Dark Ages. No internet means I'm in the Dark Ages again, but with no paper resources.

When I'm sick, I have to go in to school to set the day up. After that I come home and sit in my chair with a few cinnamon muffins and fancy coffee. I watch TV, surf the net...that sort of thing. Did I mention that the internet is down? I'll still have TV, but the best part is gone. In fact I won't really have complete TV either, as about half of my viewing these days comes via the web.

I'm expecting two Xbox games. They might arrive today, or even be waiting in the mailbox. If they end up in my hot little hands, I'll pop them into the machine and off we go. Of course, they will check the internet for updates and download them automatically. Did I mention that the internet is down? They will try and check for updates, fail, and not work.

At least the coffee and muffins will still work.

71

Here I am, all worked up that I'll be the oldest Gracie Blue Belt in Canada when I finally attain that rank. I've been wondering how I stack up, worldwide, in terms of age.

Now I know.

In the Gracie newsletter, there is a guy in La Jolla, California who just got his Blue Belt at age 71. I'm guessing from the fuss they are making about it, that he's the oldest ever. At least the oldest in the start-from-beginner category.

I guess I won't make top ten, or even top 100.

I'd like to meet him. We could roll around on the mat together.

Mending

Was in Victoria for the long weekend. I made the decision to ignore all the fabulous runs over there, and did nothing physical at all.

Used the time to let my aches, pull, and pains fade away. It seems to have worked, and I feel marvellous.

Might do the same over Christmas. It all depends on how I'm holding together. Might ditch the weekend runs in the first part of the New Year, too.

I don't want to miss any Karate or Jiu-Jitsu, so the supplemental activates might have to take a step into the shadows.

Does this mean no half-marathon in April?

God, I hope so.

Thud

It finally happened. After Jiu-Jitsu last night I felt old.

We were doing a really spectacular technique where the guy on the bottom picks the guy on top with his legs and flips him over and lands on top.

Lot of effort when one is on the bottom, and a hard landing when one is on the top.

I did it all fine, but there are plenty of aches and pains now. Some are over-worked muscles, and some are pains from thump-down landings.

It would be no sweat, except I go again tonight, and tomorrow.

Luckily, tonight it will be low effort, and low impact. I can do that.

At least I think I can.

Goalie

When I started Karate, my first goal was to pass that first belt test. I didn't really see anything beyond that. There kept being short-term belt goals being thrown up.

I started leading half the club's classes (can I call that teaching?) when I was a lowly Green Belt. I felt I had to keep testing as quickly as I could to prevent any confusion. I was one rank above the next club members, and if they'd caught me it might have gotten in the way. Maybe not, but I kept it from happening.

There are 3 ranks of Brown Belt. Nobody can tell your rank within Brown. Many like slowing down at that time to solidify their confidence in their technique. I couldn't. My Sensei moved to Japan, and our club needed a Black Belt. I became Sensei and needed to keep gaining rank as quickly as I could.

After Black Belt I didn't feel any pressure to continue the rank game, and didn't face an opportunity to test even if I wanted to for the next few decades. Back then, we didn't get such exams in BC, and to get one would have involved major travel. Now we have high-belt exams frequently, but I feel no pressure.

As a Shodan, I have access to all the training available. No advantage to a higher rank.

In Jiu-Jitsu, I am climbing the ladder once again. Every ten weeks of attendance earns the White Belts a spiffy black stripe on their belt. The students covet them the same as I once did my Yellow Belt. I find the stripes irrelevant, but would never say so.

After 23 weeks of classes, one is permitted to attend an extra, slightly more advanced class held on Saturdays. I want to get into that. Goal one.

After 35 weeks of training one is theoretically able to test for Blue Belt. I don't care much about the Blue Belt, but getting one gets access to two evening classes with more advanced training. I want to get to that, too. Goal two.

To speed my way towards my two goals, I've been taking extra private lessons. These count towards the 23 and 35 week totals. They also count DOUBLE towards belt stripe totals, too. Don't care about that.

The White Belt in our class closest to testing for Blue was talking to another girl a few nights ago. She was excited to think that if she passed, she would become the 5th female Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt in Canada EVER. I thought, "Cool."

If I reach my goals, I will become the oldest person EVER to earn a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt in Canada.

How's that for cool?

Spending

Getting political. Feel free to ignore this one. No running, or Karate, or bikes at all.


1   USA                698.105billion
2   China               114
3   France               61.285
4   UK                    57.424
5   Russia               52.586
6   Japan                51.42
7   Germany          46.848
8   Saudi Arabia    39.2
9   Italy                 38.303
10 India               36.03
11 Brazil             27.12    
12 Australia        26.9
13 S Korea         26.55
14 Spain             25.507
15 Canada          21.8       
16 Israel            16
17 UAE             15.749
18 Turkey         15.634
19 Netherlands 11.604
20 Afghanistan 11.6


The above is a list of the top 20 countries in the world in terms of military spending in billions of dollars.

Back in the 1800s Britain was the premier world power. They had a policy that they would always keep their Navy powerful enough to match the second and third greatest powers should conflict ever occur. Perhaps the US should adopt something like this.

Clearly from the above chart they are overspending. In fact, if you add up all the others in the top 20, their total comes to 695.56, which is less than the USA's 698.195. You may also notice that Israel and Afghanistan are top-spending countries, too. A big part of their war chest is provided as "aid" from the USA.

Let's lower the USA from first place at 698.195 down to 175.285. This would match the spending of China and France combined. The USA would still be the number one super power by far.

This single act would cut US government spending by 15% without laying a glove on Social Security, Health Care, or Veterans Benefits.

Madness, you say? What about all the defence workers thrown out of work?

OK, if you're so worried about the resulting massive unemployment how about this? Don't cut spending. Take it from the military and spend it on things that actually generate wealth. In the 1950s and early 1960s the government spent its surpluses on things like building the freeway system. Remember rural electrification in the 1930s?

Take your pick.

Dark

It is 7:30am and Saturday. I am sitting in my chair, looking out into the pitch black. On a weekday I'd just be arriving at work now, after a lovely ride in the total dark.

Daylight Savings Time is about to end for the year, and we get back a bit of morning light. It makes a world of difference to me. It will vanish again slowly over about the next two weeks.

Then it is all black again.

The cold I can handle. The rain is not sweet, but acceptable.

I hate the black ride.

Runtime

It looks like a run-on-both-days weekend. Haven't had one of those in a while.

When something comes up, like a seminar, or like next week's visit to Victoria, I often let running slide.

Nothing special is happening, so I shall run to maintain my svelte figure. I'm doing pretty good on that front, as my weight is down to 177lbs. Anything under 180 is fine, but I'm shooting to crack 175.

That should happen soon.

Especially if I keep running.

Fold

Helen and I both really like our electric bikes. The ride is wonderful, but we have something new in mind.

We love to travel, and would like to have folding bikes to take along. There are millions of makes and models, and the shopping has begun.

It is hard to find a bike that fits Helen well. She has a shoulder problem that requires a very upright posture. Compounding this, she is not very tall. Most of the bikes we try cannot be adjusted to her needs.

She has tried many, and none worked until last weekend. We went to a big store in Vancouver that has many models. She looked them all over. I saw one that was by far the best for being upright. She finally got to that one after checking the entire inventory. She was dubious, as it was the cheapest one in the place.

When she got on, it was perfect. Nothing fancy about it, but the components are acceptable. It has eight gears, and is even a colour she likes.

Helen doesn't like to decide these things in haste, and might have left the bike in the store. I put whatever influence I have into the discussion. We bought it and brought that baby home. It was only $350, after all.

Now, I'm on the lookout for a folder of my own. I am easy to fit, so can get whatever model I fancy. A store near our home sells a fine bike, and I'll go try it again. I’ll buy one if it feels like I remember.

Then we need cases for air travel or cruises, and we're all set.

We might start a trend, especially with the cruise ship crowd.

Cheater with a goal

I'm cheating in Jiu-Jitsu. They have a system of rank for White Belts. Every 20 classes completed earns a stripe on the belt. That should take 10 weeks per stripe. By Christmas, I'll have completed 8 weeks of training, and will have earned my second stripe. How? I've been taking extra, private lessons.

I am not nuts, paying for extra lessons just for pieces of tape on my belt. I am trying to get to my Blue Belt. Blue Belts are allowed to attend advanced classes. I want to get to the advanced classes.

One must complete 69 specific lessons to be allowed to test. By Xmas, I'll be a little less than halfway there. In the new year, I may just stick to the regular lessons, and finish my total off in 5 months or so. I also might stay with the extra training and be done in 3 months. Could also do something in between.

None of this guarantees an exam pass, but it does get one the right to try.

I would like to be Blue Belt before summer. Two reasons.

One, I can start next fall in the advanced classes. I plan on training in Judo this summer in Victoria. Judo and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu are quite similar. It is possible that mixing the two while preparing for an exam could be detrimental. If I'm already tested, I don't need to worry about it. I can relax and let the Judo people toss me around.

Two, if we decide to do a Disneyland vacation at all this summer, I'd like to train at the main Gracie school, which is nearby. This is unlikely as we have not considered it a vacation possibility, but sometimes we do stuff like that on short notice. If it happened, I'd want to go as a Blue and not a White.

An injury could render this all moot. I'm doing fine in that respect. No new pinky toe injuries this week, although one big toe took a bash. What's with Jiu-Jitsu and my toes?

The instructor seems to think my summer Blue goal is realistic. He was talking about a big Gracie seminar in May, and talked about how suitable it would be for Blue Belts. When he said it he was looking directly at me. Not that teachers can take time off in May, but he doesn't know that.

Funny, but if I make it and anybody asks me my martial arts rank I can say, "Black and Blue."

Cute, eh?