Fire or No-fire

I started in Jiu-Jitsu almost exactly one year ago.

Out of all the White Belts, I was the only one to have not completed any part of the course.

No newer beginner started for about five months. Also at the five month mark, a single one of the White Belts progressed to Blue.

At the seven-month mark, I started my own Blue Belt exam. Only two of the White Belts senior to me were ready to test alongside.

What happened to the rest? Why weren't they ready? To be fair, one young guy would have been ready, but he was just below the minimum age limit of 16. The rest were still training, but without much drive to progress.

Of the three of us testing together; Cody and I earned our Blue Belts at my 9 month mark. The third got about halfway through, and stopped coming to class. What's with that? He was only a couple of weeks away from promotion.

I've now hit 12 months of training. Nobody else has reached Blue, and not many are getting particularly close. In the entire group, I'd say there are only two people eager to progress.

One is the under-16-year old guy I've already mentioned. Although he cannot receive the rank quite yet he has been invited to the Blue Belt sessions. By the time his birthday rolls around he's going to blow the exam away.

Another keener started about six months ago, and is doing his best to attend every class. I'd say he's the physically strongest guy in the club, and has struggled to unlearn being strong. He's made huge advances. Jiu-Jitsu is an art of precision, not strength. Using strength is just a habit that one has to break to gain proper technique. After that, the power can be added back in.

I enjoy sharing the journey with my fellow students, and this week I got to see two more people start to catch the fire. The instructor was reviewing people's records, and called over Amelia and Michael. He pointed out that both are getting close to completing the requirements for testing. They hadn't really noticed. He said they could possibly make it by Christmas.

As that sunk in, their eyes lit up. It was obvious it had never occurred to them, but suddenly they could taste it. I hope it was the start of the fire. If they go for it, they will be our next two Blue Belts.

Just as with the White Belts, there is a corresponding phenomenon amongst the Blue Belts. The ranks beyond Blue are denoted by up to four stripes added onto the belt. Our instructor has alone attained his first stripe within our group. A few others are pretty close, and have completed part of the exam.

The rest of us are plugging along through the curriculum. At the pace we can do it here, it will take an absolute minimum of 15 months, or 180 classes.

I took the summer to travel with my wonderful wife, and only managed to complete 4 classes. Since then I haven't missed any, and have racked up 9 in a row. On average, I'd say the Blue Belts have each attended about half that many times out of the last 9 classes. I also attend all the White Belt classes and get to review all of that material, and attend all the open mat sessions where I get to work on whatever I like.

Put it all together and so far this September there have been 6 White Belt classes, 3 reflex development classes, open mat 6 times, and 9 Blue Belt classes. That's 24 in total. I've been at all 24. The only other person to do that is the instructor. Next highest might be about half or two thirds attendance.

Of course, I'll miss classes sometimes but never without a real reason. Even so, in a year I should be 80% done. If I were to train like some of the others, I'll only be half that far along. It would feel as if I hadn't even started.