Small passages

There are a bunch of little Jiu-Jitsu milestones about to pass for me.

The first one is almost comical. There is a requirement that a student must attend at least 100 Master Cycle classes to qualify for the right to test for Blue Belt Stripe One. As there are 60 techniques that each require three lessons in order to cover, the 100 class rule is kind of silly. Anyhow, I will reach 100 classes in about a week.

The second milestone is more significant. The material to be covered at any level is divided into 7 chapters. It has been almost a year since I earned my Blue Belt. In all that time I've completed only chapters 1 and 2. In two weeks I'll finish off chapter 3, the longest of the lot. By coincidence, in my private lessons I'm also about to complete chapter 7. Chapter 7 is the second longest.

Only chapters 4, 5, and 6 will be left, and they are the shortest units by far.

When I was a White Belt, we only trained in four chapters of material. The four chapters I'll be finishing off are the same; Mount, Side Mount, Guard, and Standing.

I am about to move into totally unknown territory, at least to me. This is another milestone as I move from the familiar into the novel material of Half Guard, Back Mount, and Leg Locks.