For The Love Of Jits

So, my weeks been fun, the UK has kinda re-opened a bit more out of Lock Down. We can now sit outdoors to eat and drink in groups of 6 or 2 households, we can go to nonessential shops, get haircuts, tattoos and beauty treatments and most importantly of all go and work out in a gym.

I have started a new diet eliminating food which I have tested sensitive to, mainly all forms of diary, wheat, gluten, apples, red meat and tomatoes. This has gone pretty well, I have been eating lots of lean protein in the form of chicken and fish, lots of veggies and some wheat and gluten free carbs. I have found prep to be the most essential thing.

Out of interest I took pictures, my weight and measurements of my starting point and in 2 weeks time I’ll see how I have got on. I can tell you now my body and mind feel a whole lot clearer.

Also, we had another trip to the vets, this time with little Kyle. Nothing serious just her yearly check-up. She is a little small but on weight for her size and milked lots of extra treats for getting her booster shot. Oh and we also inadvertently co-ordinated our outfits for the outing.

So possibly the most exciting thing to happen this week in my eyes is gyms can re-open…. They are still restricted in what they can let you do but just being back in the gym to solo train feels so good. This brings us nicely to my main talking point this week…. The power of Jiu Jitsu.

About 6 years ago now, I took a gamble and rocked up to a Jiu Jitsu class one night with my friend Peter. I have never regretted this decision since. It’s been and continues to be a journey, it’s had its ups and downs but it’s never something I regretted.

Off the back of the initial class, I took a smaller class at the same gym focusing on introducing females to MMA. This was a mix of grappling and striking and as the weeks of that class went on I plucked up the courage to return to the evening Jiu Jitsu class’s on my own. This was scary but I am so glad I did it.

Soon I was attending multiple classes a week and loving every second of it.

I started doing some one-on-one training with a higher belt and he encouraged me to enter into my first competition. Now that was an adrenalin rush… it was a poor display of Jiu Jitsu, but it was a rush, I did win mainly through strength and little technique… after all I was still a very new white belt at the time.

As the month went on and some heavy life stuff started to happen (I am sure that will get touched on in future blogs) I found the gym and training specifically Jiu Jitsu such a great outlet for my mind.

I started to see my body changing, as I progressed, I started attending the circuit training classes the gym had to offer, I was transforming.

I started notice real mental changes about myself, my fear of hights disappeared and my ‘melt downs’ (later to be diagnosed as autistically driven) became far fewer with much longer periods of time between.

Jiu Jitsu and combat sports training gave me so much focus in a very turbulent time in my life.

It gave me confidence which transferred to other parts of my life mainly in work. I found running calls and projects so much more natural.

In late 2018 my dad passed; he eventually lost his battle against cancer. That whole time Jiu Jitsu, the gym and training allowed me to relax. When dad was gone, the disconnect from the outside world when I was training was replaced with anxiety.

I started to get so anxious before I walked into the gym. I was scared I was a burden to my training partners, a disappointment to my coaches and a disappointment to myself. I was pretty lost.

I never fully walked away from the gym, but my training became lesser…. I needed that break to work on myself, I needed to heal.

Time has passed and I have had enforced time away from the gym due to Covid-19, but I have never stopped training. This pandemic has brough me great things, my body has healed, I am still chunkier than I was, but my body is injury free and stronger than ever. My mind is so much more whole, I have come to terms with a lot over the last 12 months.

When I got to walk back through those gym doors on Tuesday, I felt at home again…. I love this journey, I hope I never reach the final destination and it just keeps on going.

Find what your soul loves fellow Outlier you’ll never regret it.