Thursday, August 13, 2009

Ask burien top team: Beyond Blue

Just got my blue. Advice from higher belts?

"I think there are two stages to being a blue belt. In the early stage, your goal should be to reward your new sense of confidence with greater than ever risk-taking in training. Everything you can think of trying: different types of guards, different passes or sweeps, different submissions and takedowns, you should try. Being a blue belt is a lot like being a teenager. You're supposed to do crazy things.

The second stage of being a blue belt comes when you realize that are you starting to head toward someone who is truly serious about jiu jitsu. You've got two stripes and are thinking about the possibility of making it to the next level. It's the difference between being 15 and practicing for your driver's license on the one hand, and turning 18 and having to think about college or a full-time job. There's still plenty of time to mess around. But play should start to feel like has some purpose or direction."

Ask burien top team: Making blog post magic out of message board musing since 2009.