Orientation:
The tall guy at the desk introduces himself – Eric; seems to be about my age, but in a heck of a lot better shape than I am. Fairly sure he could kick my ass. Super friendly dude, though. He asks me how I heard about Five Rings and after I tell him my situation he gives me a tour of the facility. It turns out that they have fitness programs as well as jiu jitsu classes, which is awesome because I just cancelled my membership at my gym when I moved. Maybe I can work out up here, too. He tells me that there is a ‘BJJ 1’ class starting in a little while and that if I want to participate I can borrow a VIP gi and get started. No time like the present, since I am already here, right? Eric gets me the gi and shows me the locker room. Pretty sweet set up, with showers and plenty of storage space. No locks or lockers, though – this definitely isn’t Los Angeles anymore.
Coach Nick isn’t exactly what I have in mind when I think about martial arts instructors. He’s patient, unassuming, even a little goofy! Most importantly, he really seems to know his stuff. This class is fun – I am getting to learn some real basics of the sport, but even better is witnessing the atmosphere at the gym. A higher level class is going on at the same time and the techniques that they are doing are really exciting. Everybody seems focused, but laid back at the same time. I am definitely going to ride this free trial out… I worked up a sweat from just rolling around a bit. Coach even said he could tell that I had wrestled before, which is cool because I didn’t mention it.
I stick around to watch the other class finish. Nothing that they are doing seems that difficult. For certain, I can do that stuff without too many problems. There are people of all shapes and sizes; men, women, young, old. Not a ton of ethnic diversity, but this is Oregon, right? I swear I just saw that 120-pound girl just reverse positions on a guy fifty pounds heavier. The belt/rank system is a little confusing. There are white, blue, and purple belts in the class I am watching and it is being led by a guy about my age and size with a black belt. Why would they have them all in one class? Maybe they let the higher belts come in to help the lower ones? That would be sweet! When I was teaching, I used to do that with my more advanced students. Peer education is a solid teaching tool. Anyhow, I am also noticing that there is a progression between the instructor talking and the students practicing that should work well for me. I don’t want to sit and listen to theory about the magic power of jiu jitsu for an hour, but I also don’t want to get thrown to the wolves and get beat up for an hour either. Explain and practice is about the best I can hope for, I think. Hmm, think I’ll explore a little bit.
This Pro Shop they have has some wicked apparel. T-shirts, patches, full gis, rash guards… all emblazoned with various logos. As I’m checking it out, Eric comes over and tells me about some of the items, including the Jiu Jitsu University book. I guess it’s kind of like the gym handbook or something. Sounds interesting, even if I’ve never heard of this Saulo Ribeiro guy. I probably won’t buy it though. I am here to work up a sweat and maybe meet some new people. Overall, I think this place has some possibilities. There are open, welcoming people who seem to enjoy what they are doing. Jiu jitsu is close enough to wrestling that I don’t feel completely out of my depth, even if lying flat on my back is a little weird. I am really looking forward to my next class.
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