Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss This took a while

This is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. This took about 5 years. This is my biggest passion besides the outdoors.....And yes, they all got to whip me twice, as hard as they could. What is this? Rush????? This is my school's "special" tradition and I have some very special bruises.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu? I thought the Brazilians had La Savate.

Anyway, congrats, Keith. Like many PMs, I enjoy a good belt myself now and again.

Here is a good example of some very good jiu-jitsu. If you have ever seen ultimate fighting, this is what they do on the ground. My friend is currently on the verses channel on their version of UFC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5WD36oHTnU

Wow! That dude is a grappling fool.

Congratulations on the belt Keith. Is your style Capoeira?

Nope, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Heres me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygycBO0-aXo

Congratulations Keith. I'm a great admirer of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. I think it's one of the most practical forms of martial arts in existence.

I've never discussed in here but I'm a black belt in Taekwondo. My school was also a traditional school. I trained for 4 years (three days a week) before I was eligible to test for my black belt. In the system I was in, the black belt test consisted of performing forms (kata) of all of the lower belts, performing the black belt kata, performing a weapons kata, free sparing three opponents (one of which was our sensei) and breaking boards at three stations. Then six months later we had a "confirmation" test in which you repeated the entire test to become a confirmed black belt.

For a couple of years I was on a black belt demonstration team in which we would perform at schools and shopping malls, county fair etc. I was a blast. I competed in tournament karate (freestyle tournaments) for 3 years.

I also studied Tang So Do and Hapkido. I really like the practical application of Jiu-jitsu. After studying and seeing many different forms of martial arts I think that it is one of the best true self defense forms of martial arts. Although I loved Taekwondo, much of it is jumping and or spinning kicks that are not practical in a self defense situation, which is why I supplemented it with Hapkido.

Unfortunately during a testing ceremony as an assistant instructor I was performing a demonstration of a particular attack combination (a series of three jumping spin cresent kicks) and I landed wrong and broke my right foot in four places. This was the end of my Taekwondo career.

Anyway, congratulations on your belt advancement - I know how hard it is to work up through the belts. Most people don't realize the dedication it takes, let alone the blood and bruises. I can remember many of day of bruises and a few black eyes or sore ribs. In addition to my broken foot during my martial arts training I also broke a toe (during a board break) and a finger (during a grappling class). Injury is just par for the course in martial arts training.

Keep on training!