Over the past 4 months, I have taken it upon myself to learn something completely new. To challenge myself by going back to being a beginner, a blue-eyed-bushy-tailed novice. It has been in the form of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
My three sons are rapidly growing up and the older two have been doing martial arts for nearly two years. Eventually my curiosity of ‘the gentle art’ peaked enough to give it a go. Either that or I realized that pretty soon I would be the hapless victim of lounge-room sparring in a testosterone-fuelled household. My poor wife.
I acquired a ‘Gi’, the typically white martial arts attire complete with my humble white belt, and turned up to my first training session at Ochiba Dojo at 5:30 am. My background as a competitive runner would surely help right? Wrong. I quickly discovered (and continue to learn), that the linear nature of distance running does not at all prepare one for the world of jiujitsu.
I can best describe jiujitsu as a 3-dimensional million-piece WASGIJ puzzle that one attempts to do upside down with your eyes closed. I can only imagine the thoughts going through the head of the patient black-belt sensei as he watches me fumble, trip, brace and awkwardly struggle around.
The journey thus far, which has become a 5 day per week morning ritual (or addiction) has challenged me physically, but most of all mentally. Though running remains a passion, my morning run would become preoccupied with the days challenges ahead. Those same challenges don’t consume you anywhere near as much in a jiujitsu class when you are caught in a chokehold! For me, this was the added bonus. A time to focus on something completely new, without distraction.
Learning a new skill, a new sport, picking up a new musical instrument, or learning a new language are all fantastic ways to broaden your mental horizons. Going back to these humble beginnings has helped me appreciate how challenging the sport is for my boys. It has also helped me appreciate the challenges of life as a new-graduate physiotherapist with an overwhelming knowledge base of conditions and injuries to problem-solve.
Keeping the mind active particularly as we age is known to reduce the risk of neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. More importantly for me – it has been a rekindling of the passion and excitement of learning a new skill and slowly starting to get better at it. Though it may seem scary (and some choke holds certainly are!); the positives far exceed any fear or negatives.
So get out there and try something new!!
Nb. Written as Health columnist for the Hibiscus Matters.
