Jiu Jitsu in Kraków, Poland
Getting myself out of my comfort zone
When I was unpacking my suitcase at the Qubus Hotel, excited and happy to be at Steem Fest III, I realized how addicted I am to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu when I took my gear out which in total was around 4 pounds of weight between rash guards, my gi (kimono), belt and finger tapes.
I mean, you could probably be thinking: ”Who in his all senses would go to the other side of the planet for a few days for a crypto conference and meetup with his martial arts gear to train there?” Only a jiu jitsu person would understand me.
When you are into sports or fitness, you know how good it feels those chemicals your body releases called endorphins, that natural high that feels so good. Well, it could be so addicting that if you spend several days without training, it could change your mood besides feeling bad about yourself.
I was not going to spend a complete week without rolling around with other opponents (sparring or training), although I was hesitating because visiting a new country and stepping in as a foreign visitor in an academy, can be a bit challenging.
From a jiu jitsu perspective, the way the sport is lived, regardless if you compete for a living or you are a regular person that love the sport and just want to train and learn, it makes you feel like we are all united for the same reason: to enjoy the sport! But, when you visit a new academy, you will always be challenged by almost everyone, especially the ones that are in your same rank or 1 level before you, because they want to test their technique against yours.
After a little bit of research I found an academy very near by to where we were staying like a 20 minutes walking distance: Akademia Fenix
I knew I was going to be alone there, without understanding Polish at all, but all these aspects combines were only going to do 1 positive thing on me: to keep building my selfconfidence.
This is why I named this post: Getting myself out of my comfort zone.
After I arrived at the academy, out of respect I waited in the line for the professor to invite me on the mat and talk to me.
The class was going to start in 30 minutes, and it was going to be NoGi class, which means no kimono on, just rash guards.
Gi and No Gi are the 2 forms of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Gi Jiu Jitsu is grappling with the use of a traditional Gi, which allows you to grab the clothing of your opponent. No Gi is grappling without the traditional uniform, instead you wear shorts and a rash guard. In no gi you cannot grab your opponent’s clothing.
Professor told me the class was going to be for beginners. I was disappointed at first, I wanted to train in the advanced class, but then I thought why not sweating a bit with the debutants, after all I was one once, and I always happy when higher belts helped me in my moves and “traino”.
The class was full, and not understanding any word of what the professor was saying in his polish, still I was able to see and comprehend the moves in the techniques.
I started to feel comfortable after a few minutes, and acknowledge the acceptance of my presence from the rest of the students. It was fun and I was happy I learned 2 new arm locks.
We spent around 20 minutes sparring between each other, which was good. I was a bit afraid I was going to get injured, you see I am latin and europeans usually have a bigger contexture, and when you roll with white belts you have to be EXTRA careful, they rely on their strength because of the lack of technique, and rolling with white belts is when you could get hurt the most. But it was all good.
The class was done. The professor was so kind to invite me again, but the following days there was no time for me to go since Steem Fest had a busy agenda. Luckily for me it was a good experience, people were welcoming and we all learned from each other, this is what Jiu Jitsu is about, although you will always find that person with a strong ego that needs to prove something, and as a visitor, you just have to play it safe.
If you ever visit Krakow and want to visit this academy, it will be easy to locate it using google maps: Akademy Fenix, Kraków Poland.
In conclusion:
I believe that one of the best ways to improve in whatever you like to do as a hobby, sports or even professionally, although I enjoy to take examples from Jiu Jitsu experiences, is to put yourself in a situation you don't feel comfortable with, or a situation you know you will be challenged to perform better.
For the majority of the people is hard, usually the majority prefer the easy way and not be tested, but if you don't, how can you get better from a mindset point of view? It only makes you stronger and it helps to build your confidence.
Do you have a similar story? What do you or would you do to challenge yourself and get better in what you do?
Thank you!
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