Get out of the grind and onto the mat

We are approaching the third week of January. Depending on the sources you choose to follow, over 45% of people who started exercising as a New Year’s resolution have stopped by now. Various reasons include: not seeing results, difficulty with exercise, and people simply getting bored. Unless you grew up playing sports, exercise is unlikely to be enjoyable. It doesn’t have to be like that if one gets out of a boring routine and looks for new, exciting options.

Since they opened last year, I have been wanting to join Driftless Academy, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in Sparta, WI. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art popularized by the Gracie family from Brazil. They had developed a style that was very effective in combat sports. Winning many fights with techniques involving ground fighting, which include various submissions like arm bars and chokes, rather than strikes. It is like wrestling, except you get to choke people. It isnt at all like many other martial arts where you spend your time throwing strikes at the air or practicing moves. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is hands-on, and you learn skills that are effective in competition or self-defense.

I have always enjoyed martial arts and combat sports, and I was overjoyed when I saw the Driftless Academy sign appear in a downtown storefront last year. Surgery, life, social anxiety, and laziness have kept me from joining. Meanwhile, each day passes, and I notice it’s getting harder to get off the ground and out of a chair, my flexibility and balance are getting worse, and I am starting to feel like a very old man. It was time to act.

Just before 6 am on a Monday, I walked through the door of Driftless Academy’s new, larger location at 2111 West Wisconsin Street in Sparta. There, I met two pleasant individuals who proceeded to sweep, roll, and choke me for an hour. It was the best time I have had doing anything for a very long time. The hour-long class was over before I realized it, and I left for work soaked in sweat and trying to catch my breath. I couldnt wait for the next class. Over the next several hours, my body began to remind me I am 53. My plans to attend the 6 pm class slipped away as I stood from my chair and slowly walked to my vehicle, looking forward to a comfy chair at home and some Tylenol.

My Wednesday morning was mostly a repeat of Monday, except for the pain that now affected every muscle in my body, including ones I’d forgotten I had. It was the kind of muscle pain that reminded me I did something right, waking muscles that had lain dormant and unused. Loss of strength and dexterity is an issue for many of us as we age, so it is best that we keep those muscles active. Today we were joined by a female classmate. Someone I was apprehensive working with, as I don’t want to disrespect or risk creeping her out. It is something I’ve read about from various female fighters I follow on social media. But I quickly learned after she made me tap during free roll that she was a killer, and I’d better start worrying more about my technique and preventing her from taking my arm off. The Gracie family developed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to be effective for people of all sizes, and it has become a competitive sport for men and women of all ages worldwide. You will not be the only woman or older person to have ever trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Chris LaForce, the morning instructor, is invaluable in explaining the techniques and guiding you through the movements step by step. I was reminded not to overdo it and to let them know if I needed to take a break, and I did. Either I looked like I was about to die, or he knows new students need all the help they can get. Any inadequacies you feel you have should not prevent you from enjoying this sport. Levi Rognholt, one of the owners of Sparta’s Driftless Academy, had once explained that everyone is different, that only you know what you are capable of, and that you can certainly modify the training to suit your limitations. Like anything else, this sport takes time to learn and master. Stick with it and keep coming back, and you will see results.

Exercise is so much better when I am doing something I enjoy. It is more like play than work. That, and adhering to a low-calorie diet, will be the winning combination for losing weight and improving health. Treadmills and walking never helped me lose weight or gain strength. It always felt like I was participating in some self-inflicted torture. Lifting weights certainly helps one gain muscle, but I don’t know anyone who has lost much weight just by lifting weights without an overly strict diet that one won’t enjoy.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is by far the best workout I have ever had. You are struggling against your own weight, the weight and strength of your adversary, and have a chess game that the two of you play to gain an advantage over the other. Beyond that, it is fun, and different, and just what I needed to change my life around right now. It is the perfect sport for anyone looking to break out of the mundane workout they dislike doing every day. Beyond the physical improvements I will see as I continue, I feel an immediate improvement in mental health, possibly because I get the opportunity to try choking people before I go to work.

Before joining, Drifltess Academy offers free trials so you can see if it is a fit for you. Their new location is large and will accommodate more students than their downtown location. There are children’s classes, and they offer a new homeschool program. You can find their schedule and more information at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573526102285 or use the QR code below.