I don’t believe in signs, but the day a colleague wrote about CrossFit coach Steven Ellis bringing his Brazilian jiu-jitsu talents to the Chaitown Community, my friend urged me to join the mixed martial arts form. I have been into UFC for a couple of years as I would watch my brother-in-law beat people to the ground… on his Play Station 5. Beating him was no piece of cake as he knew the techniques, while I was flailing my arms like one of those inflatable tube guys you find at petrol pumps.
But once I trained myself on the console and watched a few matches on Sony LIV, I realised I wanted to L2 + R2 (blocking in UFC 5 on the PS5) in real life. So, I went to the Jodhpur Park address with a high bun and zero prior training.
How it started
I was a bundle of nerves as not only was this my first class at Movestrong Martial Arts, but I was so not looking forward to getting beaten up. The class was diverse: a mix of newbies like me and seasoned pros who practically live and breathe the art. But Steven from Montana, our coach, treated everyone as equals. Small activities like single clapping before any drill or creating a positive mood really get you more involved and interested.
Day One kicked off with some easy drills where activities like shrimping or letting go of someone’s hand grip came into play. Shrimping plays a vital role in BJJ where you need to make space for yourself and wriggle out of the grip of an attacker who is on top of you.
Why such a name though? Because, trust me, you look like a shrimp trying to pull it off… you’re a Brazilian prawn! From shrimping, we were then taught to take our attacker down to get on top or busting free, which seemed like an okay task to do when I was partnered up with someone who was teaching me how to learn. And then came the “games”.
We had to use everything we learnt to get out of our attacker’s iron grip. This is when I was faced with a 45-year-old ripped man, a karate master who could probably bench press a truck. I said a little prayer while he threw a challenge, “If the attackers are bigger than me, what will you do then?” Mama!
Not sure if it was me using the right techniques or if he saw me struggling so hard that I did find a way to get loose from my attacker. But how to breathe after that intense showdown? Was it two quick inhales or half an exhale? I learned that shortly.
How it’s going
Fast forward to three classes in, and I started to feel like I belonged in the dojo. Every class cranked up the intensity in terms of exercises and drills. Launching yourself on the ground and bouncing back up to do it again is one of the drills. A classic ‘You hitting yourself?’ moment.
The last class included many submissions, mostly to do with the arm, and a side of tossing and turning. Steven really focused on how we should move our hips and shoulders to perfect the submissions, making me feel like a ground-bound Shakira. “Ledo lo le lo le.”
As we all got comfortable with each other, it didn’t matter who we practised the drills on, as long as we were learning and “tapped quickly and tapped often”. The only thing I’ve tapped before this was shoulders during exams. Getting into the perfect groove will take a few more classes but a couple of fist bumps from Steven are all the assurance I need that I’m on the right track.
Armed with these new skills, I now have the urge to take down anything that’s standing in my way. Mind you, I am all of 5’2”, and that thing that’s standing is probably a broomstick.
But, watch out world, this shrimp is ready to make some waves.