You Really Got A Hold On Me

I want to take you on a trip back in time to exactly three years ago. A woman who was about to turn forty in a couple of months decided that she should start training Jiu-Jitsu. It seemed like a crazy decision to a lot of people, especially considering the fact that she totally sucked at it, I mean she did not have a clue! After Jiu-Jitsu class every muscle in her body would hurt, she was always covered with polka dot bruises, and she was constantly nursing injuries. She was as stiff as a board when she grappled, and she usually felt a little lost and confused in class. Not to mention that she was painfully shy, and she had a hard time asking people to roll, or seeking help.

By all rights she should have quit, it wouldn't have surprised anyone if she had. She just didn't seem cut out for it, it didn't seem like she really belonged. Yet, no matter how much she struggled, she was powerless to walk away. Since she couldn't quit, her only option was to keep trying to get better.

Slowly but surely, she did get better, and she started to feel like she belonged, and she started a blog to talk about this thing which had such a hold on her. This thing that challenged her and made her grow. This thing that tested every part of her being.

Three years. Three years to go from completely clueless to approaching awesome. Three years of hard work and fun, pain and joy, triumph and defeat. Three years that she would not trade for anything in the world. Now that she's seen how far she has come in such a relatively short amount of time, she can't wait to see what the next three Jiu-Jitsu years have in store.

"I don't like you, but I love you.  Seems that I'm always thinkin' of you.

Though you treat me badly, I love you madly.  You've really got a hold on me."