There's a B in my JJ!

So, I went to my first class at Lincoln Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Center last night, and it was everything I thought it would be, and more! All of my questions were answered, all of my fears were eased, and I am certain that I made the right decision in training there. When I came in, Conan said "Welcome home!", and that's exactly how it felt.

Everyone who came to the advanced class last night were people from the dojo, but it was kind of weird to see everyone except Greg wearing white belts! Since the Jiu-Jitsu program at the dojo is a Japanese-based hybrid style, none of us hold rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, not even Conan. Greg is a BJJ black belt, and now that we train under him, we'll wear white belts until our first testing. A senior black belt from Greg's home school will be flying in to test us sometime in the future, and Greg said that anyone who held a colored belt at Roseberry's will be able to test for their blue belt in BJJ. He also said that people who had colored belts at the dojo can come to the advanced classes at LBJJ, but he recommended that we train in both the advanced and beginner, because the beginner classes will be comprised of the curriculum we'll need to know for our blue belt test, so we can make sure we're ready.

Front row: Justin, Ray, Sara, Mike, Gina, Greg, Robert
Back row: Adam, Chris, Fuji, Jerad, Will, Brian, Josh, Conan

The very first technique we practiced at LBJJ was triangle choke from guard, so they had me at hello! Greg said he wanted to work on things that were personal favorites of his, and which could be done in gi or no gi. The next thing we did was omoplata...and that apparently was also the first sub on the mat at LBJJ.

The space is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be, and the mat is almost as big as the one at the dojo. I liked the big windows along the front, and how they steamed up halfway through class! Parking is excellent, and they gave us women our own changing room. The building is also air-conditioned, which is going to be awesome this summer. There is really not one single thing I can think of to complain about! Anyone who is interested can try it free for a week, and there are no contracts.

On Greg's first day at the dojo he was wearing a white belt, and I had no idea who he was. As soon as I started working with him, I knew he had something special, and I wanted him to teach it to me. I am so happy about training at LBJJ that words cannot even express how I feel. All I can really say is that it just feels right. Now there's a B in my JJ, and I'm glad it's there! 

 "Para ter um amor e um pouquinho de Rio..."