The Terrible Twos

My blog is now two years old.  It's walking on it's own, but it's still not fully potty-trained.  Most of what comes out of it's mouth is gibberish, and sometimes it throws temper tantrums, but I'm still glad I gave birth to it.  Hopefully it will continue to mature and grow in the coming years!

On a completely unrelated note, Sensei Scissorhands likes to call my daughter Skyler "Skywalker", which is fine with me because I figure if she's a Skywalker that makes me Queen Amidala and Joe is Darth Vader.   Since my ring tone for him is "The Imperial Death March", it just seems right.

However, I think Joe would disagree with that.  He insists that he is of the light side, and it is I who is a Darth.  I cannot confirm nor deny that, but as Yoda would say "A valid point he may have."

Skyler on the other hand, has very little knowledge of, nor interest in, anything which she refers to as "those star shows".  I wasn't even sure if she knew what a Skywalker was, but she does know of Luke (and she would probably rather be him than Princess Leia).  Personally, I've always seen her as more of a Solo.  

"I take orders from just one person: me." -Han Solo

Me, Myself, and I

After I wrote the post about Brian Giles, he linked to it and called Ginger Snaps a "Jiu-Jitsu blog". My first thought was that it is not, because when I think of a "Jiu-Jitsu blog" I think of one that talks more about specific techniques or theories, and offers reviews or resources to help people learn (more like The Jiu-Jitsu Fighter), and my blog really isn't anything like that. When I do have something specific to say about Jiu-Jitsu which I think might be helpful to people (and by "people" I generally mean white belts) I am more likely to post it on TJJF, not GS. Although I do talk about Jiu-Jitsu much of the time here, it's more about my personal journey.

Someone once came to Ginger Snaps by searching for "luta de gina". "Luta de" is Portuguese for "struggle", and "gina" is a shortened form of the word for "page", so it translates to "page struggle". That pretty much sums up what I think my blog is, pages which chronicle my struggle. 

Since this blog is really more about me than anything else, it's appropriate that you can now come here through www.gingersnaps.me. You can still get here through www.ggingersnaps.blogspot.com, but the new address is a little less cumbersome. Although I usually think of Ginger Snaps as basically a "martial arts blog", in the end I guess it can be called a Jiu-Jitsu blog; because me, myself, and I are all crazy about Jiu-Jitsu.

The Secret of my Success

I don't often write about the specifics of my rolling, because talking about all the details bores me, and I don't always remember them. When I do write about open mat, I'm much more likely to talk about my failures than successes. One of the reasons for this is that I'm generally more focused on the negative (so I can correct myself!), but another reason is because although I try to come across as all mean, I'm actually a big softie (which sickens me! ;). Don't get me wrong, I have no problem kicking ass and taking names, I just don't want to reveal those names publicly. Since most of my rolling "successes" (read: submissions) happen against white belts, I don't want to write about them for fear of making people feel bad, or discouraging them.

I don't actually believe that most of the students who I train with read my blog, but we are a small school, and on the off-chance that someone might hear that I wrote about tapping them out, I'm afraid it might embarrass them, particularly if they are new. The SOB once joked about it, but I don't want people to be reluctant to roll with me because they're afraid I'm going to talk about how much more awesome I am than they are! Even if I used nicknames, it probably wouldn't be too hard for people to figure out who I was talking about. Maybe I'm being too sensitive about it, but I don't want to hurt feelings.

Lately I've been rolling with a lot of purple and black belts (so the only one tapping out has been me ;). The last time I rolled with Conan, at one point he asked "Are you trying to submit me?", and I answered "No, I gave up on that a long time ago, now I just try to survive." To me, surviving for over ten minutes against Conan seems like a greater success than tapping out a white belt. I have never been able to make it through a roll with him without eventually being submitted (except for one time when I caught him slipping). Someday I hope to prevent it long enough so that we will run out of time! When I do, you can bet I will write about it "Woohoo, Conan didn't tap me out today! Who's awesome? I'm awesome!" If I ever actually succeed in submitting Conan (for reals, and not because he's taking it easy on me ;) I know he would not mind me writing about it. As a matter of fact, no one would probably be happier for me than he would. I don't think you can make it to black belt without conquering your ego.

Last week I accidentally hit one of the new white belts in the face, and of course I said "I'm sorry!", to which he replied "It's okay, if I can't take a punch to the face, I'm probably in the wrong place." I suppose the same holds true in regards to them being submitted by me; if they can't take it, then they are probably in the wrong place. However, I still want to be careful when I talk about it, because every "success" for me is a "failure" for someone else, and many new students have a hard enough time as it is, without me telling the internet all about how I destroyed them!

Since I mentioned The SOB earlier, I thought I would clarify that I don't care about his feelings, the only reason I have not yet written a post about submitting him is because I have not yet been able to submit him. However, he has also not triangled me since the day I wrote that post...oh, but not for lack of trying! He even tried to triangle me today, but I was like "Oh no you didn't!" So, I also consider that to be one of my greatest successes. Even though he's tapped me out with a bunch of other chokes, he can't triangle me anymore, and that feels like a great victory. It's all in how you look at it.

Nerds!

Ginger Snaps was recently named a Top BJJ Nerd Blog by Daniel Faggella over at Science of Skill. At first I was like "Excuse me? I am not a nerd, I am super cool!", but then I realized a few things...

1. It doesn't necessarily mean that I'm a nerd, just that nerds might like my blog.

2. When you put BJJ in front of any word, it automatically becomes cool, so "BJJ nerd" is an oxymoron.

3. I am, in fact, a nerd.

Coming soon to a theater near you "Revenge of the BJJ Nerds"...picking on these nerds could be hazardous to your health! Seriously, Daniel said some very nice things about Ginger Snaps, and I am honored to find myself in such great company among the other blogs he has included!

Pretty Good Year

Today marks one year since I started Ginger Snaps. I had previously been blogging for about a year and a half as a part of the group on The Jiu-Jitsu Fighter, and I decided to start my own blog because I wanted to write about subjects other than Jiu-Jitsu. The funny thing is that when I finally got around to labeling my Ginger Snaps posts, I realized that Jiu-Jitsu far outnumbers any other label. Yeah, I'm so crazy about Jiu-Jitsu that I needed two different blogs to write about it!

In the last year, I have posted 187 times to Ginger Snaps, and 60 of those posts have been about Jiu-Jitsu. That's not even including the ones that could have been labeled Jiu-Jitsu (like all the open mat posts, and most of those that are labeled injuries ;). It goes to show that you can take Ginger out of The Jiu-Jitsu Fighter, but you can't take The Jiu-Jitsu Fighter out of Ginger! Ha, not that I ever left The Jiu-Jitsu Fighter blog, and no one over there could take me out, even if they wanted to. They all know I have wicked magic, and I'm not afraid to use it.

Overall, it's been a good first year out on my own. I've suffered some growing pains, but I've definitely come a long way. I think one of the most significant changes that's happened since I started this blog is I've gone from "I'm Not a Player" to "I'm a Playa". There have been some stumbling blocks and setbacks, but still, pretty good year. About half of my posts have been titled after songs, including this one.

Here is a photo collage commemorating my first year of solo blogging. I think it nicely sums up my thoughts along the way.

Bun and the Bu

After my "Kuchi Waza" post, one of my Karate Sensei sent me a message that said "Bun Bu Ryo Do". I am not fluent in Japanese, or in Samurai tradition, so I had to Google it...

"The pen and the sword in accord."

When I read that, it made me cry a little (yes, I am a huge dork). I didn't really know that it was considered equally important for Samurai to be skilled in arts such as writing. When my Sensei sent me that message, it felt as if he was telling me that I should be blogging, or at least that it was acceptable within martial tradition.

Of course, everyone knows that I don't exactly fit in with the Samurai. Their role is to serve, and I shall have no master! So, it's even cooler that a Superhero Samurai such as my Sensei would give his seal of approval, and share his teachings, with a Villain Kunoichi such as myself! I am honored.


"If you are to become true ninja you must work harder. Your path in life will not be an easy one. The outside world will not be a friendly place for you." -Master Splinter

Kuchi Waza

Lately I've been contemplating the existence of this blog. Shihan says that talking about martial arts is "kuchi waza" (mouth technique), and that we should be doing not talking. So sometimes I feel like blogging makes me a dreaded "kuchi bushi" (mouth warrior).

Also, talking about myself all the time seems to reek with ego, and it feels a little wrong. I constantly struggle with wanting to share things from my personal experiences, which I hope may help or entertain people, and feeling like it's just all about me. Me, me, me! Prior to blogging, I was an incredibly private person, so opening myself up to the entire freaking cyber world is pretty scary. It's not always an easy or comfortable thing for me to do.

Everything I have ever said, or could ever say, about martial arts has probably already been said, and in much better words. There are millions of blogs out there like mine. So, why bother? Why blog? I don't know, but in some way I feel like this is part of my martial journey. I am compelled to write these things down, and some people seem to enjoy reading them, so I blog on. A true "kuchi bushi" is someone who does a lot of talking and not a lot of training, which isn't me. So as long as I keep doing, I think it should be alright for me to keep writing about it.

Ginger Snaps: Submitting one cookie at a time

What I have learned in my first six months of Ginger Snaps...

 

10. Some people seem to think I am a Spice Girl, because they found my blog by searching "ginger spice blog jiu jitsu".

If I was a Spice Girl, I would be Scary.

 

9. If you post a picture of a judo throws poster, a lot of people will want it.

                              Too bad it's so blurry.

8. There is a cult film about werewolves called "Ginger Snaps".

                         
No, I am not a werewolf.

    
 
7. If you use the words "naked" or "thong" in your posts, some creeps will visit your blog.
                                
                                  Also "boy" and "singlet".







 

6. People who sell Male Enhancement Products like to try to leave comments about them on random blogs.
      

I may know what language it is, but I recognize spam when I see it.

 5. Apparently people don't mind listening to me complain, because my most popular post so far is Venting (next to Sixty Throws, which they are only visiting for the judo poster).

I don't think my husband agrees.

 

4. I really use the word "really" too much. Really.

           

                            I really, really do.

 
3. Most of the anonymous comments I get are from people I know in real life. 


                          I must protect their secret identities.







 


2. Martial arts are truly universal, people from over fifty different countries have visited this blog.

                
Shout out to Latvia!

1. There is a large community of wonderful martial artists and bloggers out there, and I am honored that they have welcomed me so warmly into their group.

Thank you to everyone who has read my thoughts over the past six months! I will keep on Ginger Snapping, and submitting one cookie at a time...

TMI

There are things about blogging that I didn't consider before I started. For example, when I was in another state at the KC Grappling Challenge and I saw one of my competitors, I said "Hi, I'm Gina", and she said "I know, I read your blog." My first thought was "Oh man, I should be writing under a pseudonym." I don't want my competition to read all about how much I think I suck! Believe it or not, I'm actually an introvert, and I'm still uncomfortable with the thought of people knowing things about me. I'm supposed to be a ninja, a silent assassin! I would rather be an anonymous stranger when I compete, but I guess it's too late for that.

I'm sure she found my blog by searching my name after I signed up for the tourney. I always Google my opponents. I can usually find some basic info about them, and sometimes I'm even able to find videos. I like to know what I'm up against, and I try to find a weakness. I believe many people want to size up their competition, and come up with a game plan.

So far I don't think it's really done me any good. My husband even thinks that it's harmful, because I sometimes allow the info I find out to mess with my head. I would probably be in a much better mental state if I didn't know anything about my competition, and just showed up and fought whoever was in front of me. I would be better off without a plan at all.

On the other end of it, I think the reason some of my competitors jump guard on me immediately might be because they see from my videos that I have a tiny bit of throwing skill. I thought that watching my videos and reading my blog might make my competition underestimate me (since I am freaking old, and I lose a lot) but it seems to have the opposite effect. Hey, just because I love jiu-jitsu and I write about it, that doesn't mean I'm any good at it!

The bottom line is that I am just a woman who loves martial arts and wants to share my passion and hopefully inspire people. If that means that from now on all my opponents will know who I am before we meet, so be it. Even though I am still not entirely comfortable with the idea of being known, it's worth trading my anonymity to build a bigger female jiu-jitsu community. Or maybe an army of silent ninja women assassins. I guess men too, that's cool.

Ginger Snaps on Facebook

On my last post someone left on comment that I should have a link to my blog on Facebook, so I have just created a page- Ginger Snaps on Facebook.

I couldn't get the feed to work, so for now I will just be posting links on it. I hope you will check it out!

Keep on Keepin' On

Lately I've been going through a crisis of confidence that led me to write Slowly but Surely on the Jiu-Jitsu Fighter blog. In that post I talked about my frustration with my grappling performance, but that is only a small part of the problem. I've been feeling inadequate on a larger scale, and I've questioned why I'm even writing this blog. I am an expert on nothing, and all I have to give are my thoughts.

Then I got an email in response to that post that has given me reason to keep fighting my insecurities. It was from one of our former jiu-jitsu students, and he told me that I had helped him to better understand his failures. By sharing my fears and flaws I helped him come to terms with his own. There is no better gift than to know that something I said has made a difference in someone's life. Now if he would only come back to class and continue the struggle with me.

So I plod on. Sometimes I don't know what I'm doing or why I'm doing it, but that's okay. A lot of people seem to see martial arts as a hobby, a part-time diversion from life. To me, it is life. As long as I still breathe I will pursue this quest, and I will keep sharing my thoughts along the way. My only hope is that I can continue to inspire in the same way others have inspired me.

I'll end with yet another great quote courtesy of Nok Su Kow...

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."

- Maya Angelou

Please allow me to introduce myself

My name is Gina Ethridge (but I prefer to be called Ginger the Annihilator). I've been sporadically blogging on The Jiu-Jitsu Fighter for about a year and a half, and now I've decided to branch out on my own. I plan to still post to TJJF, but this blog will enable me to talk about subjects beyond jiu-jitsu. I'm sure I'll still talk about jiu-jitsu here too (can you say addict?), but I won't be limited to that. Of course, now that I've started this blog, I'm suffering from an extreme case of writers block. It's too much pressure. I'll get back to you later.