Thank you to all the attendees at Sensei Chie Swain’s seminar at Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Clinton Hill! As a bonus, Sensei brought a few (not-so-surprise) guests – husband Mike, daughter Sophia and son Masa. It was truly an honor to watch the precision, clarity and beauty of a master instructor. Enjoy the photos and feel free to share!
Congratulations our June 2015 belt graduates! Some photos from Black Belt graduation:
Valedictorian speech and Brown Belt Essay by student, Brett Rand.
The Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Brooklyn BJJ) community has had a more profound impact on me than any thing I have ever done in my life. That the word ” community” is used as opposed to “school”, “dojo” or “academy” is a testament to the impact of Shihan Dunn and Professor Glick’s vision. When asked the one word to describe what their vision has provided for me? Enlightenment.
Nowhere in my life have I been affiliated with something that represented and encouraged people to express themselves without fear of judgement or rejection.I was seeking to learn a way to defend myself from a threat as well as manage the fears and anxieties that challenged me throughout my life because of a childhood accident that left me with partial use of my left hand.
My size and demeanor masked an insecurity about my inability to defend myself in the event of a threat. Throughout my training I would be so consumed with anxiety the tension in my body would be immeasurable and clouded my ability to learn. If I had been training in the “traditional” culture I would have probably still been fodder for higher ranks to expose my insecurity and almost definitely would have failed miserably.
Today I am writing this essay because Shihan and Professor understood that there needs to be a place for “everyone else” who is seeking the knowledge for a purpose other than self-validation through a trophy or a medal. Fostering an environment of cooperation instead of festering competition is what makes it possible for me to write this today.
I can say I have met the most intrinsically “beautiful” people through my training on the mat – true martial artists that have shown me how much of an impact the knowledge has on your life. These are men who put aside ego and personal reward in order to help elevate their juniors to the level of enlightenment they achieved.
Along the way a sense of inner calm has developed that has permeated through my personal life. I have developed a sensitivity to the needs of the people around me as well as a sensitivity to people whose inner angst shows through. The concept that Shihan describes as being “present” would have been impossible without Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in my life.
There is a dichotomy that has developed in my training that is indescribably rewarding. Letting go of the internal angst I struggled with has allowed me to develop a sense of calm during training that has opened my levels of awareness and provide me with clarity.
Yet my most rewarding moments are providing this insight to juniors I train with and watching them progress. Success stories for me involve mutually beneficial exchanges, myself and my partner able to achieve progress equally and to share in that experience.
Witnessing a classmate gain insight through that exchange and watching them blossom is the most rewarding experience I have ever felt. I feel it is an obligation I must provide as a means of “paying forward” all those people who gave to me through the years.
Bruce Lee has famously quoted martial arts as a way to “honestly express oneself”. In the past, I would look past that statement with little regard . Today those words resonate. I can thank the Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community for this glorious gift I have received.
What does commitment mean to me?
Well, the simple answer is keeping my word, whether to myself or others. Before I started training I did not think much about commitment. I also was not committed to as many things, so there wasn’t much to think about. Since I started training that word has become a constant both in my vocabulary, and my thoughts. My definition of the word hasn’t changed, but I have, and therefore so has my approach to it.
I started training because I wanted fitness and self-defense. I’m 4’11” and recognize most people are bigger then me. I wanted to feel like I could protect myself. Little did I know by starting at Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu there was a transformation ahead of me. I started in the basic class like everyone and I remember watching the advanced class and being in awe of the speed, control and fitness I saw. I wanted to be there so much. So as I started to progress and get closer to that class I was asked what kind of black belt did I want to be. I had no idea.
Honestly, I hadn’t thought much about it. At that point I was happy with letting my life take me wherever it wanted to go. I had no drive or direction. I knew though that the question of black belt wasn’t just, “do I want to be one”, it was “who do I want to be when I receive one”. This led me to think about what direction my life was taking. Since I wasn’t committed to anything I had nothing to work towards. Now I did – a black belt. I wanted it because I wanted something to work towards. Something that was in line with my beliefs. Something that would help me become the person I wanted to be.
Now when I think commitment, I think black belt.
At the time I was working a retail job I didn’t like. I had more bad days than good ones. One day, I was walking home from a good day at work. I was trying to figure out what had caused it to be such a good day. I realized that it was because nothing bad had happened. I decided I was not ok with this. I decided I was not ok with defining good days as “nothing bad happening”. I wanted to be in control of my good days, to create them, not let them happen to me. I wanted to define my good days as positive things happening and helping others. I knew what made me happiest, my time at the dojo. So I started spending more time there. I recognized my commitment to the dojo was also a commitment to the philosophies of BBJJ, to black belt.
The main philosophy of our dojo is a Japanese word, kaizen. The definition is “good change”, but to those of us who train it means constant and never-ending improvement. I made a commitment to this idea. The change in me was small at first, in little almost unnoticeable ways. First, it was just my commitment to going to class, showing up was enough for me back then.
Then as my training grew more complex it became a commitment to improve techniques, the calisthenics I did, eating habits and also, although I didn’t realize this at first, my attitude. I have always counted myself a positive person, I find the brighter side of life a more enjoyable place to live in. Despite this, there were areas in my life where I didn’t bring that attitude with me, and one was my family.
When I started training I didn’t have a positive relationship with my dad. Since I had committed myself to kaizen I recognized I needed to improve this part of my life if I wanted to stay committed to this concept. I reached out to Professor Lynch and Shihan Dunn and, with their guidance, for the first time in my life I saw him for the person he truly was and loved him for that.
This reconciliation with my father never would have happened had I not begun training. Training led to re-evaluating my thoughts about commitment and deciding to be committed to kaizen. This caused me to honestly recognize what areas in my life I needed to improve.
I believe the months of training before I did this were mentally preparing me to be open to this change. It was like seeing sunshine for the first time, never knowing you lived in the dark. I saw everything in my life in a different light. When he passed away last year I was at peace. I had said everything I needed to say and got almost a year of happiness with him after over a decade of pain. I thank my training for this blessing.
Sticking to my commitments isn’t always easy. In fact there are times I stumble and fall. But I’m not committed to being perfect, I’m committed to not letting a mistake stop me. My mantra has become, if you fall 7 times, get up 8. So by committing to kaizen, to black belt, I have committed to creating the life I have always wanted. It all started because I walked into BBJJ. It changed my life for the better and has continued to do so everyday since I decided to commit to it.
My wife, my kids, my friends, my teachers. These are some of the most valuable relationships I have in my life. They are all reciprocal, loving, compassionate relationships that share a lot of qualities with one another. There’s mutual respect and consideration. There’s understanding and support. There’s patience and space for growth.
Despite all of these similarities it would be absurd to think that my relationship with my wife is the same as my relationship to my son. It would be just as absurd to try to make my relationship to my teachers the same as my relationships to my friends.
If you want to learn more train more.
If you want to understand more listen more.
And if you want to be more do more.
My friend introduced me to Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu through the VIP program. From the beginning I liked the discipline and protocol that is required of all students.
Although I was in good physical condition prior to attending BBJJ, my training has improved exponentially…
(Read the rest of Eddie’s experience at the bottom of this page).
Shihan Gene Dunn was honored today with the rank of double-black armband by Kru Joseph Sampieri and Master Jamie Crowder, aolong with the Renzo Gracie Muay Thai instructor team. One of only a handful of graduates, Shihan also received an award for service to the development and growth of the martial arts worldwide (pictured below). Congratulations!
No gi training means hard work and dynamic technique with two students at 13th Avenue.
Students gather in anticipation of a Black Belt seminar at Brooklyn BJJ’s 13th Avenue school.
Practicing the clinch from the over-under tie in a no-gi class.
