Friday, June 24, 2011

What I Love About BJJ


I’m a Busy Mother of Two. I never seem to have enough time to do the things that need doing.
Laundry? Piled Up.
Dishes? Dirty in the dishwasher and in the sink.
Bills? Stacked high.
Car? Low on gas.
The list goes on.

I also never have enough hands.
            I can’t pick up my child’s dropped toy and drive at the same time.
            When leaving a store carrying a shopping bag, I only have one other hand for holding. This always causes an argument between my sons.
            Cleaning up? There’s invariably one more thing than I can comfortably carry without dropping the whole armload.

Since I was a young fry I’ve recognized the value an extra opposable appendage might bestow. I’ve always used my feet for things like picking up a stray sock. Hey, it saves me from bending over! The fascination continued into college when one wacky night my Friend and I practiced writing the Greek alphabet with a pencil between our toes. We titled the paper (in footwriting), “It’s All Greek to Feet.” (Yeah. Shark Girl went wild in college.)

What’s great about jiu jitsu is that it trains you to use other parts of your body as hands. I am learning to use not only my feet, but my knees, my elbows, my hips, my shins . . . pretty much anything I can, like my hands. And the thing about that is, well, when you’re using your feet as hands, you still have two hands left over!

Jiu jitsu just could be the answer to all the harried mother problems of the world!

Not now . . . but maybe in a few years!

Oh, by the way, Busy Mother of Two just got less busy! Welcome summer!

11 comments:

  1. "It's All Greek to Feet" hahahahha!

    I think my favourite tool that BJJ brought to light is - quite literally - using my head. It's so... handy!

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  2. You are so right. I'm not ready to use my head yet. But I see that those who do are at an advantage.

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  3. Holy crap that picture is hilarious.

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  4. ROFLMAO!!!! If I had know jiu jitsu when my boys were little....

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  5. Wow...thanks for sharing insight into your crazy college days!

    Great post:)

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  6. @ CSR: It's very useful. Sometimes I rein Littlest in with my leg. : )

    @ Megan: In all fairness to me, it wasn't quite as nerdy as it sounds . . . . or does that make me sound even nerdier?

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  7. Well, Julia over at Jiu Jiu's blog has Star Trek tattoos. I have actually seen one of them. Maybe you two could have a nerd contest? Like some kind of D & D smack down.

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  8. i like using my head now to maintain pressure in side control or to aid in passing someones guard

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  9. @ Dag: Hmmm . . . nerd contest. I LIKE that. While I should WANT to lose, I'm so nerdy that I couldn't let myself. It's like the perfect barometer. If you're not nerdy, you can't win and you don't want to. If you are truly nerdy, you can't lose. You are a GENIUS!!

    @ shakia: head to pass guard? Please explain. I'm intrigued.

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  10. I thought of this post yesterday as I kicked the door shut while carrying a handful of grocery bags and a case of water on my hip. Great post!

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