I’ve always been interested in martial arts, but had never taken lessons outside of karate, which stopped at a young age. Once I could afford to pay for classes I joined an excellent Kung Fu school. That was in the summer of 2003, and I still consider myself a pupil of that school today.
During the summer after I graduated from high school, my close friend, who was on the school’s wrestling team, showed me a few moves. My interest was piqued, but we didn’t have any mats to train on and I was busy figuring out my future in college. The discovery of my passion for the grappling arts was put off for another year or so, until I discovered that my college had a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club. I was in love from the first class. Unfortunately I only got one year’s worth of training at this club, all of which was done in no-gi. Our instructor was a blue belt kind enough to share his knowledge for free, and most of the students had no previous BJJ experience.
It’s been close to 5 years since BJJ club, and I finally have the money (and some time) to begin training in this art once more. Even better, my current job is located just doors away from a great BJJ school: Renzo Gracie Academy. So as of February 2011 I am back on the training mats and ready to learn just how little I know.
I plan for this website to serve as a log of my progress through the art. I intend to record details of my training sessions and competitions. It is likely this site will also contain articles on techniques I would like to try out, and other items of interest relating to this sport.
– Ziv
Spring 2011