If you build it, they will come.” ~Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), Field of Dreams
Long after watching the cult classic, “Field of Dreams,” I finally learned what this famous quote means. If you create something others want, they will come to you instead of you pursuing them. This past month has confirmed this thesis on multiple occasions.
In the past month, we have gone from casual meet-ups on the mats here at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, to having a formal Jiu-jitsu program sanctioned under the Army Support Area-Black Sea Morale Welfare and Recreation office. The Task Force Jiu-jitsu-Black Sea has approximately 40 members on the team, led by me, as the officer in charge, and my training partner, Stew, as the non-commissioned officer in charge.
Our Journey
Our journey to get to this point was very unique. A soldier of mine and Jiu-jitsu enthusiast, Aiden, found a building with mats and combat sports equipment on MK Air Base, so we began training to maintain our skills and to get a good workout. Before we knew it, we had nearly 15 other members on the mats putting in work. Good things, however, need to be fought for sometimes. For a short time we became nomads because of key-control issues. We kept the training going at another fitness center that had mats as well, but the space was much too small to focus on takedowns in a safe capacity.
The mind adapts and coverts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way, becomes the way.” ~Seneca
The soldiers opening the building for us re-deployed and we had to work through the MWR office to get permission to continue training. On the day we met with the MWR Director, she informed us we would have to apply and gain approval through the ASA-Black Sea MWR directorate to regain access to the building. We complied, and provided our training Modern Army Combatives Program training certificates and combat lifesaver certifications.
This ask was not too problematic, and we learned almost immediately meeting these requirements would be mutually beneficial. Not only did we regain access to the building, the MWR office advertised for us by hanging flyers and through publicizing this program on their social media platforms. Our grand opening, technically will be tomorrow, Jan. 29, but the word has spread like wild-fire through word of mouth from our existing training partners.
Culture
The team members of Task Force Jiu-jitsu Black Sea have one goal – to be a better version of ourselves tomorrow than we are today. It’s simple, not easy, but simple to keep moving your game forward. Our training partners are friends, not food, and the individuals with biggest egos tend not to comeback until they work through their mental firewalls. Let’s be honest, submitting to another human being is not an easy task.
Adversity makes the strong, stronger and the weak, weaker.” ~Mike Tyson
I’ve been guilty of this trap as well, and have woken up on the mat after being unconscious for a bit because I didn’t tap. Tap, snap, or nap is the mantra, but it’s good to know that each time you tap you are admitting to yourself and others that you didn’t have the answer. Combat sports in general are great means to receive immediate feedback to application.
Everyone is welcome to join the team. We invite individuals from all experience levels and our program is designed to create future instructors and coaches to promote our lifestyle. If I didn’t truly believe in this art, I would not support my family becoming practitioners as well, but they’re students of the game as well.
Program
The Task Force Jiu-jitsu Black Sea curriculum follows the Army’s Modern Army Combatives Program Handbook FM 21-150 to ensure our training partners are prepared when they go to the Basic Combatives Course and the Tactical Combatives Course. Formal classes are Mondays through Fridays at 7:30pm to 9:00pm, and we have open mat options on the weekends from 3pm to 4:30pm. We train No-gi (basic athletic attire) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; and Gi (Duty Uniform) on Tuesday and Thursday.
The beauty of confidence and discipline is they reinforce one another and create inertia. As you consistently follow through on your plans and achieve your goals, you develop a track record of success. You gain more confidence to take on bigger and bolder challenges.” ~Bill Rice
Our program opens with warm-up exercises (solo drills), followed by a Jiu-jitsu-centric yoga flow, a block of instruction on a flow moving from takedown to submission, then live-sparring. This construct ensures each member is warmed up, stretched out, instructed, and tested before they leave mats. Due to risk to mission, we limit leg submissions to straight-ankle locks for the experienced grapplers, and for newcomers we focus dominant position and control over submissions.
Final Thoughts
This program has received great support from my home-team academy, Zen Martial Arts El Paso. It’s one thing to train with people you know, but another when you train with a club that has a network you can fall in with once you get back home. Both Stew, a Pedro Sauer Brown Belt, and myself, have shared our experience with our home teams and received plenty of support and guidance on how to proceed. It’s a good feeling to get an, “I see you, Bro,” from your family of grapplers back home, for sure.
For those of you dreading a transition to another location, a deployment, or life-change that takes you away from your current academy, don’t worry. You will find other Jiu-jitsu players out there, or individuals interested in learning the Arte Suave. This will not only give you the opportunity to keep training, but to teach as well. Let’s face it, at the end of the journey, sharing the art and developing more practitioners is best way to pay it forward and honor those who have trained us. One Team, One Family!
~Doc