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for the students to be successful but not overwhelmed. Students then partner up and drill. For people new to the sport, this can be the awkward part. It is during drill that you must get up-close-and-personal with another student. If you have a strong resistance to people entering your personal bubble, this sport will not be for you. Depending upon the technique, you may have someone sitting on top of you, have their legs wrapped around your waist, or have their face very close to your crotch or other oftconsidered private place. BJJ is an excellent catalyst for personal hygiene.
    Drilling in BJJ is critical to success. The initial stages of learning the art can be very frustrating. BJJ is complex. Anyone with longevity in the sport has most certainly had their patience tested several times. There are myriad techniques and details to master, and people who expect to be good right away typically do not last. A student who finds excitement in the creativity and challenge of each technique will return time and time again. Instructors of the art relish the veritable opportunity within BJJ to develop new transitions, technique variations, countermeasures, and submissions. BJJ is a dynamic sport that continues to grow and change.
    A training session usually ends with sparring. Sparring allows the student to practice the techniques with near-100% resistance without “pulling any punches,” so to speak. If a student is caught in a choke, armlock, or leg lock, they simply tap out and continue training injury free. This allows the student to practice the techniques in a life-like situation so they can be confident that they would recall a technique in a real self-defense or competitive situation.
    Although the main focus of BJJ is self-defense, the style has also grown into an extremely popular sport. BJJ competitions are held across the world with the major events registering thousands of competitors. The competitions are often referred to as “Sport BJJ” tournaments and should not be confused with mixed martial arts (MMA) events.
    Sport BJJ matches start similar to a wrestling or Judo match, with both competitors standing and working for the takedown or other technique to get the match to the ground. As with many other sports, there is a set of rules in place to keep the athletes safe. There is also a point system, though the ultimate victory is to force your opponent to submit, often referred to as “tapping out,” using a variety of submission holds. Athletes compete based upon the criteria of weight, rank, age, and gender. Because there are far fewer woman who compete, we most often do not have the luxury of age divisions.
    BJJ is also an integral part of a modern-day MMA competitor’s skill set. BJJ for MMA differs slightly from Sport BJJ because of additional strikes and the lack of a uniform. However, the fundamental escapes, submissions, counters, and reversals comprise a large part of most of the top MMA athlete’s ground game today. It’s important to note that the modern-day MMA athlete needs to be well versed in all areas, and there is no single style that is the best for all situations.

9
White Belt Blues
    [Luke] “What’s in there?” [Yoda] “Only what you take with you.”
    â€” Star Wars Episode V:
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    â€œT he theme of the white belt is survival, nothing more, nothing less,” says Saulo Ribeiro in Jiu-Jitsu University. This author describes a white belt as an empty vessel with no one against which to compare oneself. Everyone begins Jiu-Jitsu as a white belt. My belt felt really white. Before a white belt can move on, they must become a survivor. Ribeiro describes the white-belt level as the time when a student’s insecurity and patience will be tested. White belts do not have a lot of skill yet, but if they are smart and focus on their defense and knowledge, they can survive. Ribeiro’s words are a poignant complement