Like most of us, I imagine, over the last several days I have been reading articles, watching TV, webcast and Youtube programs and listening to radio stations in an effort to learn as much as I can about the Corona Virus. I’ve watched as one of my colleagues at work and his family have endured two weeks of quarantine because they attend a house of worship where one of the congregants was hospitalized for a very serious viral infection. Along the way, Columbia University where my wife is enrolled in a doctoral program, shut down its actual classes and moved to a total on-line class modality, and the school located at Barnard College where my daughter works shut down completely. There have been, of course, a myriad of closings and suspensions across the land affecting the lives of countless folks. At this point, I still am not totally sure of what is real about this virus and, as a result, should be a real object of our concern, and what is merely perceived.

As the days pass, the impact of the virus on the BJJ Community is becoming more pronounced. I have spoken with a number of people who’ve asked for my view with respect to how we as a Community should approach the current situation. These folks have included school owners, as well as practitioners of all age groups. In the greater NYC Metropolitan area, where I reside and train, many schools, both large and small, have suspended classes for a period of time until a better assessment can be made of the dangers presented by the virus as it pertains to BJJ training. What is known is that there are few activities that present a greater chance of communicating a virus from one person to another than BJJ. We are constantly in very close physical contact with many people when we train, breathing and sweating on each other for extended periods of time.

I think the school owners who are now shutting down their schools for a period of time are acting responsibly. While I am saddened by this latest development, I believe it to be in the best interests of their students, and our society in general. We, as a Community, tend to be very stubborn and obstinate in nature. We are not easily swayed, and have a “Yeah, well show me mentality.” This is easily proven by looking at our collective training experiences, and how we tend to push aside physical discomfort as long as it gets us closer to our goal of improving our Jiu Jitsu.abilities. I recall early on in my training, disclocating one of my fingers while rolling, popping it back into place, and continuing the roll without losing a beat. I know I am not unique in this regard. Many of us have had similar experiences. Put simply, we hate like hell when anything or anyone interferes with out training!!! Trust me when I say that I feel your pain in the current situation.

But where do we go from here? How long will the current conditions last? What can we do during the time when we are not on the mats that will keep us ready to jump right back on them when given the green light?

I don’t know how long this situation will last, but however long it is, I know that I will outlast it! My determination will merely grow, fueled by my anger and frustration regarding my absence from the mats. I will increase the intensity of my off mat training and expand its scope. To the best of my abilities, I will look to improve my game by self-study (including working with a grappling dummy), viewing instructional materials and mental imagining. I will use the time to plan how I want my BJJ journey to progress through discussions with my coaches and writing my thoughts down in a journal. I will use this time to move me forward, I will not allow it to push me back! If at all possible, I will continue with private sessions with my coaches, trying to incoporate new elements into my game. In short, I’ll be damned if I will let this thing get the better of me! I am going to kick its ass!!!

As always, I wish you all the best in your training and in your lives. Please keep yourselves and your faimilies safe! God Bless!!!

Tom