Happy Friday! Flashback Edition

Happy Friday everyone! It’s been almost 3 weeks since I received my black belt, and I am still expecting someone to tap me on the shoulder and ask for the belt back, realizing their mistake. It’s crazy to think 8 years ago I started this whole journey, and just how different I’ve become because of it. I was clumsy, shy, and now I’m…. still clumsy, still shy now and again,  but there’s been so much of a difference it’s kind of amazing.

So, since I’m in this reminiscent sort of mood, I have some good news and some back news for you: The bad news is you’re going to get a lot of photos of me.

The good news however is that I seem to look better as I get older- just like Sean Connery! Yes!

 

In the beginning….

This was about 2 to 3 months before I started jiu jitsu. As you can probably see, while I was an active person, my diet wasn’t exactly the healthiest… Fast forward about a year later (I’m terrible at keeping track of these things):

This may have been the first seminar I attended, I’m not entirely sure…

 

 

 

Definitely not the first in-house I did but you know, nothing wrong with a nice action shot.

 

First ever IBJJF Tournament. Fun fact, this year was the first time I have been back to the Long Beach Pyramid (for Master Worlds)

The first documented  podium “Katie Face”- trust me, there are a lot of Katie faces, but this one is tournament specific.

Some more IBJJF tournaments… And developing a sweet streak of gray by this point (I found my first gray hair when I was 15- it was bound to happen).

some training, training and more training….

 

And more tournaments- at this point I’ve learned I can’t look straight ahead when my hand is raised because I’ll probably have a weird look on my face.

Much like Sarah in this photo, while continuing on our journey we learn to enjoy the ride, laugh a bit and appreciate the time we share with teammates and other fellow jiu jitsu players.

Back to what I was saying: you may think by the time you get your black belt you’ll be super cool, or know everything, or something of that nature…

 

(this was a photo that was taken for work along with some headshots, btw, not how I hang around the gym out of my gi)

Nope, you’ll probably still be an awkward, somewhat more knowledgable panda, and you have a ton more to learn. That’s one of the great (and for some, frustrating) things about Jiu jitsu- it’s a sport/martial art that constantly evolves, so there is always something more to learn and take away from your time on the mats.

Hopefully you enjoyed (or at least survived) this trip down memory lane. Have a great weekend everyone!