For the promotion, I thought I still needed a couple of months and maybe should

shoot for my 50th birthday. I sucked when sparring with Eric, our head coach,

the first week and forgot some basic combinations and he caught my arm twice.

(For my excuse, I just had minor injuries in the right hip and knee). Our

six-minute roll was a test and I believed that I had failed.

Friday Nov 18 was open-mat. After I sparred with Anthony, Brenda lined us up and

called Natasha forward to receive her fourth stripe. Next, the professor called

out the 'young man' by which she referred to me all the time. It was like a

dream come true and I sleepwalked through the ceremony.

People loved it! In our 103-member Facebook group, Brenda's post won 35 likes

and loves and 18 comments that day. Pablo, who tied my belt, wrote

    "Had the honor of promoting W to blue belt. He is truly a hard worker; his

    jiu jitsu shows patience and understanding."

I can live with that from a blackbelt and champion.

And that says a lot about the American culture that I have experienced since

joining the gym. People have been so generous, supportive, and inspiring. I've

trained with college professors and students, medical doctors, chefs, car repair

workers, business owners, the police, etc. We share knowledge to make each other

better. If a society of communities like this is what the West have traded in

their blood-centric clans for, it doesn't seem a bad deal after all.

As for the art, I love it for many reasons and, in particular, the thought that

I could do something toward finishing this giant puzzle, even just by a tiny

bit, draws me to the gym every day. Kung Fu movies are entertaining, the

masters' instruction videos are enlightening, but as Bruce Lee said, "knowing is

not enough, we must apply." Leverage and technique can overcome strength and

seeing it so clearly in the mind's eye only drives me to practice.

If I were to list the holes in my game, I wouldn't know where to begin. John

Danaher says "if you're a blue belt and you're being pinned and held down by

white belts, you're not ready to be a blue belt." For me, big strong white

belts, especially if they are former wrestlers and striped, could probably still

hold me down for minutes.

In a significant way, however, I've set the ball rolling. 16 months and about

400 cycles of suffering and recovery have molded my body to be able to handle

six-day training weeks. Sparring, I recognize patterns and sometimes can plan

ahead. I am not fazed by big guys anymore as I know the right moves and only

need to grow experience.

Seeing my belt, Tim went silent after a short "Congratulations." I was expecting

more enthusiasm, given that we shared the interest for so long. It only dawned

on me what happened the next day on the mat when Nick asked: "Was Tim jealous?"

It was a big deal to the kid and I don't mind his response at all. I was glad

that he took it seriously as he vowed later to earn his blue belt once robotics

was over.

I have quickly got over the promotion and found myself enjoying the drills and

rolls even more. I have re-discovered some details which make my moves more

effective. I've heard a lot about plateaus and people quitting at different

levels. When am I going to get my purple belt? I don't really care. I am happy

that I keep making progress.