Hard questions to answer

Não olhe para os defeitos dos outros, o que ele fez e nao fez, olhar

o que voce tem feito eo que você deixou de fazer. 

~Sakyamuni

People ask me all the time why I am going to Brazil. My answer: "To train Jiu Jitsu".
To which they ALWAYS reply: "well can't you do that in this country for cheaper".


But its not the same. Maybe I need to change my answer to, "I want to live Jiu Jitsu".


Second most popular question: "When are you coming back"
That doesn't seem like it should be a hard question, but I don't know. I've narrowed it down to, "Uh, I'll be back to test for my black belt with Joe, or The Boy, as we call him".

He is a belt under me; last month he got his brown belt and I got my advanced brown. That should give me 2 years to get back from Brazil to test for my black belt with him. That seems just to me, we make a good team. He can tap me out, but I'm way better at forms and weapons. Who's better at standup is still in the air (poor boy thinks he's Mike Tyson, I think I'm Superwoman, either way we're a good match up).  We're both the same weight class so we are always paired together, and we both work our asses off at the gym for Brent, the owner. We are also both tied for fourth in line in the "hierarchy" of who gets to act like their in charge when Brent is gone. But unlike Joe, I'm old school MiKiDo. I started under Brent's dad so I've learned every form since white belt, got my Kali at green belt, Nunchuck at blue, Bo staff at brown, and now I will be bringing the Coma, my new weapon, with me to Brazil.

ROHAI: Me (front right), Rob, (front Left), Joe (back right)

Most students don't learn their forms until its required. As a blue belt you have to do Rohai and at brown you have to go back and learn ALL the forms. Rob and I practice our forms all the time but trying to get one of the other fighters in the gym to pick up a weapon is..... challenging to say the least. I'll be proud to know that when I finally do get my black belt it will be because I've dedicated myself to mastering EVERYTHING we do at MiKiDo from fighting, to forms, to weapons. Now, with this trip to Brazil, I'll be adding my own thing to the mix that only Brent and his dad have: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu experience. Real Jiu Jitsu experience. So even though it pains me to leave the gym and watch others advance without me, I feel like it will make my black belt so much more legitimate, like I'll have earned it so much more. 

Another hard question: how the hell am I going to get all my weapons, plus my kimonos, plus my other training gear to Brazil AND still have room for regular clothes?