BJJ Görgü Kuralları: Mat üzerinde Nasıl Davranacağınızı Bilin BJJ, insanların birbirleriyle gerçekçi koşullarda mücadele etmelerini sağlayan yoğun bir spordur. Böyle bir ortamda gerilimin yüksek olması doğaldır ve bu nedenle spor salonu kurallarına, diğer bir değişle BJJ görgü kurallarına uymak önemlidir. Bunu yapmamak takım arkadaşlarımız ile aramızın bozulmasına neden olabilir.Bu kapsamlı kılavuz, BJJ eğitimi alırken aklınızda bulundurmak isteyeceğiniz BJJ görgü kurallarının tüm temellerini özetlemektedir. BJJ Mat Görgü KurallarıHijyenUygun hijyeni sağlamak sadece kibar olmanın ötesine geçer ve aslında spor salonundaki herkesin sağlıklı kalmasında önemli bir rol oynar. Hijyen, "Tatami’de ayakkabı olmamasından", "her dersten sonra GI'nizi yıkamanıza" kadar her şeyi kapsar. Bu kurallara sürekli uymak ve akılda tutmak çok ama çok önemlidir. Kişisel hijyen, insanların birbirine çok yakınlaştığı bir sporda çok önemlidir. Derse duş alarak gelin, parmak ve ayak tırnaklarınızı kesilmiş halde tutun. Hastaysanız veya cilt enfeksiyonunuz varsa derse gelmeyin. Her dersten önce dişlerinizi fırçalayın, ağız gargarası kullanın veya en azından bir sakız çiğneyin.Uygun giyinmekKıyafetiniz girdiğiniz derse uygun olmalıdır (GI veya No-GI) ve akademi kurallarına da uygun olmalıdır. GI altına bir rash guard giyin.Kemerinizi nasıl bağlayacağınızı öğrenin, belinize düzgün bağlanmış bir kemerle GI'niz 10 kat daha iyi görünecektir. Not: Kemeriniz sihirli anti bakteriyel özelliklere sahip değildir ve diğer eşyalarınız kadar sık olmasada yıkanmalıdır. Her dersten sonra terli kıyafetlerinizden ayrı bir yerde muhafaza edilip havalandırılmalıdır. İç çamaşırları tartışılmaz bir zorunluluktur. Boğuşma sırasında kimse sizin çatalınızı görmek istemez :)  Sizi veya antrenman partnerinizi potansiyel olarak yaralayabileceğinden, antrenmandan önce her türlü mücevher çıkarılmalıdır.  Başlangıç dersiniz ise ya da no-gi sınıfındaysanız, antrenmanı engelleyebilecek fermuarlı, cepli veya benzeri aksesuarlı şort veya gömlek giymekten kaçının.Beyaz kuşaklar da insandırHangi renk kemere veya stripe sayısına sahip olursanız olun, herkese saygılı davranın. Daha da önemlisi, daha yüksek kemeriniz varsa, daha düşük kemerlerin sizi izlediğini unutmayın. Bu yüzden olumlu bir örnek olmak için elinizden gelenin en iyisini yapın. Herkesle arkadaş olmak zorunda değilsiniz ama minderdeki herkese saygı duymak zorundasınız.Salon kurallarına uyunSalon kuralları bir BJJ okulundan diğerine değişebilir, ancak bunların bir nedeni vardır - eğitmenlerin peşinde olduğu eğitim ortamını yaratmak. Bir spor salonunda antrenman yapmayı tercih ettiğinizde, o salonun kurallarına ve temel BJJ görgü kurallarına uyun.Konuşmalar Jiu Jitsu çerçevesi dışına çıkmamalıBu, hemen hemen her spor salonunun kabul ettiği yazılı olmayan bir kuraldır. Tatami eğitim için bir yerdir. Şaka ve genel sohbetler normal olsa da politika, din veya diğer hassas konular gibi konuları gündeme getirmeye çalışmak iyi bir fikir değildir. İnsanların BJJ  öğrenmek için minderlerde oldukları gerçeğine saygı gösterin.BJJ Sınıfı Görgü KurallarıSınıfta nasıl davrandığınız, sizin ve diğer öğrencilerin deneyimden ne kadar yararlanabileceğinizi doğrudan etkileyecektir. Sınıfın akışını bozmak ve herkesin dikkatini dağıtmak için bir kişi yeter. Ders sırasında BJJ görgü kuralları belirlidir ve çiğnenmemesi gereken bazı temel kurallar vardır.Zamanında gelSınıf yapısından bağımsız olarak, eğitmenler, size en iyi eğitim deneyimini sağlamaya çalışırlar. Sınıfta bulunduğunuz zamanı en verilmli şekilde değerlendirmek onların ilk amacıdır. Zamanında gelmek sadece saygılı olmakla kalmaz, aynı zamanda bir sınıfın ne kadar verimli olacağı açısından da ÇOK önemlidir. Geç kalmayın.Isınma hareketlerini kasıtlı olarak atlamayınIsınma, esneme veya soğuma sınıfın en heyecan verici kısmı olmasa da çok önemlidir - aksi halde bu yapılmazdı. Bir şeyleri gönülsüzce yapmak ne size ne de sınıftaki morale hiçbir şey kazandırmaz. Sakatlıkların çoğu ve antreman sonrası ağrıların büyük bir kısmı bu ısınma/soğuma hareketleri ile önlenebilir.Ders sırasında minimum düzeyde konuşmaya özen gösterinEğitmen bir şeyler gösterirken sınıfta tam bir sessiz ortam olmalıdır. Yaptığınız her yorum veya şaka dersin bitmesini bekleyebilir. Aynı şey, teknik uygulama veya alıştırmalar sırasında insanlara koçluk yapmak için de geçerlidir – bu eğitmenin/koçun işidir, sizin değil. Sessiz olun ve elinizden gelen en iyi şekilde gösterileni yapmaya çalışın. Üst kuşaklar bazen ufak hataları düzeltse de, hoca değillerdir. Koçun gösterdiği tekniklere bağlı kalınGösterilenin dışında teknik uygulamak çoğu eğitmenin gerçekten sinirlerini bozan bir şeydir. Evet başka seçenekler de var ve evet, her hamlede savunmalar ve kaçışlar var ve eğitmenler bunu sizden çok daha iyi biliyor. Belirli bir tekniğin belirli bir şekilde gösterilmesinin de bir nedeni vardır. Roll zamanı geldiğinde, ne istersen yapma şansınız olacak.Tekniği izlerken saygılı bir duruş sergileyinÇoğu spor salonunda, üzerinde konuşulmuş bir kural olmasa da, eğitmen teknik gösterirken nasıl durduğunuz veya oturduğunuz çok önemlidir. Herkesin aynı pozisyonda oturmasına gerek yok elbette ama mindere uzanmak da uygun bir hareket değildir. Samuraylar gibi ciddi bir oturuş beklenmese de, dikkatinizin eğitmeninizde olduğunu gösterir bir duruş eğitmeninize olan saygınızı belirtir.Soru sorun ama abartmayınEğitmenler genellikle bir anlatımın sonunda veya dersin sonunda sorular ve cevaplar için yer bırakırlar. Bu bir şey sormak için harika bir zamandır. Ancak sorularınızı sınıfın konusuna özel tutun ve diğer insanların da soruları olabileceğini hatırlamaya çalışın.Cep telefonunu sessize alDers sırasında cep telefonunu sessize al. Nokta. Bir cep telefonunun çalması, birinin derse geç gelmesine, eğitmenin sözünü kesmesine veya gereksiz konuşmasına eşdeğerdir. Herkesin dikkatini dağıtır. Daha da iyisi, telefonunuzu dolabınızda veya arabanızda bırakın. Antrenman yaparken dünyayla bağlantınızı kesmenin verdiği huzuru yaşayın :)Çekimden önce izin alınSosyal medya iyi hoş ama teknik anlatılırken veya teknik uygulanırken video veya fotoğraf çekmek hoş karşılanmaz. Ders devam ederken video veya fotoğraf çekmek istiyorsanız çekip çekemeyeceğinizi sorun ve asla buna izin verildiğini varsaymayın.BJJ Roll Görgü KurallarıBJJ görgü kuralları dersin teknik kısmı bittiğinde bitmez. Roll sırasında aklınızda bulundurmanız gereken uyacağınız bu kurallar sayesinde, sadece siz ve partneriniz için değil, çevrenizdeki diğer insanlar için de roll kalitesi artacaktır.Egonuzu kontrol altında tutunTemel olarak, rakibinize kazaran tokat atmanızda veya gereksiz sert submission yapmanızda egonuz bir rol oynar. Ancak bunu kontrol altında tutmak sizin sorumluluğunuzdadır.Diğer insanların da egoları olduğunu bilin ve egolarımızın hareketlerimizi ve daha da önemlisi tepkilerimizi yönlendirmelerine izin verirsek, roll o kadar hoş bir deneyim olmaz. Şu sözü aklınızdan çıkarmayın “Bir hareketi yapmak için gerektiğinden fazla güç uygulamanız gerekiyorsa, o hareketi yapmayı tam olarak öğrenmemişsinizdir.”Çevrenizden haberdar olmakÇiftler kaçınılmaz olarak ara ara birbirine çarpar. Etrafınızda olup bitenlere karşı dikkatli olmalısınız. Üst kuşaklar ile çarpışırsanız alt kuşak olarak yer değiştirmeniz beklenir. Sizin de üst kuşak olacağınız zaman gelecektir. Merak etmeyin. Siz ve partneriniz bir duvara veya köşeye sıkışmış bir gruba çok yaklaştıysanız, elbette ki siz uzaklaşarak onlara yer açmalısınız. Çevresel farkındalık antrenman yaparken özellikle çok önemlidir. Take down çalışacaksanız yeterli alanın olduğundan emin olun.Ellerine dikkat etKazalar elbette olacaktır. Bununla birlikte, rakibinizin 3 parmağınızdan daha azını tutarsanız, saçını tutarsanız veya kasıtlı olarak çimdiklerseniz insanların tepkileri ile karşılaşırsınız. İlk başta sizi uyarır ama tekrar ederseniz sizinle partner olmayı reddetmeye başlarlar. Adil oynayın! No-GI'de partnerinizin kıyafetinden tutmamak için elinizden gelenin en iyisini yapın. Rakibiniz şort yerine GI pantolonu dahi giymiş olsa No-GI dersinde pantolonu tutmayın.Ne yaptığını bilmiyorsan, daha zor olanı yapmak iyi bir fikir değilSpazzing (deli dana gibi saldırmak), kontrolümüz altındadır. Ancak özellikle yeni başlayanlar olarak bunun her zaman farkında değiliz. Birinin, etrafında olup biteni veya partnerine ne yaptığını hesaba katmadan bir şeyler başarmak için elinden gelen her şeyi yapması hoş değildir. BJJ öğrenmek istiyorsanız kaybedeceksiniz ve daha çok kaybedeceksiniz. Buna alışın ve en azından roll sırasında bazı temel BJJ görgü kurallarına uyun.Boyut, yaş ve cinsiyet farklılıklarına saygı gösterinJiu Jitsu'da deneyim önemlidir ancak boyut, yaş ve cinsiyetin de gerçek faktörler olduğunu hatırlamak eşit derecede önemlidir. 100 kg'lık bir beyaz kuşak, 50 kg'lık bir mor kuşağı incitebilir. Sırf biri sizden daha yüksek rütbeli diye istediğiniz kadar sert gitmeye hakkınız olduğunu düşünmeyin. Bu, sizden çok daha büyük biriyle roll yaparken de geçerlidir. 25 yaşındaki bir kişinin Kardiyo fitness düzeyi ve toparlanma hızı 55 yaşında olduğundan çok daha fazladır! Kadınlar, erkekler kadar vahşi olabilir, ancak belirli bir ağırlık sınıfı için daha az kaslı olma eğilimindedir. Beyler, küçümseyici olmayın, aynı zamanda bunu Hulk'muşsunuz gibi davranmak için bir fırsat olarak kullanmayın. Her ikinizin de çalışmadan en iyi şekilde yararlanabilmesi için antrenman partnerinize uymaya çalışın.Tap’e saygı gösterinTap’in her iki kişinin de sorumlu olduğu bir şey olduğunu unutmayın. Submission’a yakalanan kişi geri dönüşü olmayan bir noktayı ne zaman geçtiğini anlamalıyken, submission’ı yapan kişi de hayati eşiğe yaklaştığında yavaşlamalı ve partnerinin tap etmesine imkan vermelidir. BJJ görgü kuralları içinde en önemlisi bu kuraldır.Zaferde alçakgönüllü olBirinin tap etmesi sonrası kutlama yapmak kötü bir fikirdir. Rakibiniz tap ederse, gülümseyin, GI'nizi düzeltin, tokalaşın ve tekrar başlayın. Bir antrenman partnerini her tap ettirişinizde UFC şampiyonluk kemeri kazanmış gibi davranmanıza gerek yok. Böyle yaparsanız yavaş yavaş antreman partneri bulmanız zorlaşacaktır. Saygı!Spor Salonuna Misafir Olarak Giderken BJJ Görgü KurallarıSon olarak, bir BJJ akademisini ziyaret ederken nasıl davranmanız gerektiğine bakalım. Elbette, ders sırasında ve roll sırasındaki davranışlar hakkında ele aldığımız tüm BJJ görgü kuralları hala geçerlidir. Ancak misafir olduğunuzda göz önünde bulundurmanız gereken birkaç şey daha var.Erken gitHer şeyden önce, tam zamanında gitmeyin. Erken gidin. Bu sayede eğitmenle ve/veya öğrencilerden bazıları ile buluşup onları biraz tanımak için zamanınız olur.Gittiğiniz spor salonu hakkında önceden araştırma yapınGI ile 10th Planet spor salonuna gittiğinizi hayal edin :) Ziyaret ettiğiniz okulla ilgili temel bilgileri bildiğinizden emin olun ve bunun bir No-GI sınıfı, GI sınıfı, güreş sınıfı veya open mat olup olmadığının da farkında olun . Gelmeden önce eğitmen veya spor salonu yetkilisi ile görüşmek iyi bir fikirdir. Derslerin saatinin güncel olup olmadığı, ertelenmiş veya iptal edilip edilmediğini öğrenerek zaman kaybetmekten kurtulmuş  olursunuz.BJJ görgü kurallarınıza dikkat edinBJJ'nin tüm görgü kuralları burada da geçerlidir. Bir ziyaretçi olarak, insanlar size biraz sert müdahale etse dahi aynı şekilde yanıt verme eğilimine karşı koyun.Sadece roll etmelisiniz, spor salonundaki herkesi öldürmeye veya bir şey kanıtlamaya çalışmamalısınız. Roll etmenin temel kurallarına bağlı kalın ve mat üzerindeki zamanınızın tadını çıkarın.Özellikle istenmedikçe öğretmeyinZiyaret ettiğinizde özellikle bir ders vermeniz istenmiyorsa, o zaman sadece bir öğrenci olduğunuzu ve tavsiye vermemeniz gerektiğini unutmayın.ÖzetBJJ görgü kuralları sadece "oss" deyip insanlara selam vermekten ibaret değildir. Bunlardan çok daha önemli kurallar vardır. Antrenmanın her kısmında, yarışmalarda ve spor salonlarını ziyaret ederken nasıl davrandığınız, bir sporcu olarak size ait genel bir izlenim oluşturmak için bir araya gelir. Kurallara uyun, her şeyin pozitif yönde değiştiğini göreceksiniz.   Ref: BJJ Etiquette: Know How To Conduct Yourself On The Mats

Teknolojiyle beslenen eğlence çağında, çocuklar eskisi kadar egzersiz yapmıyor, spor yapmıyor veya sosyalleşemiyor. Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) çocuklara sağlık ve sosyal yaşam gibi ögeleri sağlamakla kalmaz, aynı zamanda çok eğlencelidir ve hayata dair bazı harika fırsatları da beraberinde getirir. Çoğu sporda olduğu gibi, çocuk dersleri hiçbir zaman yetişkin dersleri kadar yoğun değildir. BJJ kavramları öğretilirken oyunlar kullanılır. Disiplin, Odaklanma ve Saygı Etrafınıza bakın, uyarımlarla dolu bir dünyada yaşıyoruz. Çocuklarda dikkat sorunlarının bu denli fazla görülmesinin en büyük nedeni budur. Disiplin ve odaklanmanın, eğitilmesi gereken kaslar gibi olduğu söylenir. Jiu Jitsu'yu öğrenmek eğlencelidir ancak teknikleri öğrenmek ve uygulamak çok ayrıntılı ve karmaşıktır. Çocuklar bunu yapmaktan zevk alırlar ve başarılı olabilmek için eğitmenlere dikkat etmek zorunda kalırlar. Jiu Jitsu, çocukların disiplinini ve odaklanmasını güçlendirecek ve geliştirecektir. Bu ileride daha iyi okul çalışması, daha iyi ilişkilere ve genel bir yaşam kalitesine dönüşecektir. Saygı olmadan disipline sahip olamazsınız. Tıpkı yetişkinler gibi, çocuklar da bu kavramlarda zorlanır. Eğitmenlere ve takım arkadaşlarınıza saygı duymalısınız. Çocuklar takım arkadaşlarının sınırlarına ve onların çalışma ve öğrenme haklarına saygı duymayı BJJ yaparken öğrenirler. Yaşınız ne olursa olsun, BJJ'de odaklanmanın ve saygının ne kadar önemli olduğunu çok çabuk öğrenirsiniz. Kendini Savunmada Özgüven BJJ tecrübesi olan bir çocuk, bir saldırganı kontrol edebilir ve gerçekçi bir senaryoda etkisiz hale getirebilir. Ayrıca rahatsız edici pozisyonlardan nasıl kaçacaklarını veya daha büyük ve daha güçlü bir saldırganın altında kalmaktan nasıl kurtulacaklarını da öğrenirler. Kendinizi savunma yeteneği hak ettiğinden çok daha az değer gören bir beceridir. BJJ gerçek hayattaki durumlara uyarlanabilir ve potansiyel olarak hayatınızı kurtarabilir. Kendini savunmaya olan güven, çocuğu her yönden kendine güvenen bir birey olarak yetişmesini sağlar. Rener Gracie, aşağıdaki videoda Ryron Gracie ile birlikte hazırladığı “Zorbalığa Dayanıklı Çocuklar” BJJ programını anlatıyor. Bu video derslere dair bir fikir edinmenize yardımcı olacaktır. Jiu-Jitsu'nun arkasındaki temel fikir, başka bir kişiye yumruk atmak, tekmelemek veya zarar vermek zorunda kalmadan kendinizi bir saldırgandan nasıl koruyacağınızı öğrenmektir. Koordinasyon ve Beden Farkındalığı Jiu Jitsu'yu öğrenmek, bir çocuğun birçok küçük ayrıntı içeren teknikleri uygulamasını gerektirir. Bu teknikleri uygulamayı öğrenmek, çocuğun ince motor becerilerini geliştirir ve onlara dengeyi iyi anlamalarını öğretir. Bu, çocukta güçlü kassal ve sinirsel bağlantıları geliştirir, koordinasyon ve dengeyi artırır. Bu beceriler daha sonra hayatlarındaki diğer sporlara ve aktivitelere yayılır ve sadece Jiu Jitsu'da değil, günlük yaşamda da daha başarılı olmalarına yardımcı olur. Hedef Belirleme ve Tamamlama Jiu Jitsu'da kendinizi test etmeniz ve gelişiminizi ölçmeniz için birçok fırsat vardır; rekabet, bir sonraki kemerinizi alma, canlı roll sırasında yeni bir teknik uygulama veya yeni bir rakibe karşı eski bir teknik uygulama gibi. Jiu Jitsu'daki öğrenme süreci boyunca, her gün biraz daha ileri gitmeyi ve biraz daha fazla çalışmayı öğrenirsiniz. Hedef her gün bir önceki günden daha ileri gitmektir. Erken yaşlardan itibaren Jiu-Jitsu ile uğraşan çocuklar, geleceklerinde kendilerine güvenen, zorluklar karşısında pes etmeyen, yenilgilerinden ders çıkaran, saygılı ve güçlü birer birey oılarak parlama şansına sahip olurlar. Çocuğunuzun hem fiziksel hem de duygusal olarak büyümesine tanık olmak için, bugün onu Jiu-Jitsu derslerine kaydedin!

This, in the photo above, is my tribe. My community of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. My team. It includes my son, some of my best friends, my work colleagues, people from all walks of life, some of which, if not for jiu-jitsu, I would have never met. People of different ages, genders, and backgrounds. United in their quest to become a better version of themselves, by putting their bodies and minds through a grind of regular martial arts training. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a team sport. That’s right. You compete alone, sure. But you train and grow together. Whatever your reasons are for training — you want to improve your self-defense, you are a competitive athlete, you are just trying to get some physical activity in and de-stress — the training environment builds the team chemistry that has a significant impact on our growth both as jiu-jitsu practitioners as well as human beings. As I wrote in one of my other articles: “The people you will meet come from different parts of the world, cultures, religions. There will be the random 110 kg man who wants to lose weight, the 50 kg woman who wants to learn how to defend herself, an 8-year-old who wants to be able to deal with a school bully, a 55-year-old who just wants to be fitter — all in the same room with, say, a professional fighter preparing for his next bout.” Think of your first impression when you walk into a BJJ gym. You see everyone sparring in pairs. It is easy to see the sport as a one-on-one activity. But while you are winning or losing alone, you cannot grow and improve without everyone else on the team. Your Team is the Key It is straightforward in training. You drill, you roll with your teammates. We all have tried to do more solo drills, but let’s face it, they are boring. Have you tried to work out with a wrestling dummy? Boring again. There is no substitute for training with a live and resisting opponent. You get realistic reactions, pressure, and resistance. You can communicate and ask to reset the position. You observe their movement and adjust your own. You learn something every time, whether you are submitting or getting submitted. You go light if your teammate obliges. Or you can go hard if your teammate is game. You can try different modes of training depending on your objectives, or levels of energy. You will find a willing sparring partner for each situation. You roll with lower belts and you can practice your attacks, you can experiment, and test your defenses by putting yourself in bad positions. You roll with higher belts and they will guide you, let you work in some positions, and even put themselves in dangerous spots because they know how to protect themselves. Sometimes just one small tip, one adjustment from a higher belt can change the way you see the position and improve your game instantly. Similarly, you can give one tip to a lower belt and they can instantly and visibly improve. You roll with big strong guys and lightweights. You roll with the teammates who are strong and those who are flexible. You roll with men and women, children, and older teammates. You roll with someone with long limbs, and someone else who is short and stocky. In our team, Barbaros brings speed, Shahab brings size and power, Zafer and Ozan have very long limbs, and Kivanc is insanely strong — each one of our teammates does something that is different, sometimes unexpected — since most people cannot do some things that they do. Some are intense, others are always chill. Some come with slick technique, others with crazy cardio. The move that works on one, may not work on another. And so you learn, adjust, improve in real-time, and get better at applying your techniques to different types of opponents. My favorite sparring partner is my 18 year old son, Alp Arslan — he is like water — you cannot rattle him, you cannot tire him. He just keeps coming and almost every time he springs some new technique at you. Since he has done countless sparring sessions with me, he knows my game all too well, so I have to be on my A-game to do damage. He sees my attacks coming a mile away, and that, in turn, helps me get better. Training follows a class structure. You need it to be systematic — but we don’t keep things too rigid, everything is light-hearted and fun. Then there are open mats that when handled correctly, can promote creativity and sometimes unexpected lessons. I love open mats. Anyone can match up with anyone and just have fun. Sometimes it feels like I am in a workshop with fellow craftsmen trying to figure things out together. Share the knowledge and elevate the team as a whole, not just myself as an individual. Show my signature moves to my teammates and make it a little bit more difficult for me to hit these moves next time — forcing me to upgrade my game and avoid getting complacent. Here, this is how I do my guillotine, my footlocks, my kesa gatame, my butterfly guard. I will happily share whatever I feel I am good at. And I must say, the same goes for my teammates. Generosity in sharing knowledge is one of the key things that define our team. All this helps build team spirit, the spirit of collaboration, and respect. We rely on each other to learn, to practice, to get a serious workout. We share the knowledge and all this prepares you for the competition, after all — the way you train is the way you fight. In Competition When you travel to the tournament venue with your team, you feel like you are marching into battle together. When you think about it, the only time you are truly alone is when you step on the mats for your match. You warm up with your teammates, you leave your stuff with them, and you ask them for time, updates, and tips. There is someone to hold your towel, and hand you a bottle of water. You are never really alone. Even when your match starts, you can hear your teammates screaming their lungs out from the stands as your coach yells out instructions (if you are paying attention of course). After the match, there is someone to pat you on the shoulder in celebration or console you after a loss. You go out after the tournament and have a good meal together. Travel back to your home town together. And the very next day perhaps, it is time for the next training session again. Competitions can be very stressful events. Having a support network like this is immensely helpful. Your Coach matters Our team founder and main coach, Devran Umut Tuzla, a black belt, is the heart of the team. Having trained for more than 12 years, he started building the team with a handful of students. I remember the first time I dropped by the gym, there were only four of us and Devran was a purple belt. :) He patiently built and rebuilt (after COVID-19) the team in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye. Humble beginnings. And now, this is one of the strongest BJJ schools in the country, with the students regularly competing and bringing home bags of medals. Devran is incredibly skilled, yet humble. He shows his students by example that he treats the art of jiu-jitsu very seriously, all the while not taking himself too seriously. He is a warrior in spirit, yet one of the kindest people I know. I will never forget his fight against a 160 kg competitor in the absolute division in an ADCC event that he unfortunately lost but on points — 2–0. That fight left a huge impact on me and has been an important motivation to keep going despite difficulties, injuries and life desperately trying to pull me away from jiu-jitsu. Our second coach, Deniz Kucukozdemir is equally committed to the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As much as many of us love training in no-gi, Deniz keeps the love for the gi training going. He is a warrior through and through, and it is a shame his injuries have not allowed us to see him in competition. Healthy, he is a menace. Yet he has a light and fun side to him, often commentating on the sparring sessions, cracking jokes, and being there for his teammates in both training and competitions. Our coaches help create an atmosphere of respect and collaboration in the team. Everyone who joins the team either follows this path or does not stick around long. What Devran himself was able to learn in years, his students can now learn in half the time, if not less. Today, anyone stepping into our school has a black belt instructor in front of them. We support each other on and off the mats The bond training together builds is strong. Sure, not everyone gets along. But seeing someone go through adversity, through one opponent after another, and still being available for the next roll — that tells you a lot about that person. That is how you give and earn respect. In some cases, teammates become like family. They are there to support you when you have a personal problem. They are there to listen when you need to talk. They are there to help with all kinds of things whether it be moving apartments, supporting a good cause, or finding your lost pet. Every time when I am going through something, I know I will feel better after training. Even when injured. Beyond your team And all of this goes beyond your team. The whole BJJ world “is your oyster”. You open up a massive community of like-minded weirdos across the world. Almost any place you go to, you can find a jiu-jitsu gym, and the local practitioners will welcome and embrace you. Even when you meet world-class athletes, champions, and best coaches, they are simply people who are in love with BJJ and you can attend their seminars, train with them, and have a meal or a chat. I have often seen how people who just fought each other in a tournament match become friends. This unspoken bond between those who train jiu-jitsu is visible all the time. Be a good team member Whatever your motivation for training jiu-jitsu, you are helping your teammates. You may be a competitor or a hobbyist, but you can push your teammates to get better. Your unique style and specific knowledge can help others improve. Someone who competes helps everyone crank up the intensity. The hobbyist helps remind all that BJJ is not be all end all. It is not an exaggeration — every time you show up in the gym, you are helping everyone else. So show up. Keep your gi and rashguards clean. Pay attention to your hygiene. Cut your nails. Be respectful to your teammates. Behave. If someone asks a question, try to help them to the best of your ability. It is also ok to say — I don’t know. Your stand-up is not great? Point them to someone with good wrestling or judo. Someone asks you how to escape from this position, but maybe you don’t know? Ask the coach. Give your time freely. Be kind. Be focused. Do the work. Over time, your role may change — from white belt to a competitor, to a teacher perhaps. As you get better, you will start helping others improve, giving useful tips and pointers. Embrace being a member of the team. After all, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a team sport. :) The team a few years back. I am still a white belt here. 😁 We train, we fight and we have fun 😃  

Reviewing the Ruleset and Tactics for the ADCC competition format I write this article as my team enters the last phase of the preparation for the ADCC open in Istanbul, scheduled for 4 September 2022. As I was reviewing the ruleset and pondering the fight tactics, I decided to put together an overview of this particular format of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions. ADCC World Submission Fighting Championships were created in 1998 to introduce a ruleset that would help promote and popularize the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Today, ADCC is arguably the best grappling tournament in the world where practitioners of BJJ, but also wrestling, judo, and sambo can compete. This helps understand the logic for this particular ruleset — the idea was to allow different grappling styles to compete on more or less equal terms. Sure, since the match starts on the feet, it may seem that wrestlers and judokas have the advantage. But it is BJJ practitioners that hold the ultimate advantage in the submissions department. Competition is at three levels — beginner, intermediate and professional. Overall, the rules and the point system are the same. But there are differences in terms of the length of the matches and illegal techniques for each level. You can find the detailed description here. The key distinction of the ADCC ruleset is that the first half of the match is without points. In the second half of the match, points are scored. THIS IS THE KEY. The reason for such a format is to encourage the competitors to be aggressive and active, and to attempt submissions to the extent possible — you can safely put yourself in inferior positions and take risks in the first half of the match. You won’t concede points. Of course, submissions won’t win you the match only in the first half, but at any point during the match. Except in the second half of the match (and in the overtime if there is no winner in the allocated time), now you have to factor in the point system. Here are the main things to remember:     •  Takedown (ending in Guard or Half Guard) — 2 points     •  Clean Takedown (ending in passed guard, and a pinned opponent) — 4 points     •  Guard Passing — 3 points     •  Knee on Belly — 2 points     •  Mount — 2 points     •  Back mount (hooks must be in, or a body triangle) — 3 points     •  Sweep (ending in Guard or Half Guard) — 2 points     •  Clean Sweep (ending in passed guard, and a pinned opponent) — 4 points Now, a couple of finer points. Note that if you pass the guard straight to knee on belly or mount, you won’t get 3+2 points, but only the 3 points for guard passing. Also, if you are in back mount, you can rack up points by taking your hooks out for 3 seconds, then back in for 3 seconds, and so on. Remember that if the score is equal at the end of the fight, negative points will determine the outcome. Negative points are assigned due to passivity, including for pulling guard. If the fight ends in a draw, including after added time, referees will decide the outcome based on dominance and aggression. Also, if the referee feels a competitor is in danger, or cannot intelligently defend himself, the fight will be stopped. Now. Tactics. •  First off, know what the illegal techniques are for each level. There are illegal techniques that are banned across levels, but there are also differences between the levels. For example, at the beginner level, the only leglocks allowed are straight ankle locks. At the intermediate level, you can also do toeholds, kneebars, and calf pressure locks (or calf slicers). Heel hooks are only legal at the professional level. I might be stating the obvious, but train what you can use in the competition. It does not make sense to spend a lot of preparation time working on heel hooks if you are going to compete as a beginner or intermediate. •  Remember the rule of 3 seconds. To get points for any position, you have to hold it for at least 3 seconds. If you are not sure (time can feel slower or faster during the fight), try to hold the position for 5–6 seconds. Keep an eye on the scoreboard, or have a coach signal you the score every once in a while. •  Stand-up, while not necessarily determining the outcome, is a big factor. So watch out for wrestlers and judokas. I suggest first feeling out the opponent. Once you clinch for the first time, you will get a sense of their strength and stand-up ability. If you feel you won’t be able to overpower this opponent standing, it makes sense to pull guard — as no points are awarded in the first half of the match, you will skip the stand-up part and get straight to the ground game. If this is the path you choose, be prepared to be aggressive from the bottom. The opponent may not be very willing to engage and might want to wait it out until the points start being awarded to try to pass your guard and score. They might therefore try to save energy. •  If you choose to engage standing, remember, that the stand-up experts will typically feel very comfortable on their feet and try to tire you in the first half of the match. Taking you down at this point is not helpful to them, since they won’t get points. It makes more sense for them to score the takedown in the second half of the match, earn the points and then hold on to that advantage. Therefore, if you choose to go toe to toe with them in stand-up, they might just not give you their all in the first half of the match and give you a false sense of security. So let’s say you try to stand up with a wrestler or a judoka, but you’re starting to get tired — you can pull guard seconds before the second half of the match starts and move the match to the ground. •  Takedown fine points. Remember something very important about takedowns. If a takedown ends in a turtle position for more than 3 seconds, no points are awarded. Similarly, if you shoot for a takedown and then pull guard or go for a turtle, make sure your takedown attempt lasts at least 3 seconds before you switch. That way, you avoid a negative point for passivity. •  Sweep fine points. Here is another important tactical point. If your opponent attempts a sweep, and during the sweep motion you make a submission attempt (for example, a guillotine or a kimura) and hold on to it, the opponent needs to escape the submission and then hold you for 3 seconds to score. Use the extra time your submission attempt generates to recover guard, reverse the position, or otherwise avoid being scored on. •  Attacking pays off in ADCC. Personally, I prefer a counter-attacking game, but that is more suited to EBI or no time limit submission only style competitions. In ADCC, you have to be on the offensive to win. If you display the most fantastic defense, but you are down a couple of points, you still lose. Also, keep in mind, that as long as you are on the offensive, you have more leeway for mistakes. The defending party cannot afford mistakes. •  If you go out of bounds, do not stop until the referee stops you. In the gym, with our teammates, if we are about to cross into the neighboring mat space, we tend to stop ourselves or scoot back. This builds an unfortunate habit that won’t do in the ADCC. If you are shooting for a takedown for example or executing a sweep see it through to the end. Only stop once the referee instructs you to stop. •  Be patient in attack. If you reach the side control position and try a submission immediately, and it fails, it’s ok. Keep working. Remember, things don’t have to work immediately. You don’t have to be finishing your matches in 30 seconds. Sometimes it pays to let the opponent “stew”. Say, you get to mount. Only go for an armbar if you are sure, or try to do it securely. If you spend all that effort to get to mount and then lose the position immediately, that’s just dumb. Put pressure, cut off the exits, negate escape attempts, add pressure, and as you see the opponent’s defenses go down, go for the kill. Of course, be mindful of time. •  It pays to not go 100% on your submissions off the bat. When I get into the rear mount for example and lock a Rear Naked Choke, I like to start slow. If you go 100% and the opponent survives this, your morale will take a hit while his confidence will increase. Start with less than 50%. Enough not to let the opponent escape, but also enough to strain him and make sure he has to fight to survive. Your opponent does not know what your 100% is. So don’t show it all immediately. As your opponent defends, but you keep gradually tightening your submission hold, this will affect his morale. When your opponent despairs, you will have an easier time with the finish. •  Other than that, you try what you always try in training — improve your position and chase submissions. If you are in a bad spot, be patient, escape, reverse, sweep, and get to a place where you can control the opponent and attack. •  Last, but the most crucial. Submission is king. It does not matter how many points your opponent is ahead of you, you make them tap — you win. That said, be smart. If you are a few points ahead, with 30 seconds left on the clock, and in a dominant position, it pays to not try crazy submissions that might cost you a position. Let me add a personal recommendation. DO NOT STALL. No one respects a sneaky or annoying competitor. You might win a competition or two by just negating your opponent’s attempts, but at the end of the day, we are trying to practice and get better at jiu-jitsu. Keep in mind, unless we are talking about ADCC world championships, no one cares about your gold medals. You might beat me once or twice, but unless you are actually improving at jiu-jitsu, there will be a point where all of the people you used to “beat” will start submitting you mercilessly. So respect the art.

So you get the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu “virus”, you work hard, and suddenly the sparring sessions are no longer painful. You have gone from trying to survive when the entire gym could tap you with ease, to someone who became a challenge. More practice, more time on the mats later and now you are becoming a threat, catching people with submissions every once in a while. You start enjoying the classes and enjoying the sparring. You reach a point when you:     • can protect yourself in tough positions;     • have solid escapes from side control, mount and back control as a minimum, and possibly some of the other dominant positions;     • have an effective guard, and while it is sometimes passed, it is functional enough where it is difficult to pass, and you can use it to create threats of sweeps and submissions;     • finish people, and have your favorite submissions where even more experienced sparring partners know to be careful.Congratulations. You have the foundational knowledge of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu now. You are essentially a blue belt now, for which the commonly stated test is the ability to beat a person walking into the jiu-jitsu gym for the first time, even if they have a background in other sports or are larger, stronger, and more athletic. I cannot promise you that you will get the actual blue belt as soon as you feel you have all of the above sorted out. Your feelings are only useful here in that they help your confidence and learning. What matters is if your coach feels the same way and you will get that belt. But with the above list checked, it is only a matter of time. Now what? Now things start getting interesting. Things are bound to get harder. True, getting a blue belt does not change your skill level from one day to the next, but you will notice a clear mental shift your gym partners will go through. Higher belts will no longer take it easy on you. White belts will start coming at you, to test themselves or to prove a point. You thought being a white belt was tough? Blue Belt is, interestingly, a key point in the jiu-jitsu journey where most people reaching it, actually quit. I guess it is the line, that, once you cross it, means you have “made it”. You can defend yourself and those close to you in most real-life situations. You will inevitably start considering putting more time into other things in your life. We have jobs, families, and other hobbies we want to pursue. BUT. If you do continue, jiu-jitsu has a way of rewarding loyalty to the art. I will go as far as to say that the journey from blue to purple belt is perhaps the key determinant of whether you will ever get that coveted black belt or not. It is a period of great discoveries and great frustrations, successes and failures, times when your jiu-jitsu feels almost effortless, and other times when it feels like you are not improving at all. If you do stick with it, here is some advice that can help you with the continuation of your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey as a blue belt: Technique:     • Fundamentals. Continue working on the fundamentals. Polish your escapes, your favorite guard. Keep adding details that make them more and more efficient.    • High-percentage. Focus on high-percentage concepts and techniques. Strange, unusual things might work once or twice (and it does not hurt to have a couple of those in your arsenal), but the time-tested moves are what you need to concentrate on.    • Gameplan. Formulate your game as a total plan of moves and positions. Not disjointed situations, but a connected web of positions that you smoothly integrate. Expand your game by adding elements that help expand your game, for example, if your favorite guard is the butterfly guard, adding a proficient X-guard and single leg-X is a good idea. Perhaps you prefer closed guard? Add half-guard. Fancy de la Riva? Make sure you add reverse de la Riva to your game and so on. But don’t just mindlessly add things that do not make sense together. Don’t hoard positions and techniques, develop a game.    • Trademark positions. Choose and develop a particular position or two, which are uniquely yours, becoming your trademark zone. A place where your sparring partners do not want to be because for them it is torture to defend. A position where you reliably submit people. And as your opponents work to improve their counters to your moves in this position, you will continue to improve your knowledge of this favorite position. For me, it is Keza Gatame, where I can reliably control, pressure, and submit opponents.    • Back takes. Develop a variety of ways to get to the back. This will serve you well against opponents of all sizes and shapes.    • Leglocks. Try to at least understand the basics of leglocks. If you do not particularly fancy leglocks, then at least develop your defenses.At blue belt, you can no longer afford to be one-dimensional. Things like baits, multi-directional game, timing, balance, angles, creating dilemmas for the opponent become more and more important. Patience becomes more important. You need to be more relaxed and observant while rolling. Try to spot the openings the opponents give you, learn to read your opponents’ intentions, recognize their weight distribution, and develop a feel for where they seem to be moving. Here are some general thoughts.     • Injuries. Yes, you might get injured. If that happens, be patient. If you can still train, though not at one hundred percent, try to train. Work on your defense. Practice specific positions. Do some drills. Just add to your mat time. If you cannot train, try to come to the gym and watch or study some things online    • Research. Get some instructionals and study. Focus on some positions as researchers do. Embrace random things that might come your way — one short video on Instagram might teach you that one little detail that finally helps get that technique you struggle with to work.    • Plateaus. Quite natural at every belt, but can be quite painful at blue belt level for some reason. If you feel stuck, change things up, or maybe take a short break. Get some perspective.    • Teaching. If it is not your thing, that’s fair enough. But if it is, it will be another interesting way to improve. You don’t have to teach regularly, you can start by giving basic advice to the newbies. You will notice that when forced to articulate things, your technique improves. As your sparring partners get better, it will force you to upgrade your game too. Not to mention that having your students improve, is another very motivating thing. SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.    • Competition. It is not a requirement for promotion, but it can be a great source of motivation and learning. The aggression and intensity of a match will be much higher than the sparring sessions in your gym, and one match can teach you a lot more than a few training sessions. It takes some getting used to and injuries are a possibility. I understand this is not everyone’s cup of tea and I was reluctant myself for a long time. But once I decided to give it a try, I realized that competition is a great way to test your skills. It helps reveal the holes in your game that you can then work on. The preparation period for competition is also the time when you experience a lot of growth. So give it a serious thought.Become the blue belt your coach and your teammates are proud of sharing the mats with. Be patient, put in the work and that purple belt may not be so out of reach as you might think.

Get fit, get smart, get better and have fun I remember watching UFC 1 for the first time. I watched it with Russian commentary and the way the sport of Mixed Martial Arts was called in Russian was “fighting with no rules”. Or to put it in proper English, “no holds barred”. It was obvious however, there were some rules. Basic at first, but still. Biting, eye-gouging, and groin strikes were prohibited. A curious fact — the same rule set was applied to Pankration — the Ancient Greek martial art, closest to the concept of mixed martial arts.But it was not the relatively barbaric nature of the sport that caught my (and frankly, everyone else’s) attention. It was that the first UFC events seemed to give a definitive answer to the eternal question of which martial art was supreme. And what an unexpected answer it was. It was not boxing, karate, wrestling, or any of the stranger martial arts that were represented (believe it or not, a participant of UFC 3 claimed to be a ninja).A smaller guy wearing a white kimono would defeat larger, stronger, scarier opponents one after another. He would choke them unconscious, or apply joint locks that made them grimace in pain and surrender. And that is how the world was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.I won’t go into the history of the sport, but instead try to make a case for why everyone (yes, that is precisely what I mean) should, as a minimum, give it a shot and try it.1. Self-Defence. This is, perhaps, most obvious, but Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (hereafter BJJ) is the tried and tested self-defense method. No martial art offers a guarantee, but BJJ comes pretty close. Robust and sometimes counter-intuitive techniques and principles for staying safe when in a fight, for restraining or even immobilizing an opponent, tested methods with which one could render even a much bigger and a stronger opponent unconscious, are a few of the reasons why BJJ is a great choice if you are looking to learn self-defense.Beyond self-defense, if you ever want to be a professional MMA athlete, it is simply impossible to succeed without adding BJJ to your repertoire of techniques. Need more convincing? Here is a fun fact — John Wick may not be a great role model to follow, but he uses BJJ extensively in fighting.2. Physical Benefits. BJJ is simply a fantastic exercise. Whole books can be written about this subject, but I’ll try to keep it to a paragraph. You will inevitably become stronger, leaner, improve your cardio. BJJ offers a whole-body exercise, so you don’t just improve your physical attributes, but your body functions better overall. Much better. In BJJ training you essentially engage in regular combat simulations (through sparring sessions, which are called ‘rolling’), which does wonders for your endurance. After all, you are sparring against fully resisting individuals.You will discover a range of unexpected physical benefits as well. Your movement just gets better. It is hard to quantify this, but you will have better balance, flexibility, and mobility. You will be surprised to discover how much more efficiently you can move. You will develop body awareness you did not have before. You will sleep better. Here is a personal example of the unexpected benefit of BJJ — as I got older, I was starting to feel that my feet got weaker. Almost every friendly football match would end in pain in my feet. Now, years later and with several years of BJJ practice, my feet are so much stronger.One more benefit is developing comfort with physical contact. We all have our personal space that we don’t like being invaded and it is important to develop a sense of comfort to physical contact. Multiple psychology studies have confirmed that touch, physical contact is essential to human beings. Now, in particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has robbed us of one of the most natural senses, which has a range of emotional and physical health benefits. Touch is fundamental to humans and BJJ can help you re-discover the power of physical contact.3. Stress Relief. Let me tell you, after a few sessions of BJJ sparring, you realize something about our daily life. Most of us, city dwellers, have gone soft. We are stressed out when we have too much work, too little work, too little money, too much money when we make someone mad when someone makes us mad, the list goes on. Every day our lives feel like they are spiraling out of control. This is exacerbated by the news cycle that seems to be designed to do one thing — keep us in a state of continuous stress.When you do BJJ, two things will happen. Firstly, even those of you who do not believe in meditation will discover what BJJ will do for you, essentially what meditation does for its practitioners. It will calm your mind, take your focus off of the things that stress you out, and make you feel better by just providing you with physical exercise. Secondly, it will create a much-needed sense of perspective. You thought finishing that report or replying to that e-mail was stressful? Well, how does that compare to sparring with a 110 kg opponent who seems to be slowly smashing you into the ground? Having an actual physical challenge a few times a week dramatically changes how you view and respond to stress. You become more patient, more relaxed under pressure, and less likely to panic in critical situations.4. You Become a Better Person. I will do my best to describe this, but you develop confidence and humility at the same time. A strange combination perhaps, but oddly enough, you get better at both simultaneously and, balance these out. If you are shy, you will become tangibly more confident. if you are, however confident bordering with arrogance, BJJ training is very quickly going to bring you back to earth. If you resist humility, it’ll be beaten into you. It is as simple as that — without humility, you simply cannot get better at BJJ.BJJ also develops grit and improves your discipline. And not for some vague reasons, but because again, if you want to get better at BJJ, you just have to have grit and discipline. There will inevitably be moments when you will feel that the pressure is too much, you will feel physical pain, you will get injured. Your ability to not only persevere but thrive under pressure is crucial to ensure continued commitment to BJJ. Nothing improves your BJJ better than regular BJJ training. The mat time is key. Finally, grit and discipline are two things that will be transferrable to other parts of your life — work, relationships, everything.5. You Become Smarter. Perhaps not the most obvious benefit, but BJJ has a range of underrated benefits for your mind. Firstly, it is not an accident that BJJ is referred to as “human chess”. It is a very cerebral sport with hundreds, perhaps thousand techniques and because every human is different, the way we develop our BJJ game is also uniquely ours. No two BJJ matches are ever the same, even when the same opponents square up. Just training won’t cut it. BJJ forces you to do some thinking, to reflect about your game, about your techniques, about your reactions to opponents’ techniques.Practicing BJJ also teaches you how to learn, how to acquire skills. You will check YouTube videos, watch instructionals, ask higher belts for advice, amalgamate all of the acquired knowledge into your own unique BJJ game. You can transfer your learning strategies to other disciplines, including not only other physical skills but language learning, mastering a musical instrument, pretty much anything else.BJJ training will also make you better at problem-solving. The famous UFC commentator Joe Rogan once described MMA (and fighting in general) as “problem-solving with dire physical consequences”. As you improve at BJJ, and the skill level of your opponents gets better, you will be constantly confronted with positions and moves that you will have to figure out ways to deal with. Significantly stronger opponents, opponents who have much longer limbs, opponents who just don’t tap to particular submissions, opponents who have a kind of a guard that you seem unable to handle. Each one of these challenges will force you to find creative and innovative solutions. This is a practice that will come in very handy in other aspects of your life.6. Becoming part of a Community. We all belong to communities at our workplaces and our places of residence. But these do not always become tribes of like-minded people. With BJJ, you enter a world of people who come from all walks of life — lawyers, doctors, salesmen, professional athletes — people who love BJJ. The people you will meet come from different parts of the world, cultures, religions. There will be the random 110 kg man who wants to lose weight, the 50 kg woman who wants to learn how to defend herself, an 8-year-old who wants to be able to deal with a school bully, a 55-year-old who just wants to be more fit — all in the same room with, say, a professional fighter preparing for his next bout.This goes beyond your local gym. Anywhere you go in the world, you can find a BJJ gym, just show up, train, and meet like-minded people. You will discover that even when you meet world-class athletes, champions, and best coaches, they are simply people who are in love with BJJ and you can attend their seminars, train with them, and have a chat.You may think that you are in just for some training, but over time, you might be drawn to competition. As you get better and better, you will also start giving tips and advice to the up-and-comers and who knows, maybe someday you will start teaching.7. Fun. Yes, it is not always fun at the beginning. It is not fun to feel like you are drowning, that you are helpless against somebody who is 20kgs lighter than you but seems to have four arms and four legs. It will also not be fun when you get injured. You may quit because it will get tough. But when it gets tough, go back to everything you have read up to this point and understand this. Nothing valuable in this life comes without effort. Many things in life don’t even guarantee success if you do make effort. But if you commit to BJJ, the results are pretty much a guarantee. And in addition, you will start enjoying training, sparring, learning, figuring out solutions to the problems your opponents pose, you will get addicted to the feeling you get during and after training.So what are you waiting for? Go train and have fun!  

Hafızam yanıltmıyorsa 2008 senesiydi. Ankara’da yaşıyor, başka bir dövüş disiplininde antrenman yapıyordum. Eğitmenimiz (Özgür Baş) vizyonu geniş bir dövüş sanatları sevdalısı olduğundan , birçokları gibi kendi disiplinini en iyisi olarak görme eğiliminde değildi. Diğer disiplinleri de tanımamız gerektiğini düşünerek, alt katta çıplak ayakla güreşen, adının henüz jiu jitsu olduğunu bilmediğim ve dışarıdan bakınca pek bir şey anlamadığım sporu tecrübe etmemiz için bizi Eren Anlar’ın ders verdiği  BJJ sınıfına dahil etti. Bildiğim kadarıyla Ankara’daki en eski BJJ okulu... Derste öğrendiğim teknik, fake bir yumruk gösterip ardından dobule leg’le rakibi yere almaktı. Antrenmandan çıktığımda kafamda Jiu jitsu’nun ne olduğuna dair karmaşık fikirler vardı ve o gün roll yapmadığımız için, tekniğin gücünü anlama imkanım olmamıştı. Tek öğrendiğim sahte bir yumruk ve iki bacağa dalıp yere düşür... İçinde hepsi de  erkek altı arkadaşımın bulunduğu eve gittiğimde bira içmeye başladık ve hafif çakır olunca bir şekilde küçük bir güreş turnuvası organize edildi. Fake, double ve arkadaşlarımın hepsinin sırtlarını sırayla yere getirdim. Tabi klasik sırtı yere gelen kaybeder kuralını uygulayarak... O günden sonra beni ikna eden bu tekniği araştırmaya başladım. Her başlamak istediğimde siyah kuşak almanın en az yedi yıl sürdüğünü, öğrenmenin zahmetli ve zor olduğunu düşünüp vazgeçtim. Tıp doktoru mu olacaktık sanki ! Böyle şeyler düşünüp kendinizi yenmeyin ; çünkü kaybeden gene kendiniz oluyorsunuz... Yıllar kovalanıp kaçarken 2016 yılında bir aralık yakalayıp BJJ’ye başlamaya karar verdim.  Bu sefer kararlıydım. Yanıma antrenman kıyafetleri almadan Esat caddesindeki salona gittim. Koridorun başından içeride gördüğüm geniş sırtlı adam ( Devran hocamız), kibarca derse katılabileceğimi söyledi, ben yanımda kıyafet olmadığını söyledim, Master, şöyle bir bakıp gideceğimi düşünmüş olabilir. Oysa ben tamamen ikna olmuştum ve bir sonraki dersten altı sene sonraki şu ana dek antrenmanlara devam ettim. Ne tıp doktoru olabildim ne de siyah kuşak olmak umurumda, birini boğmak ya da kendimi savunmak derdinde de değilim. Bu sporu  hırsından öte seven kişiler bilir ki  , Jiu Jitsu’nun en değerli yanı sonunun gelmemesi, kişiyi hep kendinin daha iyi hali olmaya motive etmesidir.