The field of battle, lightly greening with unnatural plushness and cross thatched tatami. My back planted to the ground by adversary donning a White Gi and visage brimming silently with subtle loudness from prospect in passing leg to delivering submission. Keeping breath in level tempo, I instinctively make contact upon his leg and bicep with feet, grabbing onto sleeve and lapel. The air thickens with tension, humidity and typhoons of sweat beading and landing in fractal bloom. Feeling my opponent resist this advance with rigid posture, I assert grips and weave feet like vines around his lead leg while kicking out it’s trailing doppelgänger. Rotation of the Earth slows in ghastly relativity as time becomes viscous and violence of action breaks this gravity, from unnaturalness of pause my opponent rides the foamy capped sea upon my Black Gi and is swept under rip tide devoid of light and air..only darkness remaining as body and my opaque fabric suffocates. Sometimes, tides are not contingent on the orbits of titans.
For many years I resisted the idea of using the traditional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi. Mostly, I thought it to be an impractical nuisance requiring constant adjustment of belt, tucking of pajama top, and along with the impracticality of IF your opponent is at a pool party wearing only board shorts. Though I still believe these concerns air validity, much like many things in life, I’ve settled on a more balanced resolve. I mean, people do wear pants and long sleeves and start shit after all.
Initially, the oddity of learning to tie a belt, discovering that sweating more is possible during training, and mixed with concern that I am now a walking handle with gripping opportunity on about every square inch of my body was daunting. But as all things smooth with time, i’ve learned there is more nuance to this gentle art of grappling combat. Through the traditional gi kimono, I’ve learned to slow the action down, milliseconds convert to seconds, while options of offense and defense expand to unfathomable permutations. I once heard Jiu Jitsu described as kinetic chess, but I prefer the analogy of Chinese Checkers….I’ll never quite understand it, but sure looks fun.
Practically speaking, Gi training does seem to be a less traumatic “meditation” on the body opposed to the no-gi mode (think dualing slippery polyester full body suits). There is less slickness in scramble as sand paper textured gi contrasts, and a safer path to the smash, control, and submission as grips are omnipresent. Mathematically speaking, there must be some advantage on more consistent progressing of the path without innumerate obstacles of injury.
Martial arts is the lifelong pursuit of excellence, a competition against contenders and most importantly the self. There Is something alluring to the maddening chase of infinity, a call many never hear or worse ignore as this strange frequency is nothing less than sheer impossibility; whispering and drawing to the insanity inhabitant in us all. They say that those who stare too long into the abyss become it; perhaps not a portal, but a mirror reflecting back.
Don the gi. Consciously wrap lapel over lapel and tie snugly with belt. Meditate carefully on the battle before you. Respect your instructor, your training partner, and adversary. All triune are holy and sacred, the godly alchemy where one finds purity in cause and pursuit of the divine impossible.
I look forward to our contact on the mats.
