The White Belt Life

This week Zak has a special guest, JB! you will have heard mention of JB on earlier episodes of the podcast. Zak and JB are neighbours (sadly were neighbours, Zak has moved) and started training BJJ at the same time. This week it was too late and windy for a walk so they sat around the campfire and reminisced about the last 6 months of training. 

This wee Zak is out for a very windy walk and talking about his experiences over the last few weeks. He reflects on nearly injuring someone and about sparring etiquette and how to manage a situation when someone is sparring too hard. 

This week Zak reflects on how a few weeks off from training led to him coming back with a fresh perspective and eagerness to learn. He is joined by Bojack as usual and guest starring this week is his 2 year old. 

This week, Zak and Bojack are reunited for a stroll around the countryside of France. Zak talks about the recent outbreak of Covid at the Dojo and questions whether it would have made any difference had vaccines in the class been mandatory.  Luckily for Zak, he had not attended classes this week due to a cricked neck. Leaving him plenty of time to lament on the how and why such a thing could happen and just how contrasting it is for it to even be possible compared to the not to distant past. 

This week Zak is chatting breeze about how starting training can bring out all manner of excuses, whether it's all the reasons you shouldn't start BJJ in the first place or why it's probably fine to miss this week's session. Resistance is the name of the game and overcoming it and facing your fears is truly a worthwhile pursuit. 

This week Zak takes a stroll and reflects on his training and thinks out loud about how the setup of a BJJtraining session can be applied to broader experiences in life. 

This week Zak walks alone again and explores his experiences with mental health and the impact that training BJJ has had on him.  He considers how losing is actually good for you and then goes on to tell you about the best win he had yet on the mats. 

This week Zak returns after a short hiatus and one of the allocated BJJ sessions has now become an MMA session. Zak reflects on the last month's training and his improvements as well as being a little bit excited about MMA. He is joined by no dogs this week so walks alone in the french countryside bumbling on about being a beginner in martial arts.  

This week I have a new guest, Luna the dog we rescued from a ditch, he and Bojack join me once again as I ramble through the French countryside reflecting on the lessons learned during this week's BJJ classes. After finding Luna I had to miss a class to look after him and I was initially concerned about how much I would miss out on because of that and what steps i took to mitigate that, like rolling around in the garden by myself! 

Week 3 on the mats, join me on a stroll with Bojack as I discuss how my training is proceeding and my thoughts on avoiding injury while trying to learn how to move like master!My name is Zak and I'm a white belt. 

Week 2 on the mats, join me on a stroll with Bojack as I discuss how my training is proceeding and my thoughts on participating in a contact sport during a pandemic! My name is Zak and I'm a white belt. 

After my neighbor sent me a flyer for BJJ classes starting in my nearest town I finally went to my first session. In this episode, I reflect on the expectations I had of starting BJJ at the age of 34 vs the reality of it, as well as reflecting on my newfound awareness that there are people in this world who can physically manipulate you with complete and utter control like a cat playing with a mouse.My name is Zak and I'm a white belt.