Dedication is something that not everybody has – wanting
something badly enough is enough of a reason for one to keep pushing, keep
trying and ignoring all of the bumps that might be encountered along the
way. Since I started Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu, this is one thing that stayed somewhat constant. There are days that I look at myself in the
mirror and feel more proud than ever, and there are days when I look in the
mirror and see someone completely foreign and strange.
One of the
biggest conflicts I’ve had is when people disapprove or put me down for what I
like to do. Nobody is truly immune to
this in any area of life. I’m sure
successful actors, athletes, professors and doctors have all hit major points of
self-reflection along the paving of their career and questioned whether or not
they were doing the right thing for themselves.
I’ve hit this moment quite a bit in BJJ, and I know I will continue to
as well. BJJ has tested me both
physically and mentally; it has expanded to all facets of my life.
A little background on myself: My name is Dean Lewis and I am a blue belt
under Rosendo Diaz. I began my training
at 15 years old and have been hooked ever since. Looking back, my life would not be anything
like it is now had I never taken the step to train. I would not be as healthy as I am, neither
mentally nor physically. Jiu-Jitsu has
motivated me to eat clean, reject anything that might harm my body, raised my
confidence and allowed me to think more clearly under stressful
situations. Overall I am a much happier
person than when I started as an anxious, scrawny, 85-pound boy. Since then I have become what I consider a
much more confident person that can find peace within my own body, and a person
that knows that I have yet to reach my own potential – I know for a fact that
Jiu-Jitsu can change lives. I have seen
people lose hundreds of pounds, I have seen people use Jiu-Jitsu to develop
better life habits, and I have seen (and continue to see) people use Jiu-Jitsu
to give them something to strive for and to set goals.
What is it that makes Jiu-Jitsu so
different than other physical activities?
I believe it’s the combination of the culture of the sport - being
descended from traditional martial arts has left Jiu-Jitsu with a stigma
against “egos” and a focus on developing practitioners as people – and the fact
that Jiu-Jitsu is a rough-and-tough combat sport. The focus of Jiu-Jitsu may be to make combat
easier, but there is still nothing easy about getting your ass kicked on the
mats. It’s an activity that everyone can take up, but not everyone is willing to take up. It takes a special person to get on the mats
each day, sweat, get bumps and bruises, yet continue to try and improve.
It took me about a year until
things started to even fall into place – I would have quit anything else within
a couple months, but there was something that continuously drew me to class. I saw an issue, which was that I was a small
kid that was far, far behind everyone, not only in strength and size, but in
technique as well. I cannot sit and
think that someone out there could possibly know more about BJJ than I do, or
somehow could understand how my body is moving better than I could. I continue to view Jiu-Jitsu in this way, and
this is what drives me to continue training.
For some, it may be the drive to lose weight. For some, it may be the drive to become more
confident in their bodies in order to defend themselves from bullies and predators. For some people, it’s the race to the #1 spot
on the podium at tournaments. This is what
makes Jiu-Jitsu an art, and it’s what makes Jiu-Jitsu such a beautiful thing to
partake in. The art has added much to my
life, and I intend to contribute back to it as best as I can.
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