For anyone thinking of joining me...

I have written this e-mail a couple of times now, and I think I'd like to put it up here in case I need to write it again!  For any of my friends who want to know what I think about my gym and BJJ, here are my random thoughts on it:

I'm not sure what you want to know, so I'm just going to ramble for a bit, then you can ask me questions!
I love my gym! I started out doing the Tone N Tighten (TNT) classes. TNT is a workout based on jiu-jitsu moves, so it's a great way to prepare your body for jiu-jitsu classes. John and Joe started doing jiu-jitsu before I started, and then a few months later Peter and I joined in, because it looked like fun. :)

One of the biggest things that made us start at Fighting Chance Fitness is how clean it is - they disinfect the mat every time people roll on it, they keep the equipment clean, they keep the shop clean. They don't let people walk on the mat with their shoes on. It doesn't smell like a sweaty gym in there!

The sport itself is a blast. I absolutely cannot explain the draw of BJJ, but it is addictive. I'll try - it's like a chess game in that you are always trying to be as many steps ahead of your partner as you can - if I do this, he'll do this, then I'll do this and I'll win. You have to learn to think and adapt while you are moving. Training your body to move in different ways is a mental exercise. The physical exercise that you get is not what keeps you going out on the mat, but it is a phenomenal workout. I am 15 pounds lighter than I was when I started jiu-jitsu, and I started before I got pregnant with Rosemary. I LOVE that I never think about how hard I am working, but I am exhausted and dripping with sweat at the end of every class.

The people at my gym, specifically, as well as most people who train jiu-jitsu, are magnificent. Everyone started out as a white belt, getting their butts handed to them over and over and over, so nobody looks down on anyone. The fact that you show up and try is enough to earn their respect. Kevin and Christy, the owners, are two of the kindest, most patient and supportive people I have ever met. And this goes for the way they treat my kids, too! It's a family place - Rosemary goes to most of my classes with me, and sometimes she hangs out in the pack and play, sometimes she wanders around and sometimes we take turns holding her.

There are women's classes Mondays and Wednesdays at 11. TNT is Saturday and Monday at 10. Adult classes are Tues/Thurs at 7:00, Wednesdays at 7:30 and no-gi on Mondays at 7:30.  Open mat is on Friday nights and Saturdays after TNT- this is a time where you can come and do whatever, and this is one of the times when it's most important to me that it's a family-friendly gym. The kids usually bring their gi and roll for a little bit, then they want to go have play time while we roll or drill. They offer 2 free classes to check it out. Let me know if you are going to give it a try - I'll see if I can be there with you!

Really, Hayabusa?

 I've had 2 gi, both Fenom, for about 6 months now, and these gi are holding up just fine.  My ripstop pants have a few wear points on them that look like they are going to be threadbare any day now, but won't impact my ability to wear them.  I paid $65 for that gi, $85 for the other.  I wear them (and wash them) at LEAST twice a week, usually three.  This seems reasonable to me.

If I were to buy a really expensive gi, I would expect it to hold up really well. I would expect the company to back up their products in exchange for my copious amounts of money.  My instructor shelled out the big bucks for his "tuxedo gi" - a Hayabusa.  Four months later, during a very average roll, the pants ripped next to the seam.  This was a failure of the fabric, not the stitching.  We all thought "Wow, that's ridiculous!  Call them, they'll be so embarassed that they'll totally send you a new pair of pants." 

Not so. 

Hayabusa said that it had been four months, and it was fight gear.  What did he expect?

I expect an expensive gi like that to hold up longer than my cheap Fenom gi, especially when it's one of many gi in his rotation as opposed to my 2 that I rotate. I expect the expensive gi to last as long as my husband's lightweight Gorilla gi, which is the only gi he's worn in almost a year. I expect fight gear to be made to be tough and handle anything we can do on the mat.  I expect a company to back up their products.  This offended me so much that I'm posting it on my blog - and it's not even my gi!

Buyer beware, Hayabusa expects their gear to rip within 4 months.