The White Belt of Courage
It takes courage to step on the mats and do jiu jitsu, no matter who you are. No matter what day it is or how much experience you have or what mood you’re in. Honestly, that’s one of, if not THE reason that people who do jiu jitsu tend to get along so well, even if they’re strangers. There’s a bit of mutual respect and understanding between those who do this thing. There’s mutual courage. No courage greater, perhaps, than that of the white belt.
Finally, white belts, it’s your turn to accept some glory. Because we know that you aren’t getting it on the mats! You embraced the courage to walk in the door, and that’s something special. It’s a little too easy to forget that a white belt is still a belt, and that a belt is always something that’s earned. When we think about the white belt, we think of it as something everyone has. Like everyone in the world is a white belt, but it doesn’t work that way. You got your first promotion the day you walked in our doors because that was your first moment of courage in jiu jitsu.
Courage is a virtue and something that you should be immensely proud of. As a white belt, there’s no doubt that showing up to jiu jitsu is hard, probably harder than it is at any other point in your whole journey. But with the right support system and coaches, you can in a way learn to delegate your efforts. If as a white belt, you can summon the courage to walk in the door several times a week, then you’ve done everything you need to do.
We take it from there – your support system, your fellow classmates, and your coaches. We’ll help you get through the techniques and the drilling and the rolls. If you walk in the door, you’ve summoned all the courage you need. Over time, as you gain experience, the necessary courage you need will diminish little by little. Or is it that you simply get braver and braver…? Perhaps both.
What we know for sure is this: A white belt is earned through courage. So if you’re curious if you have the courage it takes to earn one and then to earn the next belt and the next until you’ve earned them all, come on in the door at Airlock Jiu Jitsu.
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