Broken Ribs, Yes; Broken Spirit — Never!
How gratitude can make pain pull a Houdini.
It was the final “roll” of the Wednesday session. It had been an arduous week, and an equally arduous session thus far. My competition was easily ten years my junior and outweighed me by at least one hundred pounds. In any other contact sport, this would make most run for the hills. But this was Brazilian jiujitsu, the chess of the martial arts world, where technique always beats strength. We slapped hands, then bumped fists, and the grappling ensued. A few short moments and a shriek later, two of my lower left ribs were broken and I was trembling with pain, flat on my back.
“Focus on your breath”. Sounds easy enough, right? Gasping for air from anaerobic exertion, with two ribs now collapsing into the organ responsible for said “breath”, all I could do was focus. Inhaling felt like an Excalibur sword twisting in my torso. Exhaling was also extremely unpleasant, although not to the same extent. Again, the voice. “Focus on your breath.” I squinted through my pain grimace, and registered the source of the voice. A mythical creature, the club black belt instructor.
Very few Brazilian jiujitsu practitioners will achieve black belt status. Injuries are very common roadblocks, however lack of commitment is number one. On average it takes over ten years of…
