It only takes a few things in this life to make me happy. Breathing is one of them. You might think I'm trying to be funny but you really don't understand the power of 'breath' until it is taken away from you. I stopped breathing; it happened to me in many different ways today and they were all perfect moments.
I had the honor, the privilege, and the opportunity to listen in on a conversation with Master Instructor Ralph Mitchell today at Westinghouse High School located in Downtown Brooklyn. Sifu Mitchell graced the school with his presence and spoke about discipline, spoke about choices of lifestyle, answered questions that the students had; all with humility and humor. To give you a taste of who I am speaking of, in case you don't know, this is one of the masters behind the scenes. You won't find his face in any movies but you may find people that he has sparred with to get them in shape for the movies. Who is he to me directly? He's my teacher's teacher. Who's my teacher? You guys have no idea, even if I told you.
Not only did I get to listen in on their conversation but I also had the benefit of having a chat with him and two other teachers in Starbucks. This was when I realized I literally had stopped breathing. And it's funny because I was just in my own head analyzing how awesome this was to be sitting here with Sifu and a Professor, and a fellow student/teacher (all students are teachers in my head), all at once and then I noticed that I wasn't inhaling or exhaling and I had to say it out loud because I related it to fighting. Sometimes when you're fighting you forget to breathe for the same reason; living in your own head as opposed to being present, in the moment. I know you guys want to know what we spoke about but guys you have no idea how big of a deal this was and therefore the conversation may go over your head but I will tell you this: I felt like a little girl talking to her grandfather when he said that he knew she was amongst a few that bested one of their more experienced fighters. I'm not bragging, I'm paraphrasing. It was a one-time thing. Some may have called it "beginner's luck." But it is what happened.
THEN! In Jiu-jitsu tonight I got to learn another submission known as the Ezekiel choke. Ha! Then I really found out what it was to literally have your breath taken from you and how to take away from someone else. lol You are fully mounted on your opponent and quickly, in the best way I, as a beginner, can describe it, you strategically put one arm behind their head to position your shoulder into their head, with your free arm that was bracing you from being taken over, you bring that arm to be interlocked in front of your other hand (the one behind the guy's head) over his throat and scissor squeeze (meaning you treat your hands like a pair of scissors and clip!) Man! I had fun today.
Truly blessed to experience it all.
Have fun guys and Make IT Yours.
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