"Should I have bought a black Gi?" I think to myself. (For those of you not familiar a Gi is a traditional martial arts uniform that consists of a top and bottom and belt. If you have seen any martial arts films you have seen a gi. In jujitsu you need a particularly strong gi as it is often used to be grabbed on during combat. You will see me in my gi if you continue to read the blog.)
The questions continue to mount.
"Why would I draw any unwanted attention to myself?"
"A black Gi seriously, who do I think I am part of Cobra Kai?"
Cobra Kai Commander from the movie Karate Kid)
So then I start thinking of excuses.
"It was on sale."
"My wife bought it and didn't tell me she was buying black."
"Not gonna get a black belt so this is the next best thing?" (No don't say that one...)
Needless to say I was worried that I was going to catch some heat for not going with a traditional white Gi.
I shake off my anxiety make a quick dinner and head off to class.
When I arrive behind the desk are two guys I have seen before, and on the mats are 4 others I do not recognize. I tell Beau (one of the guys behind the desk that I recognize from my intro classes) this is my first night. First thing he asks,
"You have your gi right?" Of course this is the first thing he asks....
"Yeah I do, but it didn't come with a belt, do you guys have a belt you can lend me for tonight? Oh and color doesn't matter does it? Jason told me it didn't." You all like how I slipped that in there.
"I am sure we can find you a belt for tonight, and color doesn't matter."
I figured at this point I would just throw it out there, "Ok good, I was nervous because I bought a black one."
Billy (the other guy behind the desk) "Uh oh, you know what that means."
"What?" I ask.
"It means you better back it up"
We all laugh, and to be honest it was a relief. I wasn't uncomfortable, or nervous and Billy even told me a story about when he started some others were nervous about rolling with him because he was wearing a black gi because people assumed a black gi meant you were a bad ass.
"What brand?" Beau asks.
"Cahill."
"Cako?"
"CaHILL"
"Oh, never heard of it."
That's when I throw in the line that it was on sale AND it was a gift from my wife (why not double up on excuses, both are also true in case you were wondering.)Beau then found my paperwork, and asked me if I know the routine, (which I did because he told me about it last week. See he didn't remember meeting me but that was totally fine with me, because I figure I'd already brought enough attention to myself with my gi choice.)
"Yeah you told me all about it last week."
"I did? We met last week?"
"Yeah you were wearing the blue gi. Told me all about the shower and flip flops and what not."
Billy chimes in, "Ah you remember the blue gi!"
Anyway enough about gis. Bottom line is I got over the first hump. Getting to my first class.
I have to give the guys at the desk credit, they were welcoming and non-threatening, which is really important for making a new student feel comfortable. Once I started rolling and learning, I realized what color you are wearing means nothing to what you are doing. In my next blog I will tell you all about how first class actually went when I actually got to the mats.
No matter what color my gi was, my belt is still white. I will be working on changing THAT over the next 12 months. Thats all for now folks, if you made it this far enjoy the first picture of me in my bad ass black gi. Steve
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