Prior to my black belt test, my instructor Seth Shamp asked me to write something that expressed what jiu-jitsu — the art itself, as well as the journey I’ve been on — means to me. This is what I wrote. At the end of the post, you can see a video of my black belt speech and listen to a podcast we did about the journey.
— Jeff
My life is jiu-jitsu, and jiu-jitsu is my life. I mean that both literally (I train and teach and learn jiu-jitsu constantly), but also metaphorically. For me, jiu-jitsu is a philosophy, a way to approach the world.
Jiu-jitsu trains us to find the best, most efficient and effective ways to do things. Everybody has different goals in life. Your goals might be to defend yourself better, to compete in high-level events, or just to get in better shape while having fun and learning. All of these are great goals, and jiu-jitsu can help you reach every one of them.
Your goals also might include being a more patient person, a more productive person, or a person who is more mentally strong. Jiu-jitsu can help you with all of those things, too, by teaching you to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations, to look for the most correct answer when your options seem limited, and to have faith in yourself that you can endure, persevere and conquer.
As for what training at Triangle Jiu-Jitsu has meant to me, I’m very proud to have trained with Seth at TJJ Durham from day one. This is the place where I learned to love jiu-jitsu.
The fact that TJJ has always focused on the three points of the symbolic triangle — self defense, sport jiu-jitsu, and mixed martial arts — has given me a broad perspective on what martial arts are for. Everyone has different goals, but good, solid fundamentals — the kind we believe in at TJJ — will bring you success in all of those arenas.
TJJ is also the place where I first began teaching — and first began learning how to share the art I love with others. Those 6 a.m. classes and, later on, evening classes, were instrumental to my development as an instructor.
It helped me create this school creed for Bellingham BJJ:
“We Believe
We believe that jiujitsu is for everyone. Not everyone has the same goals or the same ceiling, but everyone can improve their life by training.
We believe in constant improvement. Everyone in your life knows something that you don’t. Every person on the mat can help you get better at something.
We believe in being good training partners. Your training partner is the most important person in the gym. Train so both people get something out of the class.
We believe in training hard and training smart. If we never spar hard, we don’t get all the benefits jiujitsu offers as an “alive” martial art. If we treat every sparring round like the finals at the world championships, we sacrifice technical understanding and risk injury. Train hard. Train smart.
We believe in jiujitsu for self defense, jiujitsu for sport, and jiujitsu for life. This art will help you reach your goals — and if you pay attention to the fundamentals, you can succeed in all the areas of jiujitsu.
We believe that jiujitsu is for everyone. This is important, so we’re saying it again. Everyone is welcome here.”
Early on, Seth instilled in me the attitude that we should train with everyone — that we should cross-train at other schools, with other teams, with other instructors and practitioners. I think that has been absolutely essential for my journey. This is true both in terms of the things I’ve learned along the way, and for the open-minded attitude it instills. I still feel like I’m learning and growing constantly.
Jiu-jitsu has given me so much, and added so much to my life, that it’s natural for me to see jiu-jitsu as a tool to help others. That might mean helping others reach their BJJ competition goals, but it’s just as likely to mean helping others through hard times in their lives, via training, or via organizing fundraising events, or deepening the sense of community we share with each other.
Whenever I have given someone a stripe or recommended someone for a belt promotion, that has been about that person’s achievements. It’s a way of recognizing their hard work, their progress, their diligence, their success — and my pride in them.
When I have been promoted, my attitude has been a little different. For me, when I accept a promotion, I am also accepting a responsibility, a duty. I am very conscious that what I do, both on and off the mats, reflects upon my instructor, Seth, and my friends and training partners in my lineage.
This is why I have always tried to be the best possible representative for jiu-jitsu generally, and for TJJ specifically, both on and off the mats. When I’m competing, I train hard and with discipline so that everyone sees what a TJJ brown belt is like. When I’m teaching, I constantly try to learn more and be more effective, because I know that reflects on my lineage. When I’m in the community, I try to be kind, to be helpful, and to grow jiu-jitsu in a way that is positive.
That duty is never far from my mind, even now as a brown belt. The darker the belt color, in my view, the greater the obligation to represent yourself — and your instructor, and your training partners, and the friends who helped you get there — in a way that conveys excellence, humility, decency and respect.
Whatever belt I earn — and I would never want any rank that my instructor did not believe I had earned beyond any doubt — I will always try to live these values, and represent the people who helped me get here in the best way.
— Jeff Shaw
December 2019