This past weekend I had the farewell party for my grad school program. It was bittersweet. It got me to thinking about all the other people I am going to have to say good-bye to. Namely, those at Martial Arts Planet.
It was always looming, but the time has come yet again; I will be moving from Kingston in about two weeks.
Leaving Kingston is going to be one of the hardest moves yet, having spent 16 of the last 20 months here. Though I also regret leaving my great classmates and professors from the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Queen's, it is to the community of Martial Arts Planet that I address this post.
I love BJJ, but what I have always loved most about it is the people and the community. I have trained BJJ with many great people in other cities, but the 12 dispersed months on the mat allowed me to really get to know the folks at MAP. I was anxious joining a new club back in September 2009. You can never really be sure how it's going to go. But I don't think I could have found a better fit for me and a better group of people than those at Martial Arts Planet.
It is to you that I owe a huge thanks.
You are a large part of the reason why I train. You are the why I trudged through thigh-high snowbanks that covered sidewalks. You are why I am able to learn and improve in BJJ. You are why I am happy every time I walk through those doors. You are the reason I bike in the rain. You are why I splurge for cabs so I can make class after I wake up from a nap that went a little long. You are how I kept sane through school stress. You are how I kept motivated through some very tough BJJ times. You are why my heart swells every time I think about Martial Arts Planet.
You are why I don't want to leave Kingston.
Whether you just shared the occasional smile or hello with me, did technique with me once or twice, battled through holyfield's with me, rolled with me, laughed with or at me, kindly drove me home, offered your support and encouragement, gave me advice, or went as far as having a number of sushi lunch dates with me, I say thank-you. You have so positively shaped my experiences, memories, and BJJ.
I will miss you dearly.
There are a lot of you I would like to mention by name and list specifically why I adore you, (e.g. Laura, Pete, Greg, Tony T, Lex, Tyler, Morgan, Patti, etc. etc.,), but that wouldn't be manageable since all of you, especially Laura, deserve your own blog post.
But there are two people that I really must provide a special thanks to: coach and MAP owner, Chris, and his partner in crime, Janet.
Janet's exuberance just lights up the place. I am always so happy to see her; I can't help but smile when she is around! She contributes a lot of other things to MAP too. She does a lot for promotion and the like, but, from my perspective, she contributes even more with her patience with and support of Chris's role as a coach. It is in this way that she supports all of the students' learning and training whether she realizes it or not. As someone who occasionally grapples with the BJJ+other-things-in-life balance with my significant other who also trains, I feel that I can appreciate this challenge on some level.
So thank-you Janet for being patient, and for being a huge dork that brings cheer to people's day.
Chris is dedicated and patient in his own right. He is a very talented teacher, and from the beginning, I loved his classes. I think I was especially attracted to the humour that he brought to the mats. The silliness really brings a delightful tone to the entire dojo. Chris is always willing to put in extra effort to help students. He offers encouragement both inside and outside the club, whether you are training for a tournament or are just experiencing a particularly rough BJJ trough. He will also somewhat grudgingly endure your skepticism and resultantly teach you a little lesson in confidence and receptiveness. (I promise I will keep working on this!)
Chris, thank-you so much for everything. Thank you for your time, patience, kindness, encouragement, support, humour, and knowledge. You have had an indelible influence on my BJJ, and that is something that will always be a part of me.
Thanks, MAP. I will be sure to train lots and savour the last couple weeks with all of you!
Who knows, maybe life will bring me back to Kingston in a few years time!
All the best and see you on the mat.
Nice post: they do seem like a great group of people, judging by my brief internet interaction over that live stream a while ago. Where are you off to next?
ReplyDeleteI can sympathise, as I haven't lived in one place for long since I started university way back in 1999. I've never sat down and thought about it, but totting them up, I realise that I've lived in fourteen different places over the last twelve years (some concurrently): I'm due to move again, twice, in the next couple of months.
Man, I didn't realise it was that many! Really looking forward to moving down to Bristol to live with my gf, which hopefully will at long, long last be somewhere I can actually settle for a good few years. ;)
What a great way to start the day...Ashley, you will be greatly missed at MAP. You are a little burst of sunshine in BJJ class. I use to be so nervous taking BJJ classes when I first started, but you were always so inviting and offered help and support...you even dragged me back to open mat a few times when I tried to sneak out to help me with some techniques, you are definitely one of the main reasons I try to get to BJJ classes. Your dedication to the sport is very inspiring, I truly admire your dicipline and desire to learn, I was so nervous and excited the first time I saw you compete...it even lit a little fire in me to try it...but I am not there yet...but perhaps one day...I have to get a pair of green shoes first! It meant a lot, almost made me cry, when I read what you wrote about Chris and I, the gym and the people there are family to us....and classes will not be the same without you, I don't know who will laugh at my silly comments now! I will try to get to class as much as I can before you go. I am sad that you are leaving, but excited for your new chapter in life, it is now time for you to add a little sunshine to a new club! J
ReplyDelete@ slidey: moving really is a double-edged sword. You get to say "hello" to a lot of new and awesome people. I just tend to get genuinely emotional about the "good-bye" part!
ReplyDeleteTo make a long story short, I'm moving back to (the middle of nowhere) eastern Huron County. Sometime in the summer I will be moving to Thunder Bay (also sort of middle of nowhere, but in a different way...)
I am ecstatic that John will be joining me in both places. However, in a couple weeks time we are going to have to drive almost 100 km round trip in order to train BJJ! ohhhh rural Ontario...so pretty but so useless to me now because you have no BJJ clubs!
Maybe the closer you are in proximity to your g/f, the easier it will be to convince her to start training...? =)
@ li'l Janet: not sure if you'll check back here so I have messaged you on FB! =)
@Ashley: Yep, certainly hoping proximity will help with encouraging my gf to give BJJ a try. I've been intermittently running her through Gracie Combatives while visiting, so once we're living together full-time, I can make that into a more regular routine (maybe twice a week).
ReplyDeleteBest of all would be if she tries out the school round the corner (which she'll be doing at least once, as I asked her to for my 30th birthday) and likes it, but I'll take what I can get. :)
If you and John are going to be in the middle of nowhere, have you thought about starting up your own school together? Maybe affiliate to whatever that school is which is a 100km round trip away?
I've been trying to place a face to the name "Ashley"... Just can't seem to place you, but I am happy that we were able to make your fitness kickboxing classes enjoyable at our club. I am just glad that we are able to offer classes that cater to both genders.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I'll miss you Ash! Especially those critical looks of disbelief when I'm teaching a new technique. I'm just glad that we could all be part of your BJJ transition into an absolute monster!
Chris, you knob. I forgot to add that I take back everything I said about you if you pull my hair again!!
ReplyDelete@ slidey: John and I are only going to be in the country for a little over a month, so it won't be too bad.
ohhh, clever birthday present!