The More I Learn, the Less I Know

I have never, in my 11 years of Jiu Jitsu, been surrounded by such a plethora of upper belts with a vast extensive subset of knowledge. Even as a black belt, I stayed at an Air B&B this past weekend, and was still the 3rd lowest rank in attendance. While there was one brown belt and one purple belt there, there was also my husband (a 2nd degree black belt), four coral belts (meaning 7th or 8th degree black belts), and a red belt (9th degree Grandmaster Francisco Mansor). Grandmaster Mansor was even presented his 10th degree during the ceremony this past weekend, but he would never accept it due to the respect to his master, Grandmaster Helio Gracie, whom he was adamant is the only true 10th degree. In fact, he even gave a lovely speech about no student trying to be the same as their creator as Lucifer had tried before he fell. He told all in attendance some past stories of him and Grandmaster Helio, and regaled the entire room with various tales of what it was like to learn Jiu Jitsu back then.

Grandmaster Mansor told me that as he approached his 85th birthday, he spent 78 of those years training Jiu Jitsu. My measly 11 years is a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. I trained, rolled (got demolished), and learned from high ranking black belts and coral belts, and never in my life have I felt so effortlessly and easily controlled. Everything I thought I knew from Jiu Jitsu paled in comparison to the plethora of knowledge from all of the people I met throughout the weekend. I felt like anytime I rolled, they were always at minimum, 12 steps ahead of me. They had answers before I even knew the question. I will go into further detail about what it means to be promoted to red belt in an upcoming article for Jiu Jiteira Magazine, but I do want to delve into more detail about all of the knowledge and emotions I experienced throughout the weekend.

When I arrived in California and learned I would be sharing my lodging accommodations with Grandmaster Mansor and several of his coral belts, I immediately felt butterflies in my stomach. Who was I to be given such a high honor to be in the same home as such accomplished people? I have only been a black belt for a little bit over a year, and I felt like an absolute novice surrounded by all of these amazing people. The most incredible part of this experience though, was that I was never made to feel inferior or “less than.” Grandmaster Mansor even expressed that I was part of the family now, much like a granddaughter, and wished my husband and I many blessings. It can always be scary meeting your heroes, especially if they fall short of expectation. If anything, all this showed me was what fantastic people are part of my lineage, from beginning to end, and I have never been more proud to be a part of the Joe Moreira affiliation.

I could have spent every second of my weekend trip trying to absorb all of the knowledge from what was being taught, and it would barely cover a percentage of all the skill from this weekend. One of Helio Gracie’s daughters was even in attendance to witness such a momentous occasion, and said herself that Grandmaster Mansor was one of her father’s closest friends. MMA fighter Rampage Jackson was there as well because that’s how big a deal it is to witness and be privy to a red belt promotion. This all goes to show that you never truly stop becoming a student. Grandmaster Mansor even learned the unique way I fold shirts when I was doing the laundry at the Air B&B, and asked me to show it to him, a story I will forever be sharing as it made me feel immeasurably cool. The man who helped cultivate Jiu Jitsu to be what it is today, even helping to implement the rules and the belt ranking system we all still follow was impressed with my laundering technique. For what it’s worth, I was greatly impressed with everything else. From all of the stories to all of the technique, and any and everything in between.

Grandmaster Moreira and Grandmaster Mansor are everything encompassing what Jiu Jitsu is about. They give everything to their students, and can spend hours on the mats just passing on their knowledge. They even took the time to bring attention to one of the black belts in attendance, whom they called a true American Hero, that rescued children as a NYPD officer on 9/11. To be humble, to be loyal, and to be eager to learn is truly what makes Jiu Jitsu great. I guess I really do owe everything to those two men, as Jiu Jitsu has given me everything I have in life. From my gym, to my career, to my husband. I owe all of it to those who came before me; Master Rubao, Grandmaster Moreira, and Grandmaster Mansor. So many of us are connected all because one of those men started training Jiu Jitsu one day. I learned so much this weekend, and it really opened my eyes to how little I actually know. I am happy to always be a student, and keep learning for as long as I live.