Nossa Familia

By: Greg Lapin

There’s something different about Jiu-jitsu.  I know it sounds cliché coming from me–a jiu-jitsu practitioner, competitor, academy owner–but it’s the truth.  I’ve been involved in a number of team sports, including Crossfit and other martial arts, and all at a highly select and competitive level, yet I have not found a match for the bonding, the family unity and the care that I have in jiu-jitsu.

During this crisis of the Covid-19 virus, we have been forced to close our doors.  Now in our second week closed and looking at another potential 3 weeks–maybe more–our members…students…no…FAMILY have been nothing short of amazingly supportive.  See, we take care of each other on the mats.  We take care of each other’s feelings–sometimes of grandeur and sometimes of inadequacy–we take care of each other’s health and diets, and we take care of each other’s life and limbs.  In doing so on a daily basis, we build a bond. It is a bond that I have only found matched in those built in combat, those that I was side by side with.  We take care of each other outside the gym.  When a family member has a crisis, everyone steps up to see if they can help.

Yes, our gym is a business. It is our livelihood, it is how we feed our children, but it is so much more.  Fortunately, our BJJ family recognizes that this is the time we are now in need.  This is the time that their coaches and Jiu-Jitsu mentors need their help and their consolation, and it does not go unnoticed.  We have the best crew, the best family and we take care of our own.