Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at 43

I discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in my 40's

This is how it happened...

How did it all begin?

Well in order to answer this question I will have to take you back to when I was born. I am the youngest of 2 brothers. I started practising Kyokushin (karate) and Muy Thai at the age of 8. I had something with martial arts from an early age.

I was born with a breathing problem. When I was 2 months old I had to have surgery otherwise I would have never made it. My parents had to decide if I would have the surgery in the U.S. or in The Netherlands. They chose the Netherlands because my aunt, rest her soul, lived in the Netherlands so it was also comfort for my parents. The surgeries, in total 3 of them, went well. The scars are still visible.

But I was left with some type of disability. My left arm was limited in movement; what I mean is that i was not able to stretch nor move my move it like I could with my right arm. The development and growth of my left arm and shoulder was limited by the surgeries I had. I had a feeling of disability because I could not do much with my left arm. I believe that the surgeon must have messed up my nerves during the surgery.

My dad (my hero, RIP) and I some time after the surgery

Notice my left arm is swollen compared to my right arm.

I have loving parents, but a bit too protected. They protected me from doing chores and any physical activity. I was told often; "No Jairo you can not lift that, ask your big brother or your father" .

I discovered the Karate dojo which was at walking distance from my house. When I asked my parents if I may do Karate they were not happy. My dad was not fan of any fighting sport. I do not remember how but I managed to convince them. Funny thing; training martial arts helped me with my left arm, to such extent that I was able to use it and stretch it more than I could ever imagined.

At the age of 9 I took 3rd place in national Karate competition on Aruba and at the age of 10 I took first place in kata on the island. After that I did not compete much. I don't know why but I went on with my training till the age of 18.

Around the age of 18 I stopped practising Karate (orange belt) and Muy Thay. The reason was school; I was slacking at school and my parents were not happy. I managed to get back on track at school, but at this time I started lifting weights. I think It is a phase that every sportsman goes through. Lifting weights improved my left arm and shoulder even more.

During all these years of not practising martial arts I was left with a void. It felt like something is missing. All of a sudden, there was the UFC...

The UFC

I remember watching my first the UFC. I was amazed about the way it was organised. Different martial arts facing each other in an Octagon. They called it Mixed Martial Arts; MMA. By the time I moved to the Netherlands for my studies I kept watching the UFC. I even went to UFC in Cologne with some Friends. That was UFC 99 with the main event; Franklin vs Silva. The stand up, the ground game - I was blown away!

The more I got into it the more I started analysing what MMA entailed. The stand up and bang I already experienced during my Karate / Muy Thai days. I was intrigued by the ground game. What is that? Controlling someone on the ground that will eventually lead to submissions; chokes, armbars, leg locks. A family name kept popping up; The Gracie family

Gracie Barra Maastricht

I started reading about the Gracie family and the influence they had in MMA with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The Gracie family is single-handedly responsible for putting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu on the map and creating the UFC with the goal of testing their BJJ against all other martial arts. History shows that they succeeded at it.

I went on a search on internet for a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school and hoping that I will find a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Dojo in my city. As luck would have it, there was; Gracie Barra Maastricht under the leadership of Jordy Peute. Jordy is a 2nd degree Black belt under Vinicius Magalhães aka "Draculino" a 5th degree

Black belt. Jordy is 2019 IBJJF European champion in his weight class.

Me & Sensei / Professor Jordy Peute
2018 Annual Graduation and Seminar Gracie Barra Maastricht - my 1st white stripe

I contacted Gracie Barra Maastricht twice. The first time; Jordy was very friendly and invited me for a trail lesson. I had to arrange it all with my wife since we just became parents and I could not just go and train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. My wife was supportive of my decision to start training. Few months went by and I decided to contact Jordy again. He told me that there is only one way to find out if I would like it or not and that is to come and try it out - "see you on the mats" ; he said and the rest was history.

On my first day I had no Kimono (Gi), and the training was a mixture of revelation and brutal at the same time for me. (Oh I almost forgot, I was 43 years old at the time I started.) The average age is between 20 and 30 years old.

I was getting smashed and submitted left and right for quite a while, but I was never discouraged. I wanted to learn and so I continued going to train. I started training once a week and I soon found out that it was not enough. After 3 months of training I increased my training day from once a week to twice a week. I was still getting smashed and submitted left and right, but I kept going and talking to Jordy asking for advise. I was told; "the first year you are in survival mode and that every new comer (white belt) goes through this phase. After one year your abilities and techniques fall into place and you keep improving."

2019 Gracie Barra NL annual seminar by Professor

Vinicius "Draculino" Magalhães

Perfectionist (my Achilles-heel)

I am not the biggest nor the strongest as you can see in the pictures here above, so I have to have implacable techniques. This means my techniques have to be perfect during execution. I don't manage this every time and it is frustrating. Jordy tells me; "that is why we practice and train". This is my Achilles-heel. I want to do it well and if possible in the first try. The struggle I have is with no one-else but myself! I get frustrated during practice every time. It has gotten so bad that Jordy told me last week; "for every time you get frustrated and shake your head in a negative way, you will have to pay me 1o euro's". afterwards he changed it to 1 euro, and at last he said 20 push-ups. (this all joking off course but I believe that he was trying to tell me something)

I believe that there was some hidden message in Jordy's joke, while I kept asking myself - How can I improve myself? Then it hit me - I need to add one more day to my training scheme. I sent Jordy a message informing him that I would like to add an extra day to my training scheme. "Great!" he replied.

Keep pushing & keep improving

In the mean time I turned 44. This week was my first week that I trained 3 times. It felt good! I am pacing myself during rolling sessions. Some times I go hard during rolling and sometimes I take it easy and watch my team mates roll. (Savages / beasts on the mat)

I am very happy I found Gracie Barra Maastricht. Our Sensei / Professor Jordy, is dedicated to the art, his school and his students. The group of guys and girls that train and form part of Gracie Barra Maastricht are awesome. It is a very well balanced team; from savages / beasts on the matts to beginners trying to learn and absorb the teachings and lessons during each training session. Everybody helps each other on the matt.

I still get smashed and submitted during every training and I still look forward to the following training everytime. Is that crazy or what? I will keep pushing and improving on my pace while battling my own inner Achilles-heel.

I discovered Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the age of 43 and the rest is history...

Oss!