Originally Posted by
Mike Broe
haha Well, being a writing tutor, I thought it was best to turn this gem of hilarity into an exercise.
Just Sending My Love.
"When David hears someone claim to be a generic black belt in a martial art like Judo, he does not respect it much. This is where he is coming from: He understands what it's like to be part of a family like 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, where the members are always only as skilled as advertised. With that said, he is going to call some [incongruous] people out. In his opinion, if one claims to be skilled in martial arts, but don't practice under 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu specifically, then he/or she isn't on the right path.
The first time David met Eddie Bravo, 10th Planet's founding Black Belt, was at a party. Attending such an occasion was one of Eddie's black belts Sean Bollinger. The conversation between the two had something to do with not having enough time in the day to get everything accomplished that they really wanted to. [reference to Gang Green? Possibly Marijuana was being consumed.] Regardless, what Sean said had a profound effect on David.
In reminiscing about his first meeting with such important people of 10th Planet, David was too starstruck to really connect with Eddie about how much his teachings had powerful effect on his life. It was almost as if Sean was talking directly to him.
David first discovered Eddie Bravo through a web series called "Submissions 101", which frequently outlines jiu jitsu techniques on Youtube. (Side Note: Myself, Mike also started getting into 10th Planet in some respect the same way. :] ) Consequently, the ease at which these techniques are accessible in such a public forum caused David's family and friends to believe they themselves knew jiu jitsu simply by watching them on the computer. *laughter*
With that said, enough of David's social circle represents 10th Planet that it would be silly to attempt to disrespect the teachings. One would go so far as to inflict physical harm as a consequence. Some go so far as trying to preform incredibly hard groin and hamstring stretches to show their loyalty to a jiu jitsu system where flexibility is very important.
I guess what he is trying to say is that we are all connected by sharing a single passion. That through putting our bodies in front of minds, by sacrificing menial things like our ego for something more, we as a community operate at a higher frequency together. Or more simply I was feeling like: WE DONT NEED EDDIE, EDDIE NEED YOU (PEOPLE), EDDIE NEED ME, EDDIE NEED U (PERSONALLY)."
-David Tompkins [Translated by Mike Broe]
