First day of jiu jitsu class...

How was your first day?
Where you culture shocked? impressed? tired?
What stood out to you so that you joined the school that you are at now?
Was it the first school you visited?
Did you participate in any combat sports before?

First day was tough, got choked out in 10 different ways lol, my neck was sore for a week or so after.
I was impressed for sure, and obviously had great admiration for all the guys there.
The reason I joined the school I am at now is simply, a higher lever of instruction and sparring partners. Plus at my last gym I was one of the larger guys, but at where I train now I am one of the smaller ones. However it is not the first school I went too.
I had no prior combat sports experience at all. Just wish I found jiujitsu when I was younger tbh. :-)

I got choked like 37 times and fucking loved it. All I kept thinking about was one day I would be able to do that to a new student :)

it was cool, i found myself picking up the basics fairly easy and did well against the other newbs (thank you wcw wwf etc), then this 15yr old showed up late and the instructor said dane roll w/ justin, we tapped he jumped guillotine i never fell and soon was tapping on my feet lol. the school i'm at now, i started because of advice from a friend, was not the first i went to. unless you count party fighting and backyard wrasslin no!

First off, I can't believe Eddie remembers his first day of class!! I barely remember that far back and I quit smoking the green way before my first BJJ class. I just remember learning Upa and roll and my partner for the class was another noob that was like 250lbs while I was @ 170. He would not play nice and assist in the roll so I had to work my ass off. I quess now in thinking back that probably laid the path for my future BJJ style of working the bottom with larger opponents.

I had Karate for years as a young teen, but after watching UFC 1, I new BJJ was the thing.

I got triangled by a blue belt in about 1 minute. I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what that dude did with his legs.

Scared that no one would want to roll cause of my size. Lucky for me I was welcomed with open arms........ to be choked with. Mostly arm locks though. What stood out was every1 was really cool. I did a few different Martial arts as a child and teen.

My first day I got tapped out with an ankle lock by a 12 year old.

I didn't even know wtf an ankle lock was, I just knew that my f'ing foot hurt and I had to tap! lol.

I have tried BJJ at a few places but the vibe was off. My first real BJJ class was sweet. Got tied in a knot, choked, crashed, calf cranked all by guys who had no ego, and that was fucking sweet! I was so tired and sore I had to medicalize on the way home. That was Monday. Class in at 7pm tonight and I'm sore ass shit, so I will medicalize myself before class and keep trying the rubber guard. I just hope no one pulls my head down because I might have to tap...

I figured I'd be okay since I saw the fight between Fedor and Mark Coleman. So if anyone ever went in my guard I'd just turn my hips and armbar like a boss.
I spend most of that day being mounted and being choked out helplessly. I had some mat burn on my toes that lasted like two weeks.
I liked the atmosphere because it was very competative but not mean spirite.. It was a whole new world for me as I finally got to experience ground fighting after only seeing it on tv before that. I had a few years of experience in both Taekwondo and Muay Thai so it was weird to be a total beginner again..

I got armbared so hard I think he went home and framed my arm afterwards. Been loving it ever since :)

As a reasonably successful wrestler in High School (which requires lima-bean talent levels) I found BJJ to be, how should I put it.. wrestler poison! The goal is to submit your opponent, and while my basics from side control, mount holds and back control/defense was already in place as a wrestler, it took me about 6 months to really understand guard defense, as I had never thought that staying on my back was that good an idea, because the goal as a wrestler was to get off your back! Its started to come together, but I have a new respect for the art. Judo aint half bad either. Again, wrestler poison.

My younger brother and one of my best friends were training for a few months before they convinced me to finally give it a shot. I was 30 and got my ass kicked by a 14 year old. To this day I still have no clue what I tapped to. I just remember my feet flying above my head. Seeing the ceiling then the floor then ceiling again. I think he choked me but I knew I was done before I hit the floor.

Then I went home and realized I have to learn how to kick kids asses or they're gonna kill me, ha! Got addicted to the science of the art and can't stop thinking about it. It's so bad I had to give myself rules. Rule number one is no Jiu-Jitsu while driving. I've almost wrecked way to many times rolling in my head while my body is behind the wheel.

I'm about to join a school now, but last year I took a couple beginner classes before my old ass f'd my hip (now I know why Eddie says stretch)...
I was 10 years older than anyone in there, and they partnered me up with this ripped wrestler (I have no wrestling experience).
The guy was on top of me at will, but the fun part was, he had no clue about the lockdown, old school, or electric chair. I had just gotten the book, read for 15 minutes, and swept him all class

I was taught a rear naked choke and my mind was BLOWN. I was like "holy crap, this could really work in a real life full resistance combat situation."

First class was in 94'. Was told to lay on my back and they had a guy mount me. The instructor said this was where we were going to start. I thought "Start? It's already over ". Couldn't believe you could fight from your back.
I train at 10th Planet because that's where Eddie Bravo teaches.

It was very relaxed, foundation class which was just getting basic movements down and learning one technique. Something as simple as a shrimp now seemed almost impossible to do!

It was at Paul Creighton's gym in Duluth, GA, March of 2004. I walked into the place thinking i was pretty bad ass. Paul submitted me with the exact same triangle choke every time I came near him for a few rolls. It blew my mind that I was so helpless despite wrestling as long as I did.