Food Jitsu

In the past year, I’ve gotten gotten married, changed gyms, and started culinary school. In my experience, dynamic decisions make for much more enriching results.

Be bold. Be decisive.

While a decisive attitude is not always the case with me (I feel this will be a lifelong project) I think it’s already played out into my Foodjitsu in recent months.

In my cooking world, I’ve gone from quiet prep cook, to a whiny entitled culinary student baker, to (at least trying!) a calm, professional cook that’s able to quickly analyze and take action during a rush, delegating orders or taking them in order to get the job done.

Everyone is a team player in a working kitchen. No one cares if I can recite standard proportions for a mirepoix… Or that I can make perfect vegetable cuts. No one cares because it’s knowledge disassociated with the situation at hand. If I can’t get my orders through in a productive, clean manner, then all the perfectly bruniosed carrots in the world wouldn’t be able to save me.

A few weeks ago, I burst my own bubble, and decided that I want to be the kind of cook that will work, in a pinch, anywhere in the kitchen. I vowed that I would be the kind of guy to help out the dishwasher at the end of the day, and help make sure that the next day’s prep is completed. I want to be reliable and willing to do what it takes to get through a rush. A total paradigm shift from a frustrated cook that blamed others.

In light of that, whining gets you nowhere. Neither does a display of knowledge in a functional situation. It’s plumage for the rest… and they simply want performance.

For example, instead of whining about overall holding temperatures, I simply changed it when it came to my turn to run the line. If I needed something done in the kitchen, and I had my plate full, I asked another cook or the kitchen helper to get it done. And it got done. Many times, those changes were kept by the other cooks; an unspoken combination of practicality, and laziness.

I have to say that I do feel better about it. And I’m not as irritable at work. I’ve noticed that my cooking has grown more precise; my presentation cleaner. This is a good place to be in my head.

My Jiu Jitsu has followed suit. Almost a year ago, I switched from St. Louis Training Circle to North Broadway Jiu Jitsu. I was getting the same way I did during my interim phase in the kitchen: whiny and lazy.

I would whine to myself when someone I felt had less BJJ knowledge suddenly gave me a little game. Or bitch about no one playing in the gi. My patience grew thin, and my ego ballooned. Not good when you’re trying to peer coach others to win competitions.

I left my friends at STLTC, and went ronin for a bit, traveling to St. Louis area gyms and dojos. Some were wonderful and had a good vibe. Others… well, I felt sorry for the students that bought into their lies. I mean, no matter what anyone says, you can’t throw fireballs, and Kung Fu is not the deadliest form of combat ever. You can’t disarm or sticky palm a bullet or nuclear warhead, Kung Fu people.

I eventually decided that North Broadway Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (Bryan Guidry, Black Belt under Rodrigo Vaghi) was a good fit.

I’m a Youtube BJJ junkie; something that will never stop for me. But instead of simply passing that technique as rule of law, it’s constantly tested at North Broadway BJJ. Like the kitchen, functionality is king. The guys are strong, but have solid posture and technique. And it works… No more rubber guard. No more lockdown. Flashy sweeps and flowery attacks no more.

My overall game was scrapped, and I focused on the little (Read: Less Flashy) things, like retaining my guard and getting out of side mount. Working in the gi has really helped me be a little more crafty, but I’m learning not to hang out in any one position without a plan of attack…. And always, always, always: attack.

Rolling with guys that are years better at BJJ really bumped up the learning curve for me… Also, regularly rolling with a champion BB is a pretty amazing thing. 

I checked out a (probably now-defunct) Krav Maga school that had an instructor that claimed to teach BJJ (He had a framed picture of Helio Gracie and a Brazilian flag), and he refused to roll with anyone! Even with a mouth guard and workout clothes. [[NOTE: I’m not that Brazil-centric. I simply looked for any indicators that this school actually taught BJJ.]] 

He also taught his students to cross their ankles when taking back. Not cool Mr. Krav/BJJ Instructor dude. That’s like telling a four-year-old to play in traffic. I was polite, and left. Maybe the reverse punch he taught that evening might save one of his students’ lives one day, in an alternate universe, on a different planet with entirely different laws of physics.

It’s back to the basics for me. And I think I’ll make it stay that way. The fundamentals and posture keep you out of trouble on the mat, and I want to be the kind of grappler that’s able to keep posture and composure at all times in order to get a decisive win. I’m turning down the flashy dial and going with solid, high percentage jiu jitsu. I’m not there just yet, but I’m working on it.

Just like the kitchen, I plan on remaining calm, patient, and most of all: productive, decisive, and positive.

Enjoy!