I just want to get back to doing some traveling and JiuJitsu. The JiuJitsu part is right around the corner and the traveling might have to be in the domestic form for a bit. I wouldn’t mind heading out west again to see some big mountains and open skies. When I was young I had the chance to to Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Maybe it’s time to revisit some of those places! Honestly, I’ll head just about anywhere nowadays just so I can see something different.

We are about a week or so away from getting back on the mats it seems. The plan from the Governor was to allow gyms to open in Phase 4 of the reopening for our region. After a late breaking announcement which pulled gyms from Phase 4, followed by some reading of the fine print (technically we are not a gym), we’re still opening. Things will be a bit different though. For starters there will be smaller class sizes which you will have to sign up for in advance. There will also be temperature checks and a limited numbers of partners to train with during the class itself. Right about now anything is better then nothing, and I think most of us will be quiet happy to get back to training. If I can make it 1-2 times per week, it’s gonna be a win! The first few weeks will be rough, fitness wise, but it will all come back. It’s not as if I’ve been slacking too much either, but we all probably have softened up a bit. I’ve managed to run a few miles a week, with push-ups and sit-ups thrown into my runs for good measure. We have managed to even get a lift in once a week using some old gym equipment.

The situation with Coronavirus in NY State has improved drastically thanks to the unfortunate but ultimately necessary lock-down. The scientists at the state laboratory have worked 18 hours a day, seven days a week since February. People have stayed home since most places were closed, leaving us with few options when we wanted to leave our homes. Temperature check and masks have been made mandatory (but not enforced by the police) in stores and other public places. It’s been a shared burden for all of us. But a burden shared is better then leaving a few to be burdened with it all. I hate being told what to do, I hated having things closed, hated being on lock-down, and hated having to work late and to have to change focus at the drop of a hat in-order to help deal with all this. I think we all hated having life upended by some crazy virus, and no one really likes wearing a mask, especially when it’s hot out. Thankfully we flattened the curve and have moved into a relatively quite period here in NY, and can move along with our lives.

Other states who weren’t as strict as NY have now seen a boom in cases of Covid, which is funny because those states seemed to disregard our plight and our warnings. It’s actually quite similar to how the USA seemed to disregard the Covid situation in general as it slowly marched across the globe. Some of those places with less restrictive openings have seen surges of infection resulting in hospitals starting to move towards capacity. Globally, our country has been lumped in with other states like Brazil and Russia for failing to properly handle the outbreak. News outlets have reported the EU will be banning travel from the USA to any of its member states indefinitely thanks to our failure to mitigate the spread of the virus.

It seems arrogance and delusional exceptionalism will cost us dearly in this fight. I think we as a nation forget that no one is Born great, but that you have to get up everyday and make yourself great with effort, a struggle, hard-work, and a fair amount of failure, sweat, and blood sometimes. All of it done without any coasting. Lemme relate this to jiujitsu, just because you show up and learn technique doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to be a champion or a Black Belt. You have to train hard every time, fight though injuries, overcome setbacks and persevere. Persevere. That struggle, that perseverance makes the difference between being great or being just like the rest.