Borrowing the Master's Bicycle: and other essays on Brazilian jiu-jitsu

By Mark Johnson

Introduction: The unifying Idea of the Borrowing the Master's Bicycle

I’ve written a book about one thought and that thought keeps coming back to me, and that is the more you study something, the more you give and sacrifice for your passions, the more you learn about life--the more your passion “transforms” you. Whatever your passion is, whatever you invest time in learning or doing, the more you’ll learn about life, and the more you’ll realize that that thing is connected in some way to everything else. Borrowing the Master’s Bicycle is a book about how one thing can be tied to everything. How jiu-jitsu can be used to understand our world and ourselves.

I realize that jiu-jitsu is just a martial art, but the more I teach, the more I try to understand it; the more I end up learning about myself, about people, and ultimately about the universe. I know it sounds strange—a little nutty. Believe me I’m in touch with reality, but I believe that the wise people of the world have devoted themselves to something, maybe one thing, and through that devotion have come away with a certain knowledge, something they have discovered for themselves, whether it’s the monk, or the surfer, or the painter, or the grappler, or the bike rider; the universe will reveal its secrets to the devotees, to the students and life learners, to the people who are passionate and unwavering in their devotion to their passions, and they will begin to see their world defined by the arts that they practice.

I’ve been out of school for almost two decades and I’ve learned a lot in high school and in college, but I’ve learned more about me, on the mat. Jiu-jitsu for me is church; it’s a way to connect to the universe. I think if you train long enough you get passed the techniques and the movement and you find that the art we practice has a soul. It teaches us more than chokes and joint locks, within in it are the secrets of how to live life and if we listen we will learn. This book is not about the tangible techniques of jiu-jitsu. You will not find concrete equations on training or how to apply the perfect omoplata, but what you might find is a little bit of yourself and some insight into why you cannot stop practicing jiu-jitsu, why it’s so important to you.

My daughter once told me that I could compare jiu-jitsu to anything, she was actually being a smart aleck, but she was right, I can compare jiu-jitsu to anything, because the concepts and principles in jiu-jitsu are universal. This book is about jiu-jitsu of course, but other things as well, things that I’ve attached jiu-jitsu to, things that at first glance may not seem to be related to jiu-jitsu but definitely are. All things in the universe fit within the Arte Suave. Whether it‘s Darth Vader or sloths or William Shakespeare, or bicycles; those things teach us about jiu-jitsu and jiu-jitsu teaches us about them. This is what this book is about, the myriad of things that we’re exposed to by the study and the following of one thing, of borrowing our master’s bicycle, of using jiu-jitsu to understand ourselves, each other, and the universe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Johnson
• Release date: Dec 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301426256

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is a health and science reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where he has worked since 2000. He was a member of the Journal Sentinel team that won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting on the Nic Volker story in 2011. He is also a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and has won numerous other awards for his reporting. He lives with his wife and son in Fox Point, WI.

Book preview

Introduction

Stages

The Tao of Darth Vader

Jiu-Zen: rolling meditation (jiu-jitsu is a Zen art)

The Temple

Conquer I

Jiu-Jitsu Saves

The Gods, Saints, and other Deities of the Arte Suave

Super Powers

The Perpetual White Belt

Singing on the Mat (Training Happy)

The Rhythm of Jiu-Jitsu

Jiu-Jitsu Cults

Beasts, Buddhas, and Balance

Breath

Technique Testers and other Jiu-Jitsu Freaks

Nature (The sloth and other magical beings)

Wisdom in the Form of the Six Year Old

The Devil and Other Bad Guys

The importance of Silence

Life’s Work

Borrowing the Master’s Bicycle

In Search of Yoda

The Jiu-Jitsu Hermit

Being Reverent

Ji and Ri

Play Jiu-Jitsu

Foreword:

I met Mark many years back as a blue belt in Utah and he struck me as a unique individual. Over the years we’ve maintained contact and I’ve been able to follow his progress in GJJ [Gracie jiu-jitsu] but most importantly his work for the community and how he uses his experiences and his skills as a martial arts instructor to help others less fortunate in his West Side of Ogden, Utah community and beyond.

There are many Black belts around the world now, most of them worthy of the art they represent. Many spreading the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu gospel in one form or another; be it training, competing or teaching. Mark West Side Johnson is one fortunate individual, not only is he a Master Pedro Sauer Black belt but he is also a school teacher whose background and life are very diverse and interesting. Because of his background and his school teacher training, he has the ability not only to express in words what he sees and feels about his time on the mat but he goes further and philosophizes about his experiences and how he sees Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in his life and others.

In his first book Jiu-Jitsu on the Brain, Mark speaks about his struggles and experiences as a new student all the way to his stage at the time of Brown belt. In Borrowing the Master’s Bicycle he further expands on this line of thought but now with a much deeper understanding of the subject. His analogies and stories will intrigue you and open your eyes to his vision of GJJ.

I thoroughly enjoyed his work and appreciate him even more as a fellow Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black belt and instructor

Kid Peligro

"Jiu-Jitsu is like a philosophy. It helps me learn how to face life." Helio Gracie

Introduction: The unifying Idea of the book

I’ve written a book about one thought and that thought keeps coming back to me, and that is the more you study something, the more you give and sacrifice for your passions, the more you learn about life--the more your passion transforms you. Whatever your passion is, whatever you invest time in learning or doing, the more you’ll learn about life, and the more you’ll realize that that thing is connected in some way to everything else. Borrowing the Master’s Bicycle is a book about how one thing can be tied to everything. How jiu-jitsu can be used to understand our world and ourselves.

I realize that jiu-jitsu is just a martial art, but the more I teach, the more I try to understand it; the more I end up learning about myself, about people, and ultimately about the universe. I know it sounds strange—a little nutty. Believe me I’m in touch with reality, but I believe that the wise people of the world have devoted themselves to something, maybe one thing, and through that devotion have come away with a certain knowledge, something they have discovered for themselves, whether it’s the monk, or the surfer, or the painter, or the grappler, or the bike rider; the universe will reveal its secrets to the devotees, to the students and life learners, to the people who are passionate and unwavering in their devotion to their passions, and they will begin to see their world defined by the arts that they practice.

I’ve been out of school for almost two decades and I’ve learned a lot in high school and in college, but I’ve learned more about me, on the mat. Jiu-jitsu for me is church; it’s a way to connect to the universe. I think if you train long enough you get passed the techniques and the movement and you find that the art we practice has a soul. It teaches us more than chokes and joint locks, within in it are the secrets of how to live life and if we listen we will learn. This book is not about the tangible techniques of jiu-jitsu. You will not find concrete equations on training or how to apply the perfect omoplata, but what you might find is a little bit of yourself and some insight into why you cannot stop practicing jiu-jitsu, why it’s so important to you.

My daughter once told me that I could compare jiu-jitsu to anything, she was actually being a smart aleck, but she was right, I can compare jiu-jitsu to anything, because the concepts and principles in jiu-jitsu are universal. This book is about jiu-jitsu of course, but other things as well, things that I’ve attached jiu-jitsu to, things that at first glance may not seem to be related to jiu-jitsu but definitely are. All things in the universe fit within the Arte Suave. Whether it‘s Darth Vader or sloths or William Shakespeare, or bicycles; those things teach us about jiu-jitsu and jiu-jitsu teaches us about them. This is what this book is about, the myriad of things that we’re exposed to by the study and the following of one thing, of borrowing our master’s bicycle, of using jiu-jitsu to understand ourselves, each other, and the universe.

Stages

"We come fresh to the different stages of life, and in each of them we are quite inexperienced, no matter how old we are." -François de la Rochefoucauld

William Shakespeare wrote a poem (maybe he really didn’t, there’s some controversy about whether Shakespeare actually wrote anything, but I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt). The poem is called The Seven Ages of Man. It’s about, well, the stages of man, starting with the infant, mewling and puking, and moving through six other stages to a final stage of a second childishness, and mere oblivion. Shakespeare takes us through seven stages, seven ages of man. It is the journey all men will make if we live long enough.

The idea of stages got me thinking about jiu-jitsu, at least the reasons why I train in jiu-jitsu, and although jiu-jitsu as a practice has stayed the same, the reasons for me training in it have changed. The stages of jiu-jitsu, like the stages of man are something all jiu-jitsu people will experience if they train long enough.

When I first started jiu-jitsu, I think I sought it out because of fear. I played division-one football and was big, but I didn’t know how to fight, and that concerned me. I could be aggressive. I could smash things, but I had no skills. I thought I could handle myself. I had been in some fights in my youth and maybe one or two in college, but it was pure aggression and anger and I had serious doubts about my skills when matched up against someone who really knew how to brawl. So, stage one for me, was about learning jiu-jitsu to diminish some fears that I had, fears about being able to defend myself.

Soon after starting jiu-jitsu my fears of knowing how to fight were quelled (at least a little) I felt very confident in jiu-jitsu and classes became more about learning and exercise than being able to beat up people. Stage two was a great time in my jiu-jitsu practice, the simple act of learning and not being overwhelmed by an overload of information was fantastic. Another thing I enjoyed about stage two was being able to apply what I was learning almost immediately in my training.

Stage three (Which I think I’m in now) has become more of a spiritual practice, a time to delve into the mind to discover the self. It has become less about making people tap and more about understanding myself. I’m not worried about dominating people as much as I am about conquering myself, which to be honest is proving to be very difficult. The spiritual side of jiu-jitsu seems infinite and I’m not sure I’ll make it to what I think are the fourth and fifth stages.

Stage four, I think, is making jiu-jitsu your life; truly giving your life to jiu-jitsu. It seems that the true masters of the art have done this. Regardless of their belt or their rank or their age, the men and women who have given themselves to jiu-jitsu, entirely and wholly, have taken a giant step toward what I think is stage five--the final stage.

Stage five is simply understanding, and knowing—knowing yourself, jiu-jitsu, and the underlying principles of the universe, attaining enlightenment in a sense.

In jiu-jitsu, we not only have natural stages like the ones I just mentioned above, but there are also belts and stripes, all steps, all stages in jiu-jitsu. When I was younger I was in the Boy Scouts, there are stages in the Boy Scouts too. There are stages in the life of anything, whether it’s a beetle or a man, whether it’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu or the Boy Scouts. The stages of both man and woman are consistent, they’re universal; they’re part of the process, a part of the movement from beginning to end. The stage is a marker of our own development. It is a benchmark in our journey.

Sometimes I get students who talk to me about being stuck, mostly in jiu-jitsu, but sometimes in their lives. I think that being stuck (plateauing) happens before our transition from one stage to another. It’s a good sign. We just have to battle through it. We all get stuck; that’s part of the process. There is no smooth path to enlightenment. Transitions are a bitch sometimes, in jiu-jitsu and in life, but sometimes the being stuck part tells us that we have more work to do before we move on.

There are times in my own jiu-jitsu practice that I don’t feel like I’m improving; I’m treading water while everyone else seems to be swimming past. I’m stuck in the same spot. What I’ve found in my own training is that I have to have some sort of goal. If I’m stuck out at sea, it would be nice to spot a distant island, something I can swim towards. Even if that island is miles away, it would be nice to have something to swim to. It’s nice to have goals. So, I set little goals for myself like not being mounted. I’ll tell myself, Okay Mark, no matter what else happens, you will not be mounted, and I work like hell to prevent it. It gives me something to focus on, something to move towards. Sometimes I feel like I’m taking a step back because while I’m concentrating on not being mounted, someone slaps an Americana on me from crossbody. It sucks, people that I’ve never tapped to before are now submitting me. The problem is, I think too much about defending the mount and not enough about defending anything else, but that’s just about moving forward. There are all types of hazards on our way to attaining our goals.

Often times our game suffers while we try to improve it. It’s like swimming to the island, focusing on that goal and being eaten by a shark on the way. Luckily