The blog I’m writing about my Jiu-Jitsu journey isn’t advice or instruction. It’s my diary — my experience as an old fart, almost 58 years old, who started Jiu-Jitsu five months ago. I want to share it with people who are thinking about starting, who have just started, or who are simply interested.

There are, as always in life, ups and downs. I’ve had several ups in recent classes, and I knew the downs would come sooner or later. Yesterday was one of those down days.

Six rounds of six minutes each. With different rolling partners. It wasn’t just good — it was very good.

“Don’t let me bully you!” — that’s what a black belt once said to me while pressing his knee into my chest. “Do something!”

The last evening session was one of those trainings after which I felt a bit more confident again. I think I did okay.

My whole body is sore. I feel every part of it. Even my fingers hurt.

“You’ve got the strength of a bull.” - That’s what a rolling partner said to me after a three-minute round.

In the last seven days, I’ve attended four classes, each with very different outcomes. Everything from “Oh, great, I did really well” to “Oh God, I’m a total loser.” These are probably just the ups and downs of the Jiu-Jitsu marathon I’ve decided to commit to.

After three weeks away from Jiu-Jitsu for several reasons, I finally returned to training last evening. We did five rounds of three minutes each. Only one of my training partners was older; all the others were much younger. One was 17 years younger than me and about 20 kg heavier.

New Year, New me!? 2025 was already quite good! I started with Jiu-Jitsu and writing a blog! That's a lot, with quite a few years of preparation for both. Mental preparation! There was always something to overthink or to "prepare" for, to get ready to start. My advice to myself for 2026 - do not think too much! Start, and if necessary, think it through as you go; otherwise, you will lose time! It took me 57 years to come to this conclusion. But you are never too old to learn and accept something new.

My Jiu-Jitsu currently looks like this: some dude is on top of me, trying to apply leverage on my arm, while I’m curled up in a fetal position, just trying to survive.