Growing up being “nerd” wasn’t considered cool. In fact it was seen as the social kiss of death. It didn’t help that TV and movies perpetuated the nerd stereotype. Typically the nerd character was portrayed as being an awkward, inept, and overall someone who you would not want to associate with. As a closeted nerd I hated how society  was portraying my people! Then I grew up and realized that

Everyone is a nerd.

(Yes everyone. Even you.)

Think of the most non nerdy person you know. For me when I think of non nerdy people I think about football players (I have nothing against football players. My idea of a non nerd is probably a result of the fact that the typical nerd antagonist in movies was the jock football player). Football players in society are looked at as being “manly men” due to their size, athletic ability, and ability to get hot chicks!! (Again this may be due to the portrayal of football players in movies.) When you think about it though football players are huge nerds. Turn on Monday Night Football or the Super Bowl and you will see hours and hours of people talking about and breaking down the finer intricacies of the upcoming game. Guys talking about all-star teams, breaking down passing percentages, hypothesizing about what would happen if two teams played.

What a bunch of nerds!

Why don’t they have more manly conversations like my comic friends and I. You know talking about the Avengers, breaking down why the Joker is the best villain of all time, and hypothesizing what would happen if Batman and Wolverine fought. Way more man…..wait. That’s nerdy too.

So how does this apply to Jiu Jitsu? Last night I was having a conversation with a teammate and the subject of nerds came up. She was mentioning to me how a few of the female members of 10th Planet Van Nuys found  some of our conversations hilariously nerdy considering we participate in a sport where the objective is to make the other person submit. I’ll admit. Our conversations are pretty nerdy. On a normal night at least 2-3 pro wrestling references are made, a debate on music is had, someone is talking about an upcoming movie….Ohh and of course we spend tons of time breaking down the finer details of how to invert for a flower sweep or debate the best way to finish a kimura.

I believe that you need a high level of
nerdiness to be great at Jiu Jitsu.

Over the next few posts I’m going to be sharing some of the ways that my nerdiness helps me with my Jiu Jitsu. Feel free to add your own in the comments below! I’d love to hear what others have to say!