Non-reklamador portion

I'll have this blog's first ever non-reklamador post. Why? because Grand Master Helio Gracie died recently.

Helio Gracie, the man that in the span of 5 years was the person whom I had to bow to; and I always thought: "what a prick. You lost to Kimura. Why do they force me to bow to you and Kano?" But when I ran the gauntlet, cut my back, passed out, got taken to the hospital, woke up to bright lights, filed a complaint but I got a lecture instead, I was taught the value of never giving up. You know who they gave me as an example? Helio Gracie. I discovered his way of thinking. What opted him to not submit. To not tap out even if he was choked to unconsciousness and had his arm broken in to pieces. He was defeated. Or was he? Actually, he's not defeated. Because "Defeat is a state of mind. You are defeated only when you didn't give your best". That's what he taught me. That's what Brazillian Jiu-jitsu is all about. Tolerance. I also looked at the underside of the legendary fight between Kimura and Gracie. Kimura outweighed Gracie by 80 pounds, was taller than him was, in a way, more technically proficient than him. But how did he last for a long time with Kimura? It was because he had the "Never Give Up" mentality. (For Submission-oriented martial artists, tap-out when you can't escape. Remember, you gave your best).