What I would tell "White Belt Me" if I could go back in time.

When I was coming up through the ranks, I made a lot of mistakes that I wish I could take back. The past is the past I know BUT if only I had a time machine I would go back and set myself straight about a few things. Here is what I would say.

1. Always think about injury before going to class. I would tell myself that I need to keep injury in the back of my mind so that I can take every precaution not to get hurt. It seemed like every time I was injured it was because I did not expect it to come. Now days it is in the fore front of my mind when I train, and it always serves me well. I am very rarely injured anymore because I am always watching out for it. "Remember Injury is your Enemy."

2. Be on the Bottom as much as you can. I always tell my students that the “Lucky guy is on the Bottom.” I wish I could have told myself that back then and since I am a big guy, I would not have been on top so much. My bottom game would have been SOOO much better sooner!

3. Tap More- I wish I had realized that the white belt was the time to tap out instead of at the higher levels. I would have increased my failure rate so that my technique would have gotten better quicker. I would have also asked my partner what he got me with, so he could explain it to me better and I probably would not have been hurt as much too.

I hope that my past will equal your future as a beginner.