Not Like Jazz

There's a saying: "To truly appreciate jazz, you must play it". Now, whether I agree with the statement or not, I do get the meaning. The point is if you play jazz, you have a better understanding of how difficult it is, and therefore, you can appreciate the skill of the people playing it. I would rather say "to fully appreciate jazz...", but not "to truly appreciate jazz..."

Right about now you're probably wondering "What in creation does this have to do with martial arts?" Well, not much, but it does have to do with art in general, and I'll relate it to BJJ, specifically in a second.

See, I can't paint worth a lick, but my inability to paint does not prohibit me from appreciating a masterpiece while visiting a gallery. My inability to play certain kinds of music does not interfere with the music's ability to move me, or impress me in some way.

That's all just a big, roundabout set up to say this: While I have nowhere near this level of skill in BJJ (or Judo for that matter), the demonstration below still impresses the heck out of me. I was talking to Pat Saturday about how impressed I am when people grapple in such a way that it doesn't look like a "rasslin' match...like a brawl", but when people can make grappling look graceful, flowing...dare I say "beautiful". I saw this video on Roy Dean's blog (a rather graceful grappler himself), and while I can't do it, I certainly appreciate it, because the smoothness...the flow...look a lot like the way I'd like my own martial arts to look in years to come.