Today Impossible, Tomorrow Possible.

Martial arts is full of symbolism.  Traditional styles in particular.  When you walk into our academy you'll see the ATA symbol, the Gracie triangle, the Songahm Star and more.  But some of the most powerful symbols aren't always so obvious.

Our founding Grand Master (the Eternal Grand Master) H. U. Lee lived his life as an amazing symbol of what can be accomplished.  His saying:  "Today impossible, tomorrow possible" has changed so many lives.  For me, the most powerful example occurred in Feb of 2000....

The setting was our regional Black Belt Camp.  Black Belt camp consists of a series of classes taught by Master Instructors.  These classes last for two days and are very physically demanding.  Combine that with little time to sleep, an unfamiliar bed and long travel and by the final ceremony on Saturday night everyone is exhausted.

This year, we were very lucky to have Grand Master himself at camp.  He had been there several times before, but it had been a few years.  This year the ceremony was to be a little more formal.  We were asked to line up by rank.  When we entered the room we saw Grand Master seated on an elevated stage at the front.  He was sitting cross legged with his arms crossed in front of his chest.  He had his eyes closed and was breathing slowly.  We were instructed to silently find our seat in a chair (a nice padded chair) and cross our arms the same way and wait until everyone was seated and ready.

We were very tired and it was difficult to sit up straight.  Most of us slouched more and more as we waited for about 200 black belts to find their seats.  Our arms were exhausted and instead of holding steady and strong in front of us, our arms began to rest against our chests, our hands began to sink lower and lower.    Imagine holding your arms straight out from your shoulders.  It's easy at first, but very quickly becomes very difficult.  That is how this was.

I don't know how long we sat that way.  It might have been only 10 min, it might have been 30.  What I do know, is that while we were struggling to sit up straight and  stay awake, Grand Master sat rock solid and not moving or sagging an inch.  He was over 60 years old at this time and this could not have been easy for him.  At the time I felt a little bit of guilt over my lack of being as disciplined as him.

Fast forward a couple of months.  We later learned that Grand Master was in the final stages of lung cancer.  He died in September of that same year.  At the time of camp he had only 7 months left to live and was undergoing aggressive chemo therapy.  Honestly, he should have stayed home and rested.  Instead he was at camp with us.  When I learned of his illness, I looked back at the ceremony in a new light.  If he could be so strong and disciplined while going through that, surely I could have dug a little deeper and tried a little harder.  This is a lesson I'll never forget.  So much of Grand Master H. U. Lee's life was lived as a silent example to his students.  He didn't tell us what he was doing.  He lived it.

www.JohnsonsATA.com

The Johnson's ATA Family

I was recently reading through some of our reviews on Google and Facebook (Thank you so much!).  One of the common themes is the "family atmosphere" at Johnson's ATA.  I do think that this is something that makes our school very different, and here's the story of how it happened:

The first time I went to the Gracie Academy Headquarters in Torrence, CA was to test for the certification to teach Gracie Combatives.  My main training partner, Bob, was with me at the time.  We were extremely nervous about the upcoming test.  It felt like I had been practicing rock climbing and now I was going to show off my skills to Spider-man.  These guys were martial arts royalty.  The inventors of the UFC.  

In a previous group email, Rener Gracie had stated "anytime you come to the academy, make sure to bring your gi, so you can jump in!"  Even this made us nervous.  We did not feel comfortable training with the elite of the martial arts world.  Well, we didn't want to be late Sat morning so we thought we'd go to the academy on Fri night, check it out, and then we'd know what to expect.  BUT we didn't want to get asked to join class.  

We looked at the class schedule online.  There was a class from 7:00-8:00 that night.  Perfect.  We'll show up at 7:30, then they can't expect us to jump in!  So, it looks like it'll take about 15 min to get there.  So we'll get in the cab at 7:15 and it'll work out.  (Yes, this is really what happened, lol)

So we got there right at 7:30.  We walked in and headed towards the training room.  Down the hall comes a slightly heavy set purple belt that we had never met.  He gets a big smile on his face.  Bob Ballard!  Ryan Johnson!  He introduces himself as Victor, our main contact at the Academy.  "Good to see you guys!"  He shakes hands with both of us, clearly very happy to meet us.  "Did you bring your gi?"  We say, "No, we just thought we'd look around".  "Great, well here's the main training floor, over there is the bathroom.  Through that door is the museum"  etc etc.

I want to reiterate, we had never met Victor before.  We had spoken a couple times on the phone and several times via email.  He recognized us from some training videos we had sent in!

So, we head towards the training floor.  We carefully poke our heads around the corner so as not to get noticed.  Rener is teaching and he sounds exactly like the endless number of YouTube videos he's in.  Within seconds, he notices us.  He puts his brother Ryron in charge and heads over.  He asks our name, asks if we're there for the certification tomorrow.  "Did you bring your gi?"  No, we're just looking around.  "Great, come on in and have a seat and watch!"  Rener walks away and resumes teaching.  Within 2 minutes his brother Ryron comes over and introduces himself, asks our names, and chit-chats for 30 seconds or so.  

The next day was a whirlwind of training, testing, and studying.  It was stressful and yet fun at the same time.  We met, and got to know, many instructors and black belts at the academy.  Every one gave off the same vibe.

So, the short version:  the entire academy made us feel amazingly comfortable right from the first step in the door.  At one of the most stressful times in our Jiu-Jitsu careers, we also felt very comfortable and welcome.  The next time I flew to CA and went to the academy it felt like a family reunion.  I knew that this was the atmosphere that I wanted at my school as well.  Judging by the reviews, I think we're on the right track!

Come on in and check it out, but don't forget to bring your gi!  (We'll be happy to loan you one if you don't have one!)

-Ryan Johnson

Check us out at:  www.JohnsonsATA.com

More info about Gracie Jiu-Jitsu:  www.GracieAcademy.com

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