Recently, I attended a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Belt Ceremony. I won’t say who and where, but I can say that this room contained world champions, up and comer’s and a legend of the sport. And well, me, of course I was in the back of the room as I still serve as a warm up dummy for the higher belts during their sparring sessions.
The jigsaw floor held about 60 or so people, some of those people, are tough, tough people. Emphasis on tough. Grappling terminator’s would probably be a more appropriate description. I’ve actually been looking for a way to insert that analogy somewhere. Huzzah! And while the community of this event was wonderful, it wasn’t until days later that I truly saw something special. Something, disastrous.
After not getting promoted that day, I thought to myself. Tonight, I’m going to have a drink. Not to much, but a few celebration type drinks. Not that I got promoted, but heck, why not celebrate just to celebrate. So after a few drinks I went to bed and all was well. I should add, I’m not much of a drinker, but I understand how one to many affects my body. Around 3 a.m. I woke up shivering. I felt as if I were about to vomit, and couldn’t think straight as my head needed to have holes drilled in it to relieve pressure. I lay there in bed shaking, freezing and sweating at the same time, curious if this were the worst hangover I’d ever live through. Wondering if this is why people pass out, so they don’t have to live through these turbulent moments. I couldn’t sleep, I lie awake and did my best reenactment of a crack head going through de-tox.
The next day I went to work (because I’ve never called off, because I’m not a wuss) and I hated my life, the entire shift, I hated my F%^*’in life! I’d figured out that I this was in no way from my celebratory drinks. This was something more, I was sick. And not sniffles sick. I was, “I wouldn’t mind dying sick.” One week later, I returned to Jiu-Jitsu. Turns out, around 20 other people had the same problem. Some people (those with health insurance) were hospitalized. People that had seminar’s the next day, and or private lessons had to cancel. All of us bed ridden. Some of these, “grappling terminator’s” men that would rather go unconscious or let you snap a limb before tapping, defeated by small microscopic germs. World champions bested by bacteria.
Interesting.
While this seems impossible, one has to remember that bacteria has survived this long solely on natural selection. Bacteria doesn’t have human zoo’s to help it reproduce and stave off extinction (damn Panda’s), it doesn’t have government programs with free cheese and free money to help those less fortunate, lazy, slow witted etc (damn my childhood) they simply die. If bacteria does not grow stronger, it will no longer exist. It’s actually the most amazing thing you’ve never really thought about. Take a second to think about this, it can mate with itself! It grows stronger! It can topple anything, and is the oldest form of life. Ever! Predates all the rocks in your yard, Jesus if you believe in him, Allah, Buddha, Dinosaurs whatever! It has been around and will be around until… until.. Whatever happens next.
That’s crazy. This of course never crosses our mind until were laying in a heap shivering in the middle of the night, wondering which one of those bastards spread the germs to us, or in this case. Me. This brings me to my point. I’ve had ring worm before, anyone who’s been on the mats long enough runs into something like that. Ringworm can be solved by anti fungal. And I’m back on the mats, I was nice enough to take a week off, but it doesn’t slow you down, it doesn’t effect your breathing or conditioning all it does is look like a rash, and goes away if treated properly. Heck, it’s a fungus given enough time it might go away on it’s own (no promises, to our bodies fungi look like our own cells, so it doesn’t fight them like it would, bacteria and such.)
But there are worse things out there. Have you ever seen a staph infection? A real, set in staph infection. Untreated turn’s into a flesh-eating virus. Do you know how scary that is? Worse still, Mrsa. Recently I rolled with a girl from my gym who had recovered from Mrsa. This is something she got while fully clothed and rolling with someone else fully clothed. Heck, there are people who get it from scrapping their knee on the ground. This and this is something that if untreated can kill you.
I started to look up medical facts before I wrote this, my hope was to gain a better understanding of this situation. To save you the time, or feel free to look it up and add to the discussion,
*In 2005 AIDS took the life of an estimated 16,000 people.
You know AIDS, the epidemic one. The disease with all the marches and fundraiser’s/concerts all that business. 16,000 lives were taken in 2005 because of it.
*MRSA took an estimated 18,650 lives. MRSA more or less raped AIDS.
And you’ve never heard of it. And you can easily get it. Hell, I rolled with a girl that had it just a week before hand. Can you imagine if I said I slept with a person with AIDS.
True, antibiotics can knock MRSA out, and not AIDS, but were not talking about regular antibiotics. Were talking about stuff that fights of Anthrax.
Trust me I’ve thought at least for one second about hanging up my Gi’s (4 of them) and walking from the sport. The day I looked down at my inner thigh and thought, what the hell is that rash there for. Quitting crossed my mind. It should cross anyone’s.
The chance of getting it again, on my face or somewhere else more visible.
The chance of getting something worse!
This isn’t something you get from having unprotected sex in a porta-pod on a humid day with someone you just met while drinking beer from a can that cost less than a dollar. And I don’t mean beer that was only a dollar because it was on special. You were flat out drinking beer from a can at a low down dirty dive bar.
This is something you caught that is worse than that. At least that, you got to have sex in a porta-pod and got to drink some cheap beers out of a can. This is something you got while fully dressed, more than fully dressed, you’re in a thick heavy Gi.
And you caught something potentially worse than AIDS.
Tell people, tell them you’ve had something that kills more people than AIDS. See how well it goes over. You’ll probably end up single, drinking beer from a can at some dive.
The easy answer would be, keep yourself clean, keep your work out clothes and mats clean and hope that everyone else does the same. But again, were talking about something that has survived the ice ages, World War One and Two, The hundred years war. Everything.
We can’t beat it. We can only accept it. And hope that it plays nice with us.
When/if it does find you. Take care of it, don’t spread it. Your dealing with something that can break the greatest of will’s.
It’s been here longer than us, and will be here far after all of us.
It certainly demands our respect…
More than aids…
I know.
Wow.
Derek Dean
