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Mar
24
Tap or Die Philosophy
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I’m a reader. I read all the time. Right now I’m reading three books 1) Seth Godin’s, Tribes 2) Russel Simmon’s, Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success 3) Helio Gracie’s, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu; I mention these books because I think what I read influences the ideas and decisions I make in my life. So sometimes I’m not sure if the ideas I have are original or just something gleaned from what I’m reading at the time. That being said, I’m muddling through the idea of a philosophy, a philosophy to help guide Tap or Die as a company.
I’m going to tell a story about a friend of mine who I think epitomizes what Tap or Die will represent; his name is Corey Terkelson. Corey is a brown belt in Walt Bayless Combat Jiu-Jitsu. He teaches at West Side and has a cult following there. When you first meet him you realize he’s crass and brash and you may even mistake him for a racist (he is not), even though he would deny it. He likes to push people’s buttons, and he’s very good at it. He’s actually a very nice person; all you have to do is watch him with his niece for about two seconds and you’ll see how sweet and soft he really is.
The second thing people see when they meet Corey is he has a bum leg. He has a rod in one of legs which makes it impossible to bend. Long story short… cancer…10 years old…metal rod…shouldn’t be doing jiu-jitsu. Corey practices jiu-jitsu despite the fact that he continually breaks the rod in his leg. He’s been warned numerous times by his Dr. to give up jiu-jitsu because if the rod in his leg breaks and his leg gets infected, he may lose his leg. To me that’s some serious shit. He would be an amputee…whoa.
Corey is tough, but he’s not stupid. He stopped teaching classes for awhile (to the dismay of his students, and me, and everyone at West Side) and dealt with the possibility of not doing jiu-jitsu again and the real possibility of losing his leg (the metal rod in his leg is currently broken and Corey’s awaiting surgery). Corey’s a tough dude and he’s smart, he has a new Dr. and they’ll be able to save his leg and he’s back to teaching classes at West Side. Corey is jiu-jitsu; it is a part of him, and I honestly think he would have given up his leg if it meant he could continue to do jiu-jitsu (thank God he doesn’t), and maybe he wouldn’t have given up his leg, but I guarantee he has thought about it. Corey represents a philosophy about jiu-jitsu that I want Tap or Die to represent and that is it’s not just something we do, or something we practice, it is part of us, it’s in some ways how we define ourselves.
Tap or Die is Jiu-Jitsu
dont tell dorian cory is though of as a racist he loves his ass. cory has made more of an impact on dorians bjjgame than i could dream of. a simple “good job”from cory is better than my ass doin backflips over a armbar. cory is one of the best guys i have met in my many adventures in life. very genuine. great guy… but also enough of an asshole that we get along great. he is a close second to this guy i know named mark that owns my ass on the mats……
What’s up Mark?
I found your blog through the UCE website. I like the philosophy and style potential. I couldn’t agree more about Tapout’s lame, metrosexual flair, and Affliction is a bit much too. Having a picture on my T-Shirt of a werewolf skull f***ing a dragon’s skeleton in a flaming hell pit is a bit much. It would be cool to have a shirt marketed directly to jiu jitsu folks that moves beyond adolescent pricks and douchebag meat heads.
-Jeff