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Mar
25
Another T-shirt Company?
Filed Under Uncategorized
Does the world need another t-shirt? Only if it’s a Tap or Die t-shirt. I think that’s where Tap or Die will start—the t-shirt. The t-shirt after all is a great vehicle, a vehicle that carries a message. It’s kind of like a potato or popcorn, they’re plain by themselves, most people don’t eat them that way. It’s not the popcorn; it’s what’s on the popcorn. Popcorn is the vehicle that carries the good stuff…butter and salt or even caramel. It’s not the shirt itself as much as what’s on it.
I’m looking around at the students in my English class; fourteen out of the twenty-two kids in class today are wearing t-shirts. Not one of the t-shirts is plain, they all have some picture or print that says something about its wearer. It’s not the shirt; it’s what’s on the shirt that counts.
So what should go on a Tap or Die shirt? Well, if this was an English paper I would ask my students “Who is your audience?” The answer to that question is anyone who does jiu-jitsu and more specifically the disciples of the art–the fanatics. I’ve been throwing around the idea of a series of t-shirts that show the most important lessons of jiu-jitsu, for example,
BJJ lesson #1: Learn when to tap.
BBJ Lesson #1: Learn to TAP!
The text would be followed by an illustration of an arm with the bone sticking out. The series would be meant to be humorous, as a matter of fact Tap or Die as a whole will not take itself too seriously. Tap or Die is an exaggeration of an attitude; very few things are “life and death” and Tap or Die will be fun and mocking of the idea that life should be serious all the time.
BJJ lesson #2: Don’t let pride get in the way. It is better to tap out then suffer injury.