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Feb
2
This is a little peice from the book I’m working on now, the chapter is called “Conquer I.” It’s important to understand what we are actually battling in life and in jiu-jitsu and ultimately the struggle is internal, we try to conquer I.
Rastafarians use the pronoun I to refer to the self, not “me” but “I”, not “we” but “I and I.” it emphasizes the importance of the individual and his or her relationship to Jah (god), but also the idea of togetherness, of being recognized as one thing, the same sort of beings–unified. The I is important in jiu-jitsu as well, but for the most part it doesn’t represent togetherness; it is I or me or you on the mat, no one else matters, not your opponent, not Jah, no one except you and jiu-jitsu, everything else is an illusion (Though I might point out that this illusion you’re about to go against may choke you unconscious). We go not to conquer our opponent, but to conquer I, to conquer the self. The illusion is that we are fighting someone, but the reality is that we are fighting our self. The I is the self.
Marathon runners, mountain climbers, free divers, big wave surfers they all attempt to conquer I. They’re not battling a distance, or a mountain, or a wave, or the ocean, their struggle is within; it is the struggle of control–control of the self. The same holds true for jiu-jitsu, or boxing, or water polo; it’s not you versus them; it’s you vs. you. This is a misconception in sports with a perceived opponent. We’re lined up against our adversary, our foe, our enemy, we want to beat them, but it is a false competition, the real opponent resides inside.
