For the past 10 years, we’ve been proudly rooted in Durham, North Carolina — the mighty Bull City, a place that punches above its weight in terms of history, art, culture, food and jiu-jitsu. A part of me and my family will always be here in the place where esse quam videri (to be, rather than to seem) is the motto.
The only constant is change, in life and in jiu-jitsu. Dirty White Belt is moving about as far one can move and still stay in the lower 48 states, to Bellingham, Washington, home of Western Washington University. In driving from one ‘Ham to another, we’ll finish up in the upper left edge of the country, about 30 minutes from the Canadian border. We’ll be road-tripping across the USA along this route, possibly stopping at a gym near you.
Does this mean we’re going to stop writing about and podcasting about jiu-jitsu in the American Southeast? Far from it. Quite the opposite, in fact: we’re taking the show along its natural trajectory, expanding to topics national and international. Lourdes will still be here in the great state of North Carolina, doing interviews and the occasional post, and we’ll stay plugged in to the scene down here even as we acclimate to the new home place.
So if the move doesn’t mean the end — what does it mean? Growth, mostly. Expansion. And a few changes to the format of the podcast that we think you’ll like. It’s probably best to imagine some of the common questions that will come up, and respond to them.
What is Going to Change With the Podcast?
New, hopefully even better episodes! We’re going to go down from a weekly schedule to a once-every-two-weeks schedule during the move and then re-evaluate what’s possible. You’ll also see more themed shows (“How to get better with drilling,” “The toughest training stories ever”) and perhaps series or seasons, and lots of exciting guests from all over the world. The show is going to go on!
Are You Still Going to Do the DWB Southeast Jiu-jitsu Awards, with the Traveling Trophies?
Yes! Every year! We’re just going to lean more heavily on You, The Community, for nominations and voting. Plus, Lourdes will officially be our East Coast Correspondent, doing interviews throughout the Southeast and keeping plugged in about who deserving award recipients. Maybe one day we’ll create Pacific Northwest Jiu-jitsu Awards, or even national awards. Who knows?
Where Are You Going to Train?
On the trip across the country, I’ll be stopping at lots of gyms. Check out the route and let me know if you want to stop by yours — either to train with you, or to interview someone amazing, or both! If at all possible, I’ll do it.
In Bellingham, I haven’t picked a school yet. There’s a strong possibility I’ll open a spot, but that’s not happening before January at the earliest. So if you’ve got recommendations …
What Do You Think Happens When We Die?
I think I’m going to wake up in a room bathed with light.
It’s going to be confusing for a second, until the lights identify themselves as beings of pure energy, and then I look down at myself and realize that I am actually a being of pure energy, too. They reveal to me that this entire world we’re living in now is a simulation that immortal energy beings created because they got bored, and for entertainment they go down to Earth to live entirely simulated lives.
When you do this, you get a certain score of attributes, like in Dungeons and Dragons, and you have to decide how to spend those attributes — like, maybe you have to choose between born in America and being born with a totally functioning body, or you spend tons of points on your bodily health but you know that late in life you’ll experience great tragedy. Part of the deal, to preserve the experience, is that at no point during your life can you realize that this is something you picked to do for fun. You don’t know it’s all a simulation, they’ll tell me, until after you die.
Then, after they explain all this to me, that I got the luckiest attribute rolls ever, and hence got to have the best life.
“Cool,” I’ll say. “When do I get to go train?”