{"id":12020,"date":"2012-07-31T10:00:09","date_gmt":"2012-07-30T23:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/?p=12020"},"modified":"2012-07-30T17:01:53","modified_gmt":"2012-07-30T06:01:53","slug":"hobbies-of-the-clergy-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/2012\/07\/31\/hobbies-of-the-clergy-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Hobbies of the Clergy #4"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Joel Kettleton: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s Monday night: my arm is about to be broken, my face is crushed against the floor, and I have a very strong 95kg guy pinning me to the ground. Suddenly I twist my body, suck my arm in to my chest, roll the guy over, climb on to his back and apply a choke.
\nWelcome to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. <\/em><\/p>\n

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art that developed when Japanese Jiu-Jitsu (Judo) was introduced to Brazil in the 1910\u2019s. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a grappling-style of fighting, and takes place mostly on the ground.
\nIt works on the concept that a smaller, weaker person can defend against a bigger, stronger opponent with the use of technique and leverage (by the use of chokes and joint-locks).<\/p>\n

I started BJJ in early 2011 in my final year at Theological College.
\nOne lunch time at Ridley I was explaining to another student that I had been looking for a martial arts club in the inner-North of Melbourne in order to keep fit, learn self-defence, and do some evangelism. It turned out that the guy I was talking to was a BJJ instructor, and his gym was 5 minutes down the road from Ridley.
\nHe invited me to come to his gym and train, explaining that he was looking for more Christians to come to his gym to spread the Gospel to his fighters.<\/p>\n

So began the long journey that is BJJ (often thought of as one of the most difficult martial arts, as a black belt generally takes 10+ years to achieve).
\nI\u2019m not an athletic person. I wouldn\u2019t describe myself as an overly \u2018physical\u2019 person.
\nYou may wonder why I participate in an activity that I\u2019m not terribly good at, gives me broken bones, sprains, and leaves me sore for days.<\/p>\n

There are two reasons why I do BJJ:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Christians (and Clergy) should try and keep fit.<\/strong>
    \nKeeping an eye on our weight and overall fitness is wise. While I don\u2019t think the Bible has any specific teaching on why it is good to exercise, we know that it is good for us. As Christians, why should we ignore medical advice because we look forward to a new body at the resurrection? Exercise and image shouldn\u2019t define us like it does for some people in our society, but we shouldn\u2019t ignore our health.
    \nBJJ is a great sport \u2013 try wrestling with someone on the ground an hour and you\u2019ll soon see why it\u2019s a good work-out.<\/li>\n
  2. Fighting gyms are full of people who will never set foot inside a church to hear the Gospel.<\/strong>
    \nI feel called to the mission of God \u2013 to go to the ends of the earth to make disciples of Jesus.
    \nThousands of people meet every day throughout the country to train in BJJ and other forms of fighting \u2013 where are the missionaries to them?
    \nYou may think fighters are tough and hostile (and they are). Yet scratch beneath the surface and you\u2019ll find that they are people who experience life like the rest of us, and I\u2019ve been surprised by how many fighters I\u2019ve met have deep hurts and issues in their lives.
    \nThe Good News of salvation in Christ is a message of hope, forgiveness, and new life.
    \nBJJ is a wonderful paradox \u2013 one minute you\u2019re trying to choke a guy (or girl) out, and the next you\u2019re sitting back, talking about your faith. In an environment where you are in such close physical proximity to someone, and where losing frequently keeps people humble, it\u2019s amazing how quickly barriers are broken down and people open up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Grapplers for Christ Australia<\/span><\/p>\n

    Many other Christians (and Anglican Clergy) also love BJJ. A few people and myself decided that it was time we stood out for Jesus in the grappling world.
    \nWe formed Grapplers for Christ Australia: a not-for profit organisation linking Christians together, witnessing to others, and giving to those in need (we are partnered with     International China Concern<\/a>).
    \nWe raise money through donation tins in gyms, meet together for tournaments, and promote ourselves through clothing and gi patches. We seek to wear our merchandise at whatever tournament members are at (you\u2019ll see the big blue crosses on our backs), and are often met with people interested in finding out more about Christianity or wanting to join.
    \nWe seek to be a bridge between the fighting world and the church, helping local churches in their mission of reaching their local community, and in helping fighters know that church is a place where they are able to belong and grow in their faith.
    \nFor more information on Grapplers for Christ Australia join us on Facebook: \u00a0    http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GrapplersforChristAustralia<\/a>\u00a0or visit our website:\u00a0 www.g4c-oz.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Joel Kettleton: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu It\u2019s Monday night: my arm is about to be broken, my face is crushed against the floor, and I have a very strong 95kg guy pinning me to the ground. Suddenly I twist my body, suck … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12020"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12020"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12213,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12020\/revisions\/12213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}