Over the last four and a half years, whether it was in an interview, a podcast, social media or even in the Academy, a plethora of respected Black Belts, including my Professor as well as his, have all breached the subject of the “white belt mentality”. And primarily what they mean here is having an open mind, being a sponge and absorbing as well as being humble enough to learn something from all ranks on the mat. Granted there are definitely other mentalities a white belt easily possesses that are not helpful, but we’ll possibly save that for another podcast.

So what I’m doing here is that I’m taking this opportunity to appreciate the journey; reading through the posts I’ve written since I started this Jiu-jitsu journey, but it isn’t for the sake of nostalgia. It’s to keep that curious “White Belt Mentality” and see if I can learn some things from the younger version of me. I’m looking for things I may have forgotten along the way; looking for gems that could’ve fallen out of my pockets along the path that I should pick back up. I want to see if what I was reflecting on then has a more nuanced approach now or if the understanding has expanded in some way.

So, with all that said, let’s get started!

To listen to the podcast, please check it out using this link, I hope you enjoy it! I publish the podcast using the Anchor app, and it’s also currently available on Spotify as well as Google podcasts and a few others so just search for “Tom Writes and Rolls”!

Thanks for stopping by and listening!