Shortly after officially signing up at Gemina MMA I was out for a week due to work and another week due to being ill. Since taking several months off between gyms it seems as if my outlook on missing training has changed. Previously I’d have been mad because I’d be missing training and therefore not improving at the pace I wanted. Now I’m only annoyed because I want to be training, and not due to any pressure I place on myself. I now realise that the Gym and Jiujistu itself aren’t going anywhere. I also used to get frustrated because I was so competitive regarding my fellow white belts. What if I was to take time off and the guy who I always beat can suddenly beat me? I now realise that these things don’t matter. I shouldn’t be judging myself based on the progress of those around me. I should judge myself based on my own progress, be it mentally or physically.
With these new ideas in place I’ve been able to stop worrying about the time I’m not training and enjoy whatever it is I’m doing otherwise. This also means that when I get back in the gym I can focus on what I’m doing without worrying about anyone else. With all of that said I’d like to discuss how I’m feeling at Gemina thus far.
My first impression of Gemina was that it was smaller and less impressive than The Arena MMA. It’s a very compact gym with little focus on being flashy and I think that this does it a great favor. There is a clear focus at Gemina on having fun and feeling safe and almost everyone there shares that mindset. Almost everyone I’ve rolled with is relaxed and talkative and wants to either teach you something or learn from something you did. The exception to the rule is one or two people who can’t seem to dial down the intensity to match people with lower skill, strength or those with injuries. Each gym has this to a certain extent so the easiest option is to politely decline rolls and avoid that student which works fine for me.
Another very noticeable thing in this gym is that there’s no pressure to roll if you’re not feeling up for it. During any given round there will be a number of people sitting on the edge of the mat, chatting away and hanging out in general. From my experience a lot of gyms have this unspoken (sometimes openly spoken) pressure to keep rolling. This sort of thing has always unnerved me because I never felt comfortable declining these little pushes and it led me to rolling when I shouldn’t and occasionally injuring myself. I completely understand the idea of pushing each other to a new level, but there needs to be a level of trust that the person being pushed knows when they have to stop. Now, the issue I’ve experienced previously could certainly be due to me being too shy or worried about perceptions to speak up and say I’d had enough, but at Gemina I have no such worries.
There also seems to be a big push to ensure fellow gym members feel like family. Once a week at Gemina students are encouraged to go out and have dinner together for example. The Christmas wind-up is at the gym where kids are allowed, where everybody can roll and a sausage sizzle is held. It’s all so open and all encompassing. Gemina is also a Legion 13 gym affiliate which means that members are able to train at all affiliate gyms for free!
I did this for the first time last week, after my long-time friend Floyd came down to Gemina twice in the week. We headed to Wilkes Martial Arts and Fitness Academy in Myaree for a class and had a great time. Wilkes has without a doubt, the most open and comfortable atmosphere I’ve seen in a gym. Every student was happy to come say hello and to roll and the instructors would go through and welcome every single member of the class. After the class Josh, Floyd and I chilled out while talking to one of the coaches and some other students for literally an hour. We ended up leaving as the owner came to close up! It was a very relaxed class and a very good way to end the week.
Another thing I was worried about going to another gym is my skill level. I was worried that the level of competition at my previous gym was different at The Arena and that I’d get to Gemina and realise I wasn’t nearly as good as I thought I was. It seems thus far that I needn’t have worried and that The Arena has done a great job in its instruction. If anything I’m better than I previously thought. It’s hard to tell due to not knowing the other white belts very well as of yet, but it seems as though I can more than hold my own with the majority of the white belts I’ve come across thus far. I’ve hit more submissions than ever before since coming across to Gemina, mostly I believe due to the larger variance of white belts training there. Nonetheless it’s very heartening to see that I’m doing well. I’ve been trying to gauge how close to blue belt I think I am while at the same time trying to convince myself not to worry about that and to just enjoy training and improving.
This week I’m all set for several classes at Gemina and another at Wilkes in Myaree. I’m having heaps of fun training at other gyms and I’m very excited for whatever is to come training with Gemina and the affiliate gyms!
Until next time, stay safe!
/Anthoney.