A few years ago, I was teaching a jiu-jitsu class at a local YMCA. We had an incident with a parent that really sticks out in my mind.
The father of a somewhat larger boy approached me regarding a difficulty his son was expressing about practice. The boy, about 9 years old, was closing in on 200 pounds and had some difficulty with some of the warm ups we did. The father never knew of these problems before the boy told him, because he dropped off his son so he (the father) could go work out there at the YMCA.
Like many grappling classes, we incorporated some basic tumbling and breakfalls into the warmups. This boy was having difficulty with forward and backward rolls. So the father asks me if the son can skip this part of the exercise, or if some other accomodations can be made due to his weight issue.
"You of all people should understand," the father said.
Note to all readers - I am no small man. At the time, I was about 285 pounds. I am 6'2".
I ponder the statement and question for a moment. Without saying a word, I execute a forward roll and complete the motion all the way back to a standing position.
The father says, "point taken!" And then he walks off, never complaining again about anything I ask the children to do.
Of course, had he ever actually stayed for a class, he would have seen me do the same movement dozens of times during the warmups.
You have lost weight since then, haven't you?
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