I've finally found a platform I feel comfortable standing on a soap box and talking about for hours on end. HEART HEALTH. As a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor I've had the opportunity to teach kids as young as five and adults into their seventies. From these friendships on the mat, I've had many encounters that have shaped what I teach, how I talk, and who I interact with. Most of all, every time I'm on the mat I feel privileged at the wonderful opportunity I have to promote a lifestyle of health and fitness. Up until this point, my approach to health and fitness has been through the physical act of training. Training to lose weight, training to become stronger, training to have good cardio, training to de-stress, training to meditate. The physical training made me eat better, think better, and feel better. However, I've never made the connection to talk about heart health and talk about its relationship to health and fitness.
With the help of my friends, I will be taking on a new project inspired by my friends and the organization TAP CANCER OUT, (really cool site you should check it out) to bring about a greater awareness for cardiac disease. The Jiu Jitsu community is full of healthy dudes in their 30's, 40's, 50's and even 60's, yet we would be in denial not to talk about this deadly attacker.
I'm not going to lie, I was always nervous about our "wisest" student at the age of 74, rolling around and training with these guys in their prime. But last year we had a student at the age of 35 in tip top shape, low body fat, didn't smoke, didn't drink, suffer from a heart attack. I was in absolute shock when I heard the news and didn't know what to do or how to help. All I remember was feeling very sad and helpless. Almost a week ago another one of our students suffered a heart attack at the age of 37, in tip top shape, low body fat, didn't smoke, didn't drink... I couldn't believe it. I was shocked but I had learned to act from my previous experiences.
I now know more about the potential for cardiac disease then I did a week ago and will continue to educate myself and in turn my students on the importance of taking preventative cardiac self defense training. The new project I'm going to be taking on will take many different shapes over time, but my hope is that it brings about an awareness within the HEALTHY and FIT jiu jitsu community that silent attackers can still attack! I've never taken on a project like this before, but know there are many other jiu-jitsu brothers that need to know about this silent attacker. Looking forward to making a difference!
Eliot Kelly
916 595 4064
The Gentle HeART
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