Alex Moraru

🇷🇴 Romanian -

If your day be today, so be it. Mine will be tomorrow.
Or mine today and yours tomorrow. It matters not.

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

This is a very good description of the art that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is and this is why i love it.

There's nothing like giving it all, physically and mentally, to submit your opponent while walking the line of almost being submitted yourself.
Just like in chess.

[Giff Lasta @GiffLasta]

Physical Chess: Why Jiu-Jitsu is a Game of Kings

Over the last two months, I’ve fallen in love with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I’ve never trained in a combat sport before, but I’m pretty good at Chess. So, naturally, I felt right at home.

I’m not sure what pushed me over the edge to actually walk into the BJJ school ten minutes from my house. Maybe it was hearing famous men like @joerogan, @jockowillink, and even Mark Zuckerberg talk about how great it is. Maybe it was hearing guys online say that it changed their lives. Maybe it was feeling a gap in my development as my marriage course for men has made me something of a “masculinity influencer.” Maybe it was wanting to connect with my son home for the summer from college. Or maybe it was this pitch from a friend:

It’s like playing Chess, except you’re using your whole body, you’re completely exhausted, and you experience intense physical pain every time you make a mistake or lose. Highly recommended.

How can you not try something like that?

For the uninitiated, BJJ is a grappling sport like wrestling, but instead of trying to pin your opponent’s shoulders, the goal is “submission.” That means doing something that, were you to carry it to completion, would end a real fight—eg. neck chokes or breaking/dislocating shoulders, ankles, knees, and elbows. Like Chess, you don’t actually take the King; you corner him. You apply the submission slowly and in a controlled manner, giving your opponent time to tap out. Checkmate.

Unlike some martial arts that are flashy, rather than practical, BJJ has proven to be an essential fighting skill—one of the most important for MMA. People trained in it have a solid shot at winning a street fight against an untrained opponent even if he’s stronger (Recently, a middle school girl fought off an adult attacker, breaking his ankle, and escaping). I let my 13-year-old son try a choke on me, fully intending to wrench my way out and show him what old Dad can do. But then the world started to get dark, and I had to tap out! For all that, it’s also one of the safest combat sports: you rarely get seriously injured.

In boxing, you can recognize the core skills almost instantly: strikes, blocks, dodges, and footwork. Not so with BJJ. Watching two people “roll” is like staring at a chessboard when you don’t know the pieces. You can’t even tell who’s winning (being on your back isn’t necessarily a disadvantage), and then suddenly it’s over. You can train for weeks and still not even know the lay of the land—a black belt has probably been training for 15 years.

Then you learn the basic positions and some of the scales fall from your eyes. Their names, like “guard,” “turtle,” “side control,” and “mount,” even sound like Chess positions and tactics. That guy on his back is in “guard,” which means he has his legs wrapped around his opponent’s waist. Even though he’s down, he actually has the advantage. Then he sweeps and flips his opponent over, and is in “mount.” Now his opponent is on his back, but with his legs straight out and useless—a terrible position. The guy on top can use both arms and legs against his opponent’s isolated torso. Move by move, grip by grip, he works on getting a limb or neck cornered until it’s checkmate.

But there are ways to escape. When you’re mounted, I learned that you can twist your pelvis just enough to bring your foot across his heel. Then you can push on his knee with your elbow to slip your other leg around. Now all of a sudden one of his legs is trapped in yours! Even though he’s on top of you, your legs are back in the game and you’ve evened the odds. Your sneaky elbow was like a pawn inching across the board who might become a queen. Someone skilled at BJJ instinctively knows to watch his opponent’s elbow and keep it up and away.

Like Chess, there’s a progression to a BJJ match—a sense of early, mid, and late game. Put simply, you want more of your “pieces” (hands/elbows/knees/feet) free to move and your opponent’s “pieces” out of the fight. And so if you’re stuck in his guard (on top, but with his legs around your waist), your task is to “pass his guard”—pick from dozens of strategies to ultimately upgrade your position to “side control” or “mount” where his legs are out of the way. And so one of the instructors advised me: “learn two moves from each position, so you always have two options to try.” As I expand my arsenal, I’ll get closer and closer to knowing my goal in any situation, and the game will open up for me.

But like Chess, you can make a careless mistake and be instantly checkmated. I was rolling with a seasoned purple belt, and twisting forward as I strove to pass his guard. Suddenly I found my head trapped under his arm. BJJ chokes are “blood chokes” with the sides of your neck being compressed, not your windpipe (both safer and FAR more effective). Fully applied, it cuts off blood flow to the brain, and you’ll black out in seconds. I felt an anaconda wrenching my neck—I tapped immediately. “Never let your head go under an opponent’s arm,” he warned. Even from an advantageous position, a stupid slip can end the game.

All this over the course of a summer. My older son is about to return to college, but his two younger brothers have joined in. The head of the school is fierce and deadly, but also incredibly gentle and patient with kids. When my youngest was watching us train with wide-eyes, he sat down next to him and set a folded “gi” beside him (the Japanese-style outfits we train in). “If you decide you want to join us, just put this on,” he quietly said, and left my son to work up his courage with no pressure. It took him a couple classes, but my youngest son has since jumped in with both feet. He’s even committed to expertly folding our gis and belts before every class so we walk into the changing room looking classier.

I’ve noticed a difference in my youngest two boys. An angry fight between them now turns into a BJJ roll, which elevates the interaction with a certain gentlemanliness. When one of them misses a class, the other is excited to demonstrate what he learned. I’ve become jealous of their teenage neuroplasticity—they pick up new moves and sequences much quicker than I do. We feel a growing mutual respect.

We attended our first competition a couple weeks ago. It was inspiring to cheer folks from our school on as they gave their best. The fast-paced “no gi” matches were a deadly dance, a work of art. As we left out the back door (the contestant entrance) my youngest son remarked that we could have snuck in this way and skipped the $20 entrance fee. We laughed, and his older brother pointed out how crazy such an idea was, surrounded by hundreds of these battle-fit men of action. The bottom line? My sons and I are developing a sense of martial honor with each other.

Scripture promises that, “your sons will be princes in all the Earth.” This game of kings is helping us step into our inheritance.

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@LaxmiKhali Da, ar trebui sa avem legi aspre pentru paparazzi...

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@realpeteyb123 Are uou in Crete?

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

Se pare ca in ziua de azi toti trebuie sa fim aliniati cu o extrema.
Daca nu, ori suntem boti, ori neinformati care asculta de propaganda, ori de extrema opusa celui care acuza...

Lumea a uitat ca cele mai multe probleme in lume au fost rezolvate de oamnei de centru care au inteles probleme din ambele parti si AU ACTIONAT.

Problema in EU e ca din cauza inactiunii celor de centru, extremele fac ce vor...

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@revtifosi3 @petite_michelle That op was posible for a reason and is his fault

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@_154831 What kind of difference?

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@dorulets Traim in era dronelor si tot iepurii te vaneaza pe camp😅

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@Seraphima94 But it did happen in the US also...

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@Ruesavatar Too big for hare

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@SlavitescuEuseb Hold on, why is Sweden on that list? They have known terrorists free in the country.

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@ridgereverie Sleep a week on it

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@Jpod_art Is fine, Napoleon isn't around anyone 😅

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@Ruesavatar Yea, weak and fragile dont look feminine to me, is equal with obesity: somebody who doesn't take care of themselves

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@SarKE @megbasham @bryan_johnson Is because you're thinking of living forever in a life with death and sorrow in it.
What Megan is talking about is a life without any of that.

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@1001calatorii "Mai stai si tu de sărbători pe acasa" ...😅

[Olga Patlyuk 🇺🇦 @OlgaPatl]

“Why are you posting instead of going to a shelter?”

I read that comment, and I want to answer it.

The air raid siren started shortly after 1 a.m. My two children were already asleep. Unless you’ve had to wake sleeping children in the middle of the night because of incoming missiles, it’s hard to imagine what that feels like.

I live in an apartment building. There is no proper bomb shelter nearby. The only option is the basement of our building. But when missiles are already in the air, running outside can be just as dangerous. Shrapnel can strike at any moment.

And let’s be honest: the basement of a regular apartment building is not guaranteed protection from a missile strike. It may help protect against drone debris or fragments, but not against a direct missile hit.

There is no subway in Vinnytsia where we can take shelter. We use what we have: hallways, basements, and the “two-wall rule.” That’s all many of us have to protect our children.

So yes, I stay behind two walls. At that moment, it’s the best I can do to keep my children safe.

And one more thing.

Why do I post while missiles are flying?

Because silence doesn’t save lives.

I write because I want the world to see and understand what Ukrainian families are living through every single day. These are not just headlines or statistics. This is our reality.

I write with the hope that our stories will reach people who make decisions. That Ukraine will receive more air defense systems. That our skies will become safer. That fewer children will wake up to explosions.

We are not asking for pity.

We are asking to be heard.

Because while you’re reading these words, Ukrainian parents are once again holding their children close as explosions echo outside.

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@thisardentlife @musestoomuch It is true, but the hard things needs to be done with this intention and we're where we are because this is not done by many

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@milkandmarrow @Ruesavatar What, she's not from this planet?

Anyway, I'd love to do this with people from here, so let me know.

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@Catholiterature @_kayCiam That usually does it 😅

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@Catholiterature @_kayCiam What did you do in the end to get over this?

[Alex Moraru @Alex_Moraru_]

@Catholiterature @_kayCiam Then he/she just liked fasting 😅