Meaning: People who meet once and form a close bond, but never meet again
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Unlike many martial arts, Jiu-jitsu allows full force in sparring. We still have
to mind injuries and do get injured from time to time but, with some rules, one
grapples as one would in the street. At the end of a round, win or lose, one
respects the other's skill and will to fight. Day in day out, there forms a
special bond.
Quite a few left since I began two years ago. Coach Gene, who always watched out
for me, as if I needed special attention, and wrapped the first stripe on my
white belt, went home to New England to open his own gym. The muscle-bound
judoka Harsh, after finishing at Stanford, returned to work for his sponsor in
Milwaukee. There were Steve, a squat ABC blue belt who was friendly to me from
day one, Danny the wiry surfer, who had the same body type as me and was a great
training partner, and Stephan the ninja, the featherweight purple belt champion
who caught me in so many triangles and arm-bars and was a great inspiration...,
ships that passed in the night.
