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Apr
16
Little Chris
Filed Under Uncategorized
Death is a tough thing to accept. I got a call last night. My youngest blue-belt, Chris, is dead.
Fuck!
17 years old—a senior in high school—the greatest kid in the world. I found out this morning it may have been suicide.
Chris was energy, and youthfulness, and always bouncing off the walls and when it came to jiu-jitsu he was tough as hell, and technical. We liked to use him as the gate keeper at the gym. Some big dude with a bad attitude would come in to learn some jiu-jitsu (for all the wrong reasons) and we would put him against little Chris.
Chris would usually make the guy tap within a minute, and it was fun to watch the new guy try to figure out what just happened. How did this little dude make me tap? They’d go again with the same result. The new guy getting more frustrated with every roll. His ego couldn’t handle his losses.
Little Chris, with a rye smile, dispatched many a potential bully.
The kid had so much energy. I’m sad for his family, his friends, the kids at jiu-jitsu he taught, and me.
I remember rolling with him and at times getting frustrated, while at the same time admiring his natural talent and potential… godamn
Shit. That’s horrible. I don’t even know what to say. I wish the best for his family.