legacy through community
Empowering Change To Your Family Tree
legacy through community
Empowering Change To Your Family Tree
Welcome to WarriorTroubadour.COM
My Vision
My Vision
My Vision
WarriorTroubadour exists to encourage you, to inspire you, and to connect with you in order to better ourselves AND generations to come!
My Blog
My Vision
My Vision
I write about life lessons learned through experience. My blog is grounded in my belief that growing and stretching my comfort zone is infinitely valuable. Currently, I am writing about the journey of taking up the art of Jiu Jitsu, from scratch...at 41 years old.
Welcome to WarriorTroubadour - Our Vision is Legacy through Community
WELCOME!! To warriortroubadour.com. THANK YOU for stopping by to check out what I’ve been working on. I hope that you find it enlightening and enjoyable. Please, pass it on.
Why WarriorTroubadour you may ask?
Well… warriorpoet.com is taken, so there’s that.
As I was researching what to call this experiment, I knew that I wanted to tip a cap to my military service and honor all the veterans that allow us to 'sleep peacefully' every night - hence the 'warrior' prefix. As for troubadour, I couldn’t help but be enchanted by the multi-faceted layers of the word. So much so, that after peeling back the onion, it became a name I truly feel is meant to be.
At first glance the word ‘troubadour’ might bring about thoughts of the iconic George Strait and his song by that name. Now, I love George Straight, and I am a HUGE fan of Texas country music. But even beyond that is my connection to the lyrics of the song itself. It was written by Leslie Satcher, and she was charged with writing a song for George that would dispel rumors that he was looking at retirement. The powerful theme of the song is: despite having been around the block a time or two, this old troubadour still has a little bit left in the tank to give. I can relate.
Ms. Satcher claimed in an interview that when she was writing that song, she came to the chorus and heard the word ‘troubadour’ given to her almost as a whisper in her ear. This leads to the second layer of the onion. Leslie’s memory was recalling the folk band The Texas Troubadours. Fronted by Ernest Tubb. That band would make a name for themselves touring Texas with a carousel of eclectic and storied musicians in the 1940s. With names like ‘Butterball’ Paige and riding on a bus monikered ‘The Green Hornet,’ these Texas Troubadours endeared themselves in the Lone Star state with their brand of folk and ‘old timey’ music.
Butterball Paige? Green Hornet? Yep, I’m in.
But wait. There’s more.
Allow us one additional decent deeper down the rabbit hole. The original ‘OG’ meaning of the word ‘troubadour’ comes from the Middle Ages. Around the 12th century, a group of poets and songwriters, some of whom were middle class knights, started an artistic movement based on their works. The word ‘troubadour’ is a translation of the ancient Occitan word ‘trobador.’ The original definition of trobador is “to compose, to discuss, to invent.” The early French and Italian classical troubadour-ian works were recognized for their intellectual and formulaic prose as well as a focus on humor. The original troubadour genre is also recognized for its focus on chivalry and love.
Knights? Intellectual humorous poetry? Chivalry and love? …. Sign me up!
And thus, warriortroubadour.com was born. I would love to hear from you, the reader, as this journey unfolds. You can reach me at warriortroubadour@gmail.com. Enjoy the ride.
WarriorTroubadour BLOG Intro
I was in a fight for my life. As I thrashed on the ground to gain a better position against my attacker, lactic acid poured into my muscles. Fatigue quickly began to set in despite the adrenaline pulsing through my body. I knew I was out matched. My opponent was bigger, stronger, and more skilled than I was. I could feel his will overpowering my own as he methodically worked into a better and better position on top of me.
I struggled.
Mightily at first like a bucking bronco, then eventually halfheartedly. Like a fox who has been caught in a snare. The fox knows continued struggle is his only option, but also that his fate has been sealed.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” - Unk
I felt my assailants arm reach up for my neck. Instinctively, I bowed my body with all my remaining strength to keep his advances from reaching my most vulnerable of areas. My efforts were in vain. Soon, both of his hands had encapsulated my throat. I could feel the pressure begin to build on my carotid arteries, those ever-essential veinous highways responsible for supplying blood to the brain.
Soon, the world began to close in like the iconic finale of a classic Bugs Bunny cartoon. My consciousness dwindled. My vision was reduced to a large circle that began shrinking smaller, and smaller, and smaller until it was no bigger than a soda straw.
“That’s All Folks!”
The last thing I remember before blacking out, as if in some poetic expression from my body of total defeat, was that I audibly farted just before I went totally limp.
“Humiliation Galore.” – Indigo Montoya (The Princess Bride)
“Hey man are you ok?”
asked the GI'd assaulter standing over me.
“If you’re about to get put to sleep you need to tap out.”
“Oh” I replied.
This was new information for me.
The above narrative is a recount of my first experience with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
In the military we have a saying that goes like this; “all thrust, no vector.” What that means is that someone can have all the energy and good intentions in the world, but if they are headed in the wrong direction, none of it matters. My first experience with Jiu Jitsu was just that: all thrust, no vector. In fact, the black belt that I was sparring used most of my well-intentioned thrust AGAINST ME. Repeatedly. He channeled my erratic and aggressive movements into positions which were advantageous for him, and decidedly problematic (and painful) for me.
So goes my non-ceremonious introduction to a sport this column is dedicated to. Since the infamous ‘fart submission’ it took several years for me to step back into a Jiu Jitsu gym. A lot of that had to do with family and life events as well as a very busy military work and deployment schedule. But if I’m being honest there certainly was an element of questioning myself whether I had what it takes to succeed in such a brutal sport.
Allow myself to introduce myself. My name is Noah Davis, and I would like to invite you to join me as I engage into my second foray with the world of Jiu Jitsu. I am 10 years older (I won’t claim wiser) than the last time I engaged in combat sports and these musings will serve to document my journey and life lessons learned along the way. Which I’m sure there will be many.
Enjoy the Ride:
