10. There is an area of your house designated for drying your gear. It looks like something out of West Side Story.
9. You've used the phrase, "This one time, at Jiu Jitsu camp..."
8. You used to wonder "What the hell just happened" every time someone passed your guard and now you wonder "How the hell did he/she do that" every time. And, you know there is a difference between these two sentences.
7. Coach knows your name. Kidding. That doesn't happen until blue belt.
6. You have a move. And, this one time, when you were rolling, it worked!
5. North-south used to inspire a Luke-and-Leia-in-the-trash-compactor-OHMYGODWEAREGONNADIE-like-panic, and now you find that the tiny pinpoint of light as the darkness closes in is a sign you can still breathe.
4. You know a kimura is not a Japanese robe. You don't yet know what it is, but you know what it isn't.
3. Your belt wraps around a little farther, now. And your other belts are one notch smaller, too. Yet, for some reason, that caribou you ate for lunch didn't fill you up.
2. They call someone with the same name as you to come get your first stripe, then you wonder why everyone in the class is looking at you, then you realize that name IS your name.
1. Instead of your body being one gigantic bruise, it's now an interconnected network of medium-sized bruises.
