My friend, I have one hyphenated word for you: jiu-jitsu.
It's hard to describe how much of what you wrote here could have been written by me. It's also hard to describe how many like-minded people I've encountered that have similarly gravitated toward jiu-jitsu. And we all have the same thing to say. It's changed our lives.
Heh, I figured it would resonate with at least a few people.
I tell you what: I'll give it a shot. At the very least it'll make another good Steemit post :P
With your story telling skills, I'm certain it will make for one hell of an entertaining post. My advice, protect your neck!