Post-Tournament Report

Classes Attended: 2 Regular, 1 Open Mat, 1 Tournament

In short, I won one and lost one in my weight class and for that I earned a bronze medal. In the absolutes I won two and lost one and for that I earned the right to go home. All the matches I won were on points and of the two I lost, one was by points and the other one was submission (collar choke).

Not so short: First off, forget last week's post; the day after putting that up I started getting nervous. Incredibly nervous. So much so I was kinda hoping my boss was going to make me come into work that day and I'd have a somewhat legitimate excuse to miss the tournament. Obviously that didn't happen, which is good, but damn was I a nervous wreck right up until the end of my second match. On the plus side, the work I put in getting ready for the tournament trimmed me up enough that I fit into jeans I haven't been able to fit into in over a year. And I don't mean like now I can suck in my gut and tug and get them on, but that they fit on normally and comfortably now. That alone has me feeling pretty good about this whole experience.

Anyways, a breakdown of the tournament.

First match (in weight class): I shot for a double and got it. The rest of the match was pretty much me trying to pass his guard, which I finally did in the final minute to get side control, but I wasn't really able to get any submission attempts in. So it was probably a boring match for anyone watching, but it sure as hell wore me out and I'm sure my opponent as well. Also, at some point during the takedown a hair flew in my mouth and being the pace of a tournament match, I didn't have a chance to get it out until afterwards, which was very distracting the whole time.

Second match (in weight class): After about a minute of clinching, I shot for a takedown and was stopped. My opponent went for a guillotine, but I was able to get out. However, from there on he had top control and was able to maintain it the whole time, leading him to a win on points. It seemed like he had a game plan and stuck to it and while I had an idea of what I should be doing to escape his mount, I couldn't seem to actually get anything working. And one point he had my back and had me flattened out, at which point I thought for sure I was done for, but somehow I was able to get out of it. Still, overall I was worked and deserved to lose. My opponent seemed to use the exact same game plan in his next match and went on to win the gold.

Third match (open weight): My opponent was a teammate from Anchorage Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (ABJJ) and to be honest I really didn't look forward to competing against a teammate, especially in the first round. I know it happens sometimes just due to circumstances, but it's definitely not how I prefer things go down. From a spectator's stance, this was probably one of the most boring matches of the day (we received two warnings from the ref to get working), but in all honesty this was a match I didn't feel safe trying to rush anything. I had a significant size advantage in this fight and all I wanted was to get the fight to the ground with me on top. It took awhile and there was no actual take down, but I was in his guard, which was where I wanted to be. Considering the size difference, I was surprised how hard it was to pass his guard, but finally it happened and I got to side control and soon after the win.

Fourth match (open weight): I went into this match thinking I had nothing left in me and this would be it for me if the guy got any sort of good position. Fortunately, I was able to get the takedown (another double) and from there I just worked to pass his guard and get to side control. While he put up a decent fight in retaining his guard, he seemed to keep going for a headlock and since I figured out he was just hunting that, I knew I could be a lot more liberal with using my arms in working my pass. I think with a little more time I would've been able to get the submission, but I was still happy to walk away with the win. There was a point while I was working my pass that his knee came up and knocked me in the jaw and I bit my tongue. At the time it only stung a little, but today my tongue hurts like hell.

Fifth match (open weight): Having watched this guy's previous match, I knew he was very technical, almost like a blue belt in the way he'd move and set things up. Because of watching the match, I think I psyched myself out a little bit and went in with a defeatist mindset. Fearing I wouldn't be able to get a takedown, I tried to pull guard and then went horrible for me as he just stepped right over my leg and took control from the top. From there I was pretty much a sitting duck and he was able to finish me off with a collar choke after about a minute.

Overall I'm content with my performance. I went to the tournament not only nervous as hell, but mentally worn out from working twelve hour shifts the week leading up to it. Just making it to the tournament felt like a personal accomplishment; being able to win a couple matches and bring home a bronze medal made it all the better. After that knee to my jaw though, I'm definitely thinking it's time to invest in a mouth guard.