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I wanted to do a bit more of a write-up on yesterday's tournament.
For starters, this was my 1st "real" jiujitsu tournament. I did an in-house tournament as a white belt, and then another in-house with my school & another school as a blue belt, but this was my 1st "real" external tournament. I don't know why I waited until purple to do this, but I'm glad I finally did.
On Saturday, I signed up for the Purple Belt, 220 lb, Senior II (41-45) bracket. I weed in at 215.5 and felt good. There were 2 of us signed up, but the other guy never showed up. Since I didn't get a match in Saturday, I signed up for the "Open Division", which was Purple Belt, all "Seniors" (age 36+), all weights. 4 guys signed up on Saturday for this division, but only 3 showed on Sunday.
My 1st match was against a guy from the 195 weight class, Senior II bracket. I was doing pretty good warming up, but when we walked out to the mats, I got nervous. Logically, I knew there was nothing to be nervous about, but I still got nervous. When we started, I totally had tunnel vision - it was weird. We worked for judo grips, then he pulled guard & I immediately started to pass with a knee-slide. He turned turtle, and we worked from turtle for most of the match. I couldn't get my hooks in, or get him opened up, but I kept good top pressure & controlled him. With about a minute to go, we scrambled & stood, I immediately grabbed a single & got a leg trip take-down for 2 points. Last 30-seconds I was in his closed guard & won the match 2-0.
I was really winded after this match. Way more than I should have been. Had about a 3 minute break, then the 2nd match. Of course, the guy I fought in the finals, had a bye - so he was completely fresh. In the 2nd match, I gave up an outside trip takedown, then did pretty much nothing from half-guard, except get passed when I tried to roll him. I did roll the guy from side control, but ended up in his guard & got swept trying to pass his open guard. I recovered guard, but at this point had to work hard for a submission. I almost got a collar choke, but no dice. It was almost embarrassing how little skill I showed in this match - but that's what will happen with exhaustion + nerves.
At the end of the day here's what I need to work on:
- Pull the trigger on takedowns. I have some nice takedowns up my sleeve, didn't even attempt any.
- Learn to relax so I can think. There are plenty of techniques that I know, that I couldn't think of in the moment. This happened in both matches.
All in all this was an excellent experience for me. I'm glad I won 1 & glad I lost 1. I have lots to work on now - ready to get back on the mats & in the gym.
And my knee could not have been less of an issue. Didn't feel it at all.
For starters, this was my 1st "real" jiujitsu tournament. I did an in-house tournament as a white belt, and then another in-house with my school & another school as a blue belt, but this was my 1st "real" external tournament. I don't know why I waited until purple to do this, but I'm glad I finally did.
On Saturday, I signed up for the Purple Belt, 220 lb, Senior II (41-45) bracket. I weed in at 215.5 and felt good. There were 2 of us signed up, but the other guy never showed up. Since I didn't get a match in Saturday, I signed up for the "Open Division", which was Purple Belt, all "Seniors" (age 36+), all weights. 4 guys signed up on Saturday for this division, but only 3 showed on Sunday.
My 1st match was against a guy from the 195 weight class, Senior II bracket. I was doing pretty good warming up, but when we walked out to the mats, I got nervous. Logically, I knew there was nothing to be nervous about, but I still got nervous. When we started, I totally had tunnel vision - it was weird. We worked for judo grips, then he pulled guard & I immediately started to pass with a knee-slide. He turned turtle, and we worked from turtle for most of the match. I couldn't get my hooks in, or get him opened up, but I kept good top pressure & controlled him. With about a minute to go, we scrambled & stood, I immediately grabbed a single & got a leg trip take-down for 2 points. Last 30-seconds I was in his closed guard & won the match 2-0.
I was really winded after this match. Way more than I should have been. Had about a 3 minute break, then the 2nd match. Of course, the guy I fought in the finals, had a bye - so he was completely fresh. In the 2nd match, I gave up an outside trip takedown, then did pretty much nothing from half-guard, except get passed when I tried to roll him. I did roll the guy from side control, but ended up in his guard & got swept trying to pass his open guard. I recovered guard, but at this point had to work hard for a submission. I almost got a collar choke, but no dice. It was almost embarrassing how little skill I showed in this match - but that's what will happen with exhaustion + nerves.
At the end of the day here's what I need to work on:
- Pull the trigger on takedowns. I have some nice takedowns up my sleeve, didn't even attempt any.
- Learn to relax so I can think. There are plenty of techniques that I know, that I couldn't think of in the moment. This happened in both matches.
All in all this was an excellent experience for me. I'm glad I won 1 & glad I lost 1. I have lots to work on now - ready to get back on the mats & in the gym.
And my knee could not have been less of an issue. Didn't feel it at all.
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