So, I had my third tournament on Saturday...

[Commissar]

My Jiu Jitsu squad went down to Burnaby to compete at the Western Canadian Martial Arts Challenge.

I entered the Novice Under 140 (gi) and Novice Open weight (gi).

My first match was my weight class. Fought a guy about my size. He was very good. I pulled guard right off the bat, and fought off my back for a while. I attempted a few kimuras and triangle chokes, as well as some sweeps. I went for a scissor sweep, but he saw it coming and passed to side mount. He went for some sort of choke, and I countered and rolled him over and took side mount.
Here's where it potentially gets controversial. I'm not familiar with the rules too well, so it might be, I don't know. When I rolled him over and took side mount, we went out of bounds. So I didn't get points for it, and we re-started standing in the middle of the ring. In hindsight, it was stupid of me, but I pulled guard again and he eventually won by points.

Some hours later, I had my first Open Weight match. I weighed in at 129 pounds, and my opponent must have been 170 or something. So, I pulled guard again. Unfortunately, he held me in the air and could have probably destroyed me with an epic slam, but decided not to, and he put me down nicely. Attempted a triangle choke, but he powered out and took side mount. I defended well, and he took mount and tapped me with an ezekiel choke, probably 4 minutes in.

My third match, Open weight, was for bronze. My opponent was a lot larger, again. But, this time, I didn't know I had this other match until I had to fight. So I took off my white competition gi, the cup, and my mouthguard and put on my blue single weave gi. So, I was told I had to fight, and I forgot my equipment.
I pulled guard again, because I was stiff from my other fights. He worked past and eventually took full mount, and went for an ezekiel choke. I defended it, but due to his size, he still was able to push down a bit. The choke was defended, but because I had forgotten my mouthguard, my teeth were biting into my lip and his weight was adding more pressure. I tapped to that, too.


The competition was tough and I was a bit disappointed with my preformance. But now I know what to practice, and I look eagerly to my next competition.

Oh, I also got to witness some divisional wrestling champion from Seattle (named Blaine?) get choked out in the Novice Under 140 division, and go into convulsions. Felt sorry for him.

All in all, though, I had plenty of fun. I'd do it again any time. I loved Open weight.

 

[Guts & Glory]

Why did you pull gaurd so much?. I am no grappling guru but damn man a take down is what 4 points. 4 points goes a long way. I recommend working your taked downs starting with the basic double leg and single leg. Try to self teach your self some judo throws [ wwww.judoinfo.com ]. If your competing in gi they come in really handy. Stay away from throws where you give you back. Focus on foot sweeps and pick up techniques.

 

[infamous mattyd]

Why did you pull gaurd so much?. I am no grappling guru but damn man a take down is what 4 points. 4 points goes a long way. I recommend working your taked downs starting with the basic double leg and single leg. Try to self teach your self some judo throws [ wwww.judoinfo.com ]. If your competing in gi they come in really handy. Stay away from throws where you give you back. Focus on foot sweeps and pick up techniques.

2 points in most omps I think

 

[VampireMonk]

sound like you did well.

great experience, thank goodness you didnt get hurt,
now go celebrate bro.

 

[greasemonkey]

Yeah like guts and glory said, learn some simple takedowns little footsweeps or something for an easy 2 points. Kick ass at the next tournament!

 

[Diligent]

cool, man. Thanks for sharing. I bet open weight tourneys are pretty crazy, haha

 

[gracie_barra**]

My Jiu Jitsu squad went down to Burnaby to compete at the Western Canadian Martial Arts Challenge.

I entered the Novice Under 140 (gi) and Novice Open weight (gi).

My first match was my weight class. Fought a guy about my size. He was very good. I pulled guard right off the bat, and fought off my back for a while. I attempted a few kimuras and triangle chokes, as well as some sweeps. I went for a scissor sweep, but he saw it coming and passed to side mount. He went for some sort of choke, and I countered and rolled him over and took side mount.
Here's where it potentially gets controversial. I'm not familiar with the rules too well, so it might be, I don't know. When I rolled him over and took side mount, we went out of bounds. So I didn't get points for it, and we re-started standing in the middle of the ring. In hindsight, it was stupid of me, but I pulled guard again and he eventually won by points.

Some hours later, I had my first Open Weight match. I weighed in at 129 pounds, and my opponent must have been 170 or something. So, I pulled guard again. Unfortunately, he held me in the air and could have probably destroyed me with an epic slam, but decided not to, and he put me down nicely. Attempted a triangle choke, but he powered out and took side mount. I defended well, and he took mount and tapped me with an ezekiel choke, probably 4 minutes in.

My third match, Open weight, was for bronze. My opponent was a lot larger, again. But, this time, I didn't know I had this other match until I had to fight. So I took off my white competition gi, the cup, and my mouthguard and put on my blue single weave gi. So, I was told I had to fight, and I forgot my equipment.
I pulled guard again, because I was stiff from my other fights. He worked past and eventually took full mount, and went for an ezekiel choke. I defended it, but due to his size, he still was able to push down a bit. The choke was defended, but because I had forgotten my mouthguard, my teeth were biting into my lip and his weight was adding more pressure. I tapped to that, too.


The competition was tough and I was a bit disappointed with my preformance. But now I know what to practice, and I look eagerly to my next competition.

Oh, I also got to witness some divisional wrestling champion from Seattle (named Blaine?) get choked out in the Novice Under 140 division, and go into convulsions. Felt sorry for him.

All in all, though, I had plenty of fun. I'd do it again any time. I loved Open weight.

Yeah I was just going to ask, how was the whole tourney, anyways. Good job though, better luck next year, I'm sure you'll get there. Can you tell me the results of the BJJ/Submission tourneys? Like which school took home the most awards and who won the Open Weight? Thanks man. And how was Soares' Sunday class?

 

[VampireMonk]

just remember to keep hope high, expectations low.

train hard, becareful of injuries and like you did,
and good sportsmanship above and over anything else.

dont throw waterbottles, dont arugue with the ref, and dont hate your
opponent! if hes a jerk, just feel sorry for them.

 

[TJS]

guard puller

 

[VampireMonk]

whats wrong with pulling the guard?

I notice the guard guys are often deadly with their submissions,

that's a lot to say compared to the guys who work the top and just hold,
they dont try to finish but win by points.

gotta give it to the guard guys fishing for subs.

 

[Commissar]

It was a fun event.

I can't remember who won most medals, but Megaton's guys did good, Marcus Soares' guys did good and the Gracie Barra guys did pretty good, too.

And yeah. I regret not going for takedowns. I'm part-Judo, but I'm a very methodical grappler, and it usually takes me some time to tap out most people. So, for me, five minutes isn't long, so I'd sooner take it to the ground immediately, than fight for takedowns for two minutes and only leave three more.

After all my matches, I had prolonged conversations with my opponents, their trainers, and their teammates. The atmosphere at grappling tournaments are excellent. Thats half the fun. I use it just as much as a fun social event, than a competition.

And yeah, I went to Soares' class on Sunday, and I'm really not used to that... level of warmup. Sparring some of Marcus' guys was fun. Marcus himself is a great guy and an amazing instructor.

As far as not hating my opponents, I agree. Even the first guy - if I was at the opportunistic end of that incident, I'd take it. He fought a very good fight, and if I did win when I took side mount, he would have deserved it more. All my opponents fairly defeated me, and I respect them greatly for it. I'm greatful at the level of education I recieved from such great opponents.

 

[Gavin LeFever]

whats wrong with pulling the guard?

I notice the guard guys are often deadly with their submissions,

that's a lot to say compared to the guys who work the top and just hold,
they dont try to finish but win by points.

gotta give it to the guard guys fishing for subs.

what do you mean what's wrong with pulling guard? hey! lets take an inferior position! yay!

guard is a way to improve an inferior position from bottom. it is not a dominant position.

when you compete versus a decent guy, you do not want to give him anything. i dont care how good your guard game is, he's on top of you with no incentive to go for a finish (up by points) so he has no need to try and make mistakes whereas you must, or you lose.

guard is a nice tool to have but it's not an i-win card. if there is striking involved, you've just backed yourself into a corner.

 

[Commissar]

what do you mean what's wrong with pulling guard? hey! lets take an inferior position! yay!

guard is a way to improve an inferior position from bottom. it is not a dominant position.

when you compete versus a decent guy, you do not want to give him anything. i dont care how good your guard game is, he's on top of you with no incentive to go for a finish (up by points) so he has no need to try and make mistakes whereas you must, or you lose.

guard is a nice tool to have but it's not an i-win card. if there is striking involved, you've just backed yourself into a corner.

I'd rather they landed in my guard than in my side mount...

 

[Steeltwo]

I'd rather they landed in my guard than in my side mount...

if you are part judo(that sounds funny)
then you have the advantage of solid takdowns.

it appears your guard is in need of repair, as it was passed and you were tapped.
Now what if you had done a good throw, or even half assed throw and gotten into a good position like half guard or side mount?

as someone said
the guard is the best of a bad position.

 

[serima]

whats wrong with pulling the guard?

I notice the guard guys are often deadly with their submissions,

that's a lot to say compared to the guys who work the top and just hold,
they dont try to finish but win by points.

gotta give it to the guard guys fishing for subs.

Nothing, some people dont understand the art of pulling guard

 

[Commissar]

if you are part judo(that sounds funny)
then you have the advantage of solid takdowns.

it appears your guard is in need of repair, as it was passed and you were tapped.
Now what if you had done a good throw, or even half assed throw and gotten into a good position like half guard or side mount?

as someone said
the guard is the best of a bad position.

Yeah. I should have thrown him. I can do good throws, under Judo rules, but once you eliminate the restrictions it becomes a lot harder. I simply have to practice more throws like that. I regretted pulling guard. Especially in the first match, after I got nothing done from the botton, the fight was stood up, I should have at least tried for a takedown. In hindsight, I don't think I was that prepared to compete this time around. In my first match, I think much of the time, I just wanted to make it to the decision.

I'll train harder next time.

 

[Gavin LeFever]

I'd rather they landed in my guard than in my side mount...

*your* side mount? if you dont feel comfortable on top, you might want to rethink your game.

 

[aircal]

Hey commisar, you were the white dude in the white gi w Marcus Soares partch with the facial hair right?

I was in your division. I was the skinny chinese guy w the blue bad boy gi.
I saw you fought some good matches but those were some big guys we went up against. I believe the first guy you went up against ended up winning the division.
It was my first grappling match ever and in the gi division I went 0for2 losing both on points.

On the topic of epic slams, I got slammed pretty bad onto my neck in the no gi match throwing a triangle on my opponent. He was disqualified and I went on to the finals. The guy I fought in the finals was the one that put the wrestler into the seizures. He's got really good positional control and I spent over three quarters of the match on the defensive in the end losing by points. He's a cool guy and we actually train at related clubs - under Megaton.

I was supposed to fight in the pankration matches afterwards too but my neck was too messed up and I couldn't see anything but stars.

All in all it was an awesome day. Talked to lot of people i hadnt seen for a while and met alot of new ones in h BJJ community.

There goes my first post - Oh yeah what do I have to do to get my blue belt?



Just kidding.

 

[Commissar]

Hey commisar, you were the white dude in the white gi w Marcus Soares partch with the facial hair right?

I was in your division. I was the skinny chinese guy w the blue bad boy gi.
I saw you fought some good matches but those were some big guys we went up against. I believe the first guy you went up against ended up winning the division.
It was my first grappling match ever and in the gi division I went 0for2 losing both on points.

On the topic of epic slams, I got slammed pretty bad onto my neck in the no gi match throwing a triangle on my opponent. He was disqualified and I went on to the finals. The guy I fought in the finals was the one that put the wrestler into the seizures. He's got really good positional control and I spent over three quarters of the match on the defensive in the end losing by points. He's a cool guy and we actually train at related clubs - under Megaton.

I was supposed to fight in the pankration matches afterwards too but my neck was too messed up and I couldn't see anything but stars.

All in all it was an awesome day. Talked to lot of people i hadnt seen for a while and met alot of new ones in h BJJ community.

There goes my first post - Oh yeah what do I have to do to get my blue belt?



Just kidding.

Hey! Yeah, I remember you. And yes, that was me. That slam looked brutal. Hope you're alright.

The guy I fought did win the division I think, yeah. He was good.