After a disappointing performance at the IBJJF last month, I wanted to test my fresh blue belt one more time before the calendar turns. Thankfully, Grappling Industries provided an outlet.
By the way, if you're into BJJ competition and you haven't yet heard of Grappling Industries, get out from under that rock. They run an outstanding round robin format tournament for a great price and will soon be adding submission only tournaments.
This was my first time competing in a G.I. tournament, although I've helped worked two previous events for them. This time, in exchange for helping set up the night before, I got to compete for free. It only took us an hour and half so I'd say it was well worth it. Since it was free, I decided to sign up for both the gi and nogi divisions. I can probably count the number of times I've trained in nogi on both hands, but I figured this would be a great way to get some experience. I was not wrong.
First up, in the gi.
I had been watching the registrations for weeks. My division was completely empty. Then one of my teammates signed up in the same weight class but in the adult age bracket. I was in the 30+ years bracket. Deadline day came and he had no one in his division either, so they paired us up.
Now, you won't really be able to tell from the photo, but my teammate is a fitness trainer for a living. His biceps are easily as big around as my neck. We got our blue belts on the same day, but our last roll was probably several months before that. I remember him handing me my ass pretty consistently. He also has some wrestling experience. I pretty much knew I was dead, and so did everyone else at our gym. Of course, I was more than willing to get out there and give it my all. At best, I wanted to give him his money's worth since we'd have to fight each other 2-3 times.
They called us to the mat for our first match, and all my other teammates gathered around to watch the murder. We shook hands, brought in for a bro hug, and got to work.
I was anticipating a gnarly double leg, so once I got some grips, I dropped my base low and kept my arms mostly extended. After some push and pull, I saw an opening and pulled guard. I kept his posture broken and our bodies connected. If I allowed him any space to to get his hands between us, his simply would have push-upped his way out. When he reached back to push my right leg down and open my guard, I shot my right knee through, pivoted on my left hip, and landed my right thigh on his neck. For weeks, I've been practicing my triangles, and it paid off. I figure-foured my legs behind his back, lifted my hips, pulled down on his head, and saw his hand go up to tap. I'm certain my pupils dilated at that moment.
It took 1:17 to drop my teammates' jaws. Frankly, I was just as stunned. It was textbook. Get the fight to the ground safely. Gain control. Submit your opponent. The only drawback is that I knew he wouldn't fall for that twice. He didn't. I didn't care!
He was much more dialed in for the next two matches. I managed to pull guard both times, but he kept his posture and it was only a matter of time before he got passing points. He got a loop choke from side control in the second, and after I escaped mount in the 3rd, he cross-collar choked me from his guard. My technical level just wasn't good enough to overcome his physical strength. Dude is a monster on the mats and was tapping blue belts early on.
But, damn it felt good to catch him. They were all great matches and we were both grateful to share the mats.
(I'm laughing because he made a joke about how I'm still taller than him on the 2nd place podium.)
Nogi
After that high of tapping out a legit blue belt/body builder, I was kind of burned out by the time my nogi matches were up. I also had to wait around for almost 2 hours. There were 3 other opponents, all of whom I'd have to face. First up was a 16 year old kid who's been training for over 3 years, then a guy that I knew who trains somewhere else now, and finally a white belt with MMA experience who beat one of my teammates earlier in the gi.
I must admit, I didn't take the kid seriously at first. I was thinking I didn't want to hurt him. What a stupid thought...
This young man was game. I managed to pull guard (surprise) but he was so much smaller than me that I couldn't really lock anything up. Before I knew it he was attacking my right ankle, and hard. I defended at first but he was determined, probably because he can't go for them in most tournaments because of his age. I had some opportunities to attack back or get a better position, but I gave him way too much space to work. To my count, that's the second time I wrote someone off in a tournament and paid for it. He sank that straight ankle lock and I had to tap. Well done, young man.
Next was the guy who used to train at my gym. It's been quite some time since he'd rolled with me, but I couldn't have had more than 3 stripes on my white belt. I didn't pull guard this time (real surprise!) but instead waited for him to shoot in. I defended and sprawled perfectly. Then I froze because I didn't really know what to do from there. He sat out and d'arce choked me. Now I know what to work on!
It came down to me and the MMA guy for bronze. He had beaten my other teammate in the gi and he was 1-1 so far in nogi. He lost the the kid by DQ because he accidentally slammed him. He was the only opponent who was close to my same frame, tall and skinny. Can you guess what I did next? If you said, "pull guard", good job, you get a stripe!
I know, shut up, I should learn some takedowns. Leave me alone!
Anyway, I pulled him down and within seconds I locked up another triangle. Unfortunately, this guy was almost as skinny as me, and skinny legs + skinny neck and shoulders makes it hard to finish the choke. The reason my teammate tapped out earlier is because he's super yoked and his shoulders are practically touching his neck. So I attacked the trapped arm, but he defended. I tried to sweep him with it, but he defended that too. Then I tried working the choke structure again. No result. This went on for 4 and a half minutes. That's nearly 5 minutes of holding a triangle. When the time ran out I could barely unlock my own legs, let alone stand up. I was holding on for dear life because I knew if he got out, I'd probably lose. No one scored points, but he was locked up the whole time so I got the win. It was the hardest fought bronze I've ever gotten.
(Props to the young man for getting gold. He's got a bright future in this sport.)
As always, happy rolls folks.
Oss!