Made weight tonight without any problems. Weighed in at 181.9 in the 171 to 184 weight class, and that was with board shorts and a light t-shirt on. We weighed in outside the Gracie-Barra school on what looked to be an old loading dock... pretty nippy. So, I'm glad I wasn't one of the guys who had to get down to the jockies! So, wish me luck. Tomorrow's my first tournament. No matter what happens, I'm sure to have a good time. I'll be sure to let you guys know how I did.
Okay... I'm gonna jump in the shower and head out pretty soon. Thanks for the encouragement! I told my wife that this is my first time, so I may finish pretty quick. She said that as long as I have a good time, this one's all for me and the next one can be for her. It occurred to me that she might not be talking about the tournament. I'm stoked. I feel great and am ready to go.
LOL... I knew the girls would get that right away! Well, I won 1 and lost 1. I won on points in my first match, 11-0, I think. I was smiling the entire time, even after I lost. It was awesome. I'll post it to youtube ASAP. In the second match, I went down into his guard (not sure if I got takedown points or not), got swept as I tried to pass (I got caught thinking about the choke when I should've been thinking about my base), then passed, and then as I fought to regain guard got choked out with a lapel choke. The guy who choked me out eventually took silver, losing to one of my teammates via triangle choke. I learned a lot today about how it feels to compete, and I also identified some things that I need to work on next (chokes and choke defense). I also found out that I'm BIG for my weight, and strong. If I can keep working technique, I'll definitely be able to use that to my advantage.
Video: Match 1: Win 11-0 on points. As I said, I won this one, but I did a lot wrong. I was focusing on breathing and not hyperventilating. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyIOEUMwThs"]bjj match 1 - YouTube[/ame] And Match 2: I lost pretty fast. The guy went on to take the Silver. He also mentioned that he'd been training twice as long as me. I feel pretty darn good and can't wait until the next tournament in July. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNRHKBYtGkI"]bjj match 2 - YouTube[/ame]
