February was an incredibly busy month for me. At work we had two big grant applications, which means 50 hour work weeks, and on top of that I was training 3-4 times per week, 2-2.5 hours each time. Not to mention I would miss dinner some of those days because I would run straight from work to the gym without even a small snack. This did not end well! I ended up getting sick and being completely under the weather for a couple of days. Even though I'm not sick anymore, it's only today (about 2 weeks later) that I finally don't have a runny nose. Bottom line is, don't kill yourselves people! If your body is overworked, listen to it and take some time off. Get some more sleep, and make sure you fuel your body correctly. It's pretty scary to see your own actions manifest themselves in your own body and well-being.
I competed in the Long Island Pride tournament last Saturday. I lost both of my matches by one advantage. The first person I went against immediately pulled guard. I was able to get to half guard twice but never able to fully pass. The stupid thing I did was that I kept leaning forward to stack instead of posturing up, so she got an extra advantage for a submission attempt (triangle) and one for an armbar attempt. So if I had not leaned forward, there is a better chance that I would have done better in that match. No excuses, she won fair and square, and I'm not saying that if I postured that I would have won the match, but it's something I've been working on like crazy now.
My second match was against a teammate, and we decided to go all out. I lost this match by an advantage as well, and also kept leaning forward in her guard. Needless to say, I was really upset at the end. I've never competed and lost both of my matches. A friend of mine who was coaching me took me aside and calmed me down a little, and reminded me that getting angry wouldn't help anything. I lost both my matches in VERY close situations and that if I made small improvements that there is almost guaranteed better results for next time.
The next day I hiked back out to New York City and went to open mat, where I started every matched from inside my opponent's closed guard. I was surprised at how well I was able to keep my balance by simply posturing up, which gave me a lot more confidence in my balance and base. I ended it with a 30 minute roll with a 185lb blue belt guy who was really good as using his technique and not his weight.
I'll be competing at the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials on Sunday, the New York Open on April 21st, and then at the Big Apple Open in May. My wallet hurts just typing that!
