Abu Dhabi Pro Trials Recap

I lost my match at the Abu Dhabi Trials on points. People keep telling me it's okay because I was small for the division (I weighed in with all my clothes on at 122lbs; the upper weight limit is 139), but frankly I didn't care. I entered that tournament knowing I'd be on of the smallest people there and that it wouldn't stop me.

On a somewhat positive note, I was not as upset as I could have been. For the first time in a couple of tournaments, I didn't feel the same helplessness I have felt the past 2 tournaments. I definitely "lost better" (does that make sense?) than I have in the past in that it wasn't a quick submission, I was able to block some sweeps, and some of my past weaknesses weren't as glaring or capitalized on by my opponent. I also got to see some incredible matches afterwards. Of course there were big names like Cyborg, Keenan, DJ Jackson, Tanquinho, Mackenzie Dern, etc., but one of the cool things was that I got to see some of the rising colored belts. There were some INCREDIBLE purple belt matches; it's always great to see this sport continuing to progress and to see who are going to be the future big stars.

I've already moved on and am focusing on how to prepare for the Big Apple BJJ Open in December. It's a gi and nogi tournament being put on by Shaolin. Kinda weird that it's his tournament and I'm not with his school anymore, but I didn't leave with any bad blood so it's all good!

Training has been put to a temporary halt because of Hurricane Sandy. I'm EXTREMELY thankful that my house was not hit badly; we have no power (running on a generator though) and don't expect to soon, but my house wasn't damaged and there were only a few downed trees. My thoughts go out to those near the beach who were hit much worse.

A New Mindset for Competition

Tonight was my last night of training before the Abu Dhabi Trials and Grapplers Quest this weekend. For the first time, I feel relaxed. I remember the last time I did the Trials, I looked at the competitor list and promptly bugged out. I googled all the names, tried to figure out their rank, and tried to find video footage. This time, I saw the list of girls in my division, and continued what I was doing. I don't really care who is in my division, what their games are, how tall/big the other might be, or where they train. Because frankly, it's irrelevant. I'm 121lbs right now and the upper weight limit for the Trials is 139; I know I'm going to be one of the smaller ones in my division, but who cares! Is my game going to drastically change in the next 3 days because of something I found out about them on YouTube/the Internet? Probably not!

I've realized it's best for me to just focus on implementing my game against my opponent as opposed to worrying about what they will do to me. And logically that's made sense to me for a while, but it's finally clicked in my brain. I'm relaxed and confident without feeling cocky. This time, I doubt I'll be listening to loud music while getting amped and tense before I compete. I'll probably read or listen to something calm before I go out to compete. I'll post an update after Sunday!

Also, I'd like to thank Killer Bee Gi. After emailing them to ask when their women's gi was coming out, they responded by asking if I was sponsored. Since I wasn't, they extended a sponsorship opportunity to me! This is especially great for me because I'm not getting paid right now. Without the support of Killer Bee, I would not be competing this weekend because I wouldn't be able to afford to do so. I can also honestly say that the Killer Bee Gis are awesome; they are durable, have a clean design, and are within a VERY reasonable price range. I'll post a review in the coming days, but for now, go on over to Killer Bee Gi's website to check out their selection of men AND women's gis!

Another Crazy Saturday Night

I'm sure you're looking at this post and thinking "Really? A blog post on a Saturday night?" Despite the fact that I'm 22, I am boring sometimes! AmeriCorps requires participants to average a 43 hour work week, and since my host site wasn't ready on time, I need to make up several hours by doing volunteer projects on the weekends. This means that I've been travelling from New Jersey into Manhattan and throughout the boroughs of New York City doing volunteer projects on the weekend. More often than not, I'll try and spend time with my friends who live in NYC when I'm done with the service project, and by the time I get home, I'm tired! This weekend is being spent with my family, who I rarely see now between getting up early to go to work, getting home late from training, and doing service projects on the weekends.

I only had the chance to hit the mat twice this week. Kind of a bummer, but I had to work late for a couple of nights. Not to mention I had some meetings to prepare for so I went home a little early- how grown up am I!? :D Well, I think that smiley may have negated the grown up factor...

Some people begin BJJ and quickly find out that they either favor a bottom game involving play the open/closed guard or a strong top game, which involves passing the guard and working from side mount or regular mount. I don't think I have ever really favored either approach, but I am feeling much more comfortable from half guard after training with Shaolin. Shaolin is great at half guard, and not only does he show a lot of half guard techniques in class, but I've been forcing myself to get into half guard lately. It's done wonders for my half guard game. I can't say it's my strength, but the gap between my half guard and the rest of my game has decreased tremendously. I no longer feel flustered and frustrated when in half guard, which gives me more confidence when thinking about competition.

Additionally, I've been getting better at the wrestling aspect of BJJ. I'm not doing Palhares style slams, suplexing people, or doing granby rolls around the mat, but I am no longer hesitant to go for a takedown from standing or open guard. I've been getting these takedowns with a pretty high success rate, so I'm happy this is something to add to my arsenal. Adding these aspects to my game has made me happy about my progress in BJJ and it makes me want to compete to see how these new aspects would apply in a competition setting. I believe Abu Dhabi Trials are in the beginning of November. I want to compete, but it all comes down to how much mat time I can get in between now and the event. Plus I can't find the registration page...Regardless, there is a Grapplers Quest event in December in NJ that I definitely want to do.

Oh, and two shameless pieces of propaganda:

1. There is another NYC Women's Open Mat on December 4th. Time and location TBA, but I'm definitely going!

2. Fushida, a Canadian gi company, has just come out with some new gis. They were kind enough to send me their women's gi, which fits me REALLY well straight out of the bag. It's a sharp looking gi and it's nice to see a gi company that supports women in BJJ. They put a lot of time and effort in producing this gi so I expect nothing less than awesomeness. Their new gis will be released to the public in a couple of weeks, so keep checking www.fushida.ca for updates. Expect a detailed review in the coming days regarding their women's gi.