Wanna see a Bible teacher get choked out??
So I competed at NAGA (North American Grappling Association) Georgia this weekend and while I’m still technically a white belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu, I wanted to challenge myself. So I competed in the Blue Belt division for the first time.
I competed in the Master’s (30+ years old), Lightweight (150-159.9 lbs) division in both No-Gi and Gi events. I normally walk around at about 170, so I had to cut about 11 lbs. I tapered down my diet the two weeks leading up to the event so two days out I only needed to cut about 5 lbs. of water weight. Cutting weight is by far the least enjoyable part of any combat sport, and I was SOOO glad when I made weight and was then able to go rehydrate and eat two dinners! 🙂
It was a one day event so the entire morning and early afternoon was taken up by the kids and teenagers divisions. My division ended up starting around 3:30pm. I was happy because my old college roommate and good friend Kyle was able to make it out to see me compete…as well as get video of my matches! He also came through in the clutch by bringing me a Cliff bar (I was STARVING!).
I ended up losing my match in the No-Gi event (that’s where you compete in shorts rather than in the traditional jiujitsu uniform and belt). Here’s the video:
[Note: the video quality is poor because I wanted to upload them quickly. And I don’t know why only the 2nd video came out at the correct aspect ratio, but I’ll try to get HD quality versions up when I have the time.]
I was happy in that I defended all of his submission attempts and was able to get the sweep and attempt a couple of my own, but I wasn’t happy with my positioning or control of my opponent. I spent too much time defending and not enough time attacking. That’s something I’ll be working on in the coming months for sure.
When it came time for the Gi event, I lost my first match (video below) but won my second match…which, coincidentally, was against the guy who beat me in No-Gi! So I ended up winning a bronze medal.
Here’s my first match…which ends with me going to sleep! Haha!
For those who aren’t familiar with Brazilian Jiujitsu, for the first part we’re trying to establish good grips/positioning in order to take the each other down. Once I have secured a good grip for a baseball choke I drop to the ground and roll away from my opponent in order to tighten the choke and get him to tap. My grip/positioning wasn’t correct though, and he was able to break the hold. Before I could counter, he slipped in a sleeve choke beneath my neck and cinched it down tight. I remember thinking that I wasn’t going to be able to break it, so I should tap…the next thing I remember, I’m looking up at the ref (who, coincidentally, is my friend David’s instructor up at FTW in Concord and is a black belt under Royce Gracie!) who’s holding my legs and chuckling a little because when I went out apparently I had a grin on my face! 🙂 Contrary to what you might imagine, the few seconds I was out was one of the most peaceful feelings I can ever remember having!
Here’s my 2nd match against the guy who beat me in No-Gi:
I got the takedown and towards the end you can’t see it because of the camera angle, but I had a toe hold locked in pretty tight, but wasn’t able to finish it. I end up winning based on the takedown and control and positioning on the ground. Not the most exciting match, but it was nice to actually WIN a match that day!
Hopefully I’ll do better in a few months when I’ve had time to review the videos with my instructor and work on some specifics of my game!
All of the guys I competed against were extremely nice and the one who choked me out, Gary, had a pretty cool story. He’d had to step away from Jiujitsu for much of the past year because he had cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy! He pulled through and the cancer was in total remission! I was glad to hear his story and hoped he’d win 1st place. But, interestingly enough, in his match for 1st his opponent submitted him with the exact same choke that he got me with! So he ended up taking silver instead.
It was a good experience all around and NAGA runs a very well-organized and competitor-friendly tournament all around. I hope to compete again in the future, perhaps in their next Georgia event in October…
Anyway, many thanks to my friends who supported me financially (Tonya, Michael, Michael, Scott and David!) and to my friends in Atlanta who let me stay at their place the night before (Lem and Anna!). And thanks to my instructor, Derek Richardson, and training partners at Leadership Martial Arts (you know who you are!) as well as the guys who beat me up many Thursdays out at Warriors MMA in Monroe, NC!
Categories: Blog, Martial Arts, Random/Funny
[…] that I got choked unconscious with in a previous tournament (which you can read about and watch HERE! haha!). It was a quick victory and I was glad to have won a […]
by Disciple Dojo – JMSmith.org » My tournament this past weekend (vids included!) on Jan 30, 2012 at 7:16 pm