IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship part2of2

What a great experience!

Silver! The score of the final match was 0-0 with no Advantages awarded. My opponent was very good and definitely more technically sound than myself. I am proud that even with all her knowledge I did not allow her to find a way to submit or score points.

Thank you to Fabricio Werdum and the Combat Team for all the coaching, training and support. A special thank you to Lucas Pires! I learn so much from you! I am truly grateful.

Also a big thanks to Andrew Hagar, Marcelo Crudele, Jill Morely, Kim Mills, Melissa Abad, Elani Streja.

Fight Psychology:

Lately I have been finding myself working on the right frame of mind to go for the Gold.  To be honest in my two No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu tournaments when leading up the final round I was already thinking that I have done pretty well all things considered; that Silver was good enough.

Now of course Silver is good enough.  But I do not believe it does me any service to think that way when I should be giving all I have to win the final round. That being said, I do believe that the losses I have would still have been losses even with a more positive competitive mindset.  The women that have won over me have been technically better, bigger, stronger.  They earned their wins.

So today I found myself pushing the mental side of my game.  Before each match I reminded myself that I came here to do all I could to take First Place. I needed to put into play that which has been taught to me to win one battle at a time. Though I did not do everything right, I did not do anything wrong. I was pleased that I was able to maintain a calm throughout and have fun.  I used my knowledge and physical abilities in the best way I could and I learned so much.  It is because of this that on this day, Silver is definitely Good Enough. 

 

IBJJF Pan Jiujitsu Championship part1of2

Tomorrow is the IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Irvine California.  This will be my second Gi tournament and fourth overall.  My first Gi tournament was Nationals last September in which I was subjected to a triangle choke fairly quickly by my first and only opponent.  It was a hard loss for my ego but after a day of "woe is me, am I built for this?", I wanted to be back on the mats for more learning and I was looking forward to the next opportunity at competition.

I put on a Gi the end of June last year.  I had had some No-Gi training off and on before then. Sporadically for about a year at Krav Maga but then I left fight training all-together for about eight to nine months.  Currently I am a 'Baby' Blue having just been promoted mid-December to Blue Belt by Lucas Pires at Werdum Combat Team. 

It will be interesting to see how I handle myself against women who have probably been training longer than myself and women who are under 118lbs with Gi on.  I hope to get past the first round for many reasons mostly having to do with making my coaches and teammates proud.  But also I want the opportunity to move around with girls my size and to learn what that feels like.  There are not that many women in competitive combat sports and then you factor in experience levels and weight classes and geography and what you find is that it is hard to get fights in Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA.

That there will be nineteen women in my division is a thrilling opportunity if I can stay on the mats to go a few rounds!

But there is no pressure but to learn and grow from this experience for which I am grateful.

I hope the calm I feel during training, the calm I am feeling this evening before tomorrow will stay with me when it is time to put into practice that which has been taught to me. 

All of us know all that we can know, need to know for any given situation at any particular moment.  Acknowledging, Accessing and Making Use of what we know is the challenge. 

So I cannot worry about what I have not yet learned.

Tomorrow will be fun!

theFighterThinks...

We do not get to pick and choose those we love or that which we love to do. Though most of us volunteer to being loved, loving is an involuntary emotion. For better or worse, passion cannot be imposed nor will it be tamed.