So today was the 1st Seattle Open tournament ever in Rodrigo's new gym over in Sodo. Not only was the new location noice (lol), but the tournament actually turned out to be pretty legit. The whole point of me doing this tournament was to get myself mentally ready for the US Open in two weeks, and I think mentally it got me where I needed to be, sorta. So I'm writing this just to give you a recap of everything that went on (in my head and out), enjoy!
12:01am: while looking on the Gracie Barra Seattle website, I realized that the tournament was actually legit and that you needed to register two days ago (in which I didn't)...first time I started to actually worry.
7:00-8:00am: woke up feeling good, shoulder was a little sore, but all in all I felt good. After several unsuccessful attempts to wake Tina up to come to the tourney, I grabbed a Clif bar and bounced.
8:15-9:30am: After a brief conversation with Rodrigo and Jeff I managed to work my way into the medium heavy bracket of the tourney and felt good I was competing. I decided not to lie and say I did register just to keep my integrity solid for future incidents. Weigh-ins began and I came in at a whopping 193lbs...yikes! Must have been the poop or extra water I guzzled down...who knows. I left the house at 185 without gi, and I was basically wearing the lightest gi on the market right now. Might have to watch myself these next two weeks. Don't wanna be overweight at the US Open (not after all that cashmuuuuny I spent).
10:00am: tourney started and after recognizing the two wrestlers that have killed me in the past, a bit of nervousness began to settle in. Not to mention Micah had just given me a gift (will tell in different post), so I felt like I had to prove myself. The white belt division started immediately since we were the largest group, and it seemed like I managed to get bracketed well (since my hardest fight, was my last).
10:45-11ish: my fight started around this time give or take. I went up against some guy from some school...didn't really care. When I fight I'm nervous as heck, and the only thing I think about is my game plan, which in this case was points. I immediately pulled guard and worked my spider guard, which surprisingly worked well. I pulled off a couple of sweeps which led me mount both times, where I managed to stay. I went for a rather sloppy armbar from mount, in which rolled me onto my back, but I still managed to recover and sink in a tight armbar as he was standing. Note: opponent did scream, and I was up 12-0.
11:30am: I had my second match vs a better and stronger opponent from West Coast Fight Club out of Bellingham. Right before this match I almost threw up I was so nervous. Luckily, Dr. Abel (one of my instructors) was there to keep me calm. So in this match I again pulled guard and worked my spider game again. I'm finding out that if I work this a little more I "could" be a real threat in the future. My opponent was doing very well although he couldn't break my grip or pass, but he was doing better than the guy before me by keeping his elbows tight. I did get a sweep on him and managed to land in side mount, and to be honest, he was very hard to keep down. If I would have lost my cool, I would have been done for...maybe. He then managed to get out at one point and get side mount on me (who knows), but because of my squirrel technique I managed to get out, and at that time I was pissed! He tried to take my win away is what I said to myself. After the little fiasco at the Texas Open, that wasn't happening again. I managed to get spider guard again and swept him. I then transitioned from side mount to north-south and sank in a pretty devastating clever choke to end the fight.
12ish: nervousness was replaced by fatigue by the time I was up for my last match. I didn't care the guy had out wrestled everyone before me, I didn't care he was a 4 striper with a pretty crusty belt and gi, I didn't even care that there was blood all over the damn thing, and I sure didn't care that the match was for first place...I just wanted to go home and take a shower. The match started with me pulling guard (shocker) and actually giving him a hard time in the spider guard position. After we were sitting there for like a minute I decided to make a move, cause as a wrestler I knew he was waiting on me. I setup a very week triangle and he managed to pass my guard. I rolled into turtle and just let played "try to submit me" for another 4 minutes. I did manage to reverse him, but he used his agility to get to his knees. By that time the match was over, I got 2nd and the better man won. Next time. Note: there were plenty of times he did run away from my guard. I don't know whether this was so he could play his game or if it was more because he didn't know how to stop it. I have to ask Micah about that.
What I learned:
1. Tighten up my spider guard game. There are many holes that I noticed while competing today that I need to fill. Not because I think that a white belt would ever capitalize on them, but because it needs to be done to get me to the next level.
2. Find a way to keep my nerves under control. Today was the first time I have ever almost thrown up and that is not a good look. I allowed so much to get to me and my anxiety levels went up to the point where I almost cried. This hasn't happened to me since boot camp...and back then it was crippling.
3. Warm up properly. Yeah, not much to say here. I was sore as hell when I came home today, not fun.
Overall it was a good experience. I was not too satisfied with my performance, but that's just me, I am my worst critic. One thing I did like was that I wasn't thinking...I was actually on auto-pilot the whole time. This is a huge breakthrough for me, and may be a sign I'm on my way to the next level. We will see.
