My first blue belt tournament went down last weekend at Sumner High School at the Revolution. Now for those of you that don't live in Washington, the Revolution is kind of a big deal around here (wow I sound like one of those redneck dudes from Texas talking about HS football). We don't have any fancy IBJJF events, Grappler's Quest, or even a NAGA tournament, what we have is an awesome brown belt by the name of Jeff who has built an event from the ground up and has given us an outlet to compete in BJJ. This one was no different. I have to admit that after 9 tournaments as a white belt, this was the most nervous I had ever been, but I didn't let anyone know this. The main reason being was I didn't know what to expect. As a white belt, I knew what my skills were and I knew that my opponent more than likely had just about as much experience as me (give or take) or far less. However, this does not work at the other levels where the guys could range anywhere between 2-5 yrs of experience. How do you compete with that or even prepare? So I went into my first match with the knowledge that the guy I was fighting has beaten a few of the guys at my school that can beat me. Thanks Alex! :) He also had four stripes on his blue belt. The match started out well with me controlling him in my guard, but I didn't have a strategy or coach so I winged it and needless to say I lost via bow and arrow. The second match I came back from a 4 point deficit to lead 6-4, but also was overcome by experience with another choke. The main point I guess (just thought I would update you guys), is that I am back to square one. I recently had a talk with a friend of mine about this and his exact statement was "welcome to being the bitch white belt all over again!", and he is exactly right. In fact, at this stage in my blue belt I am just a glorified white belt. I can trounce on a white belt all day, but by lack of experience the same will happen to me from a competent and seasoned blue. The thing I learned as a blue belt is that you can learn tricks and beat a white belt with them...my spider guard was dominant, but more than likely a good blue will know how to handle it. Meaning you can rush a lot of things as a white belt and even bypass some basics to win, but as you reach those higher levels it all comes down to mat time and experience. Fact! I am back to being the little pup, against a whole heap of Great Danes...and nothing is going to change that but time on the mat and hard work. Good thing about that is I am ready for it, and will be getting it in this summer at least 7-8 times a week in preparation for the next Revolution, Boston Open, and the US Open. I know I am back to square one, but hard work will eventually allow me to get to the top in no time.
