#9 Pans
The person in my bracket dropped out so I got a gold medal for showing up.
Weighed in at 159lbs, 4lbs under the max for my bracket.
There were 7 women in my open class bracket. I lost my match after having my back taken while standing. I got us both to the ground as carefully as I could. Eventually I got choked out. I did some good things and had fun.
I realized I've never trained with someone on my back while standing. I wanted to keep both of us safe, but really didn't know what to do. I've practiced a back body lock escape, but not when she's already going for a choke and I need to defend my neck. I dropped to my hands and knees, which took my hands away from my neck long enough for her to get good grips on my lapel. She transitioned to a bow and arrow, which I defended. She then moved to a collar choke. It was over my ear which was causing a lot of pain and I wasn't getting out, so I tapped.
I was grateful her submission was applied slowly enough that I could tap before getting injured.
I did some good things with the stand up, stuffing a couple single leg attempts. I continue to struggle with getting anything offensive going with the stand-up game.
This was my first tournament since Master Worlds in September. That tournament wasn't fun. I applied way too much pressure on myself and it showed in my performance. I honestly worried if I could still step up to the mat and have fun in a tournament. What a relief to find the fun and joy in completing again. Competing is challenging. I love that I found my way back to loving the challenge.
I've never considered quitting BJJ, but if I did, most people would understand. I'm never 100%. I'm typically training around an injury. The surgeries I've had each could have been excuses to stop. But doing challenging things is fun, satisfying, and how I choose to evolve. I look at my uncontested medals with pride. I stepped up to the line and asked "Is there no one else?" (In my best Brad Pitt, Achilles voice. Troy is a great movie). People probably healthier and more fit than I am don't want to take on this challenge. That's not who I want to be, so finding this joy again is so satisfying.
My brain and my body are in constant disagreement about what I'm capable of, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Key Takeaways
I still need to go down in weight. I’m so short for my weight.
My standup was calm and better than it’s been, but I think I should have switched to pulling guard. I think I was over compensating for pulling too fast in other tournaments.
I had fun! It was great being back at a tournament and just focusing on having fun. I was way more relaxed this time and am looking forward to more tournaments this year.
Current goals
Win a bracket
Score a takedown
Places I visited
Gatorland - Friends insisted Gatorland was worth a visit. It did not disappoint! Over 2,000 gators! The first thing we did was watch a show and Endo was able to get close up with one of the gators. We then grabbed some gator food and fed gators as we explored the park. We especially enjoyed the rookery, where we saw so many birds with nests full of eggs. We found a couple fledglings and watched as they aggressively begged a parent for food. We ended up spending 4 hours at Gatorland and loved learning about their conservation efforts and the different ways they help animals in the region.
Restaurants I visited
Sofrito Latin Cafe – . I was there for breakfast. I enjoyed my dish, but Endo felt like his dish could have had more flavor. It was pretty good overall.
Better Than sex – Desserts! I got the Missionary Crisp. I love all things apple, so this was amazing to me. Endo got the Cookie Nookie Pie and wasn’t as impressed with his dessert. His was a little boring.
Seafood House – I love crab. This wasn’t great. Totally fine, but I wouldn’t go back. The atmosphere was fun though.
ICAFE De Paris– I thought this was very good. I had a key lime pie thing which was excellent. It’s inside of Disney Springs. Which is free to enter and essentially an outdoor disney mall. It was very busy, since it was a Saturday night.
Walker Doughnut Factory - Inside Gatorland. These were freshly made mini doughnuts. They were the perfect snack after a couple hours in Gatorland. Very satisfying.
Pollo Tropical - After our teammate won her black belt division she really wanted Pollo Tropical. It was essentially fast food caribbean food. I thought it was great! Especially the fried bananas
Upcoming tournaments:
April 12: Nashville Open
April 27: Chicago Open
May 18: Baton Rouge Open
July 20: Virginia Open
July 25: Orlando Open
Aug 29: Master Worlds
