Ok so the Skirmish was this past Sunday, and the past few nights I have been working hard on the highlight video. There is a ton more footage because we had a few more people compete and several people filming, so I was pretty pumped about that. To sum up how we did in one word…slaughter comes to mind. We brought a lot of hungry wolves to the Maine Skirmish and we feasted. Over all we had around 8 trophies, 1 title belt, and an assortment of other medals. It was a true display of some classic Jiu-Jitsu. Before this competition I set a personal goal not for medals, but to take a step closer to being able to compete without nerves. In that respect I think I did well. We got there really early and I felt I could have fallen asleep in the bleachers I was so relaxed. When it came time to step on the mat, I did have a bit of butterflies in my stomach, but no where near the Freestyle Grappling Open kind. I had a total of 3 matches. My first I won by armbar 1 min 30 seconds into the match. The second I also won by armbar, this time 1 min 3 seconds into the match, virtually the same move and set up. My final match things didn’t go my way. I pulled guard and felt I could sub my opponent the same as I did to the 2 before him, but he got my right arm pinned behind my back in a very awkward position. I tried to defend his pass with one hand because the other was held behind me, but I couldn’t. He passed into side and then kept cranking the arm behind my back and I ended up having to tap before I busted something. It’s a hard match to describe, but the videos will be up on youtube soon. I encourage you all to subscribe to my Youtube channel for those videos and the unveiling of the Skirmish HL video as well!
Today is going to be a day of rest. A calm before the storm so to speak. This seems to be what I do the day before a competition…nothing. As I mentioned before I’m not super pumped for this competition, but it should be good growth for me in terms of experience. We have a significant number of people competing this time which is awesome. I love watching other people compete and catch the bug. You can always see peoples game jump several levels after they compete. I think it refocuses some people, and helps them fill in holes they may not have noticed otherwise. One great thing is I don’t have to cut any weight for this one so I’m hoping I feel stronger this time. Bri isn’t competing this time because of the lack of girls so she is going to get as much footage and pics as she can. I’ll make sure to post them all again. Stay tuned.
Let me start off first by saying Team Foundry had a great showing at the FGO this year. We took 5 competitors and walked away with 6 medals total. Out of around 27 teams that registered we took 7th overall. Not bad at all. We had some steep competition let me tell ya, no one had any easy fights. My first match I went up against a monster from team LINK. The nerves of it being my first match of the day really sapped my energy quickly and I found myself gassed and working to keep him from passing. He defeated me and went on to win thedivision. I guess that makes me feel better. My second match was against the guy who took first place last year. I had no nerves at all for this match because I was still really bummed that I lost and could no longer take 1st. I stepped out on the mat with an I don’t give a shit mentality. I ended up pulling guard after trying a take down. Worked a de la riva sweep that left me on top for the win. Now I found myself going against the guy who took second last year. This match was to decide 3rd place. He pulled guard on me and I came down really oddon my knee almost hyper extending it. It was enough to take my mind off for a split second and by the time we both were on the ground he had a triangle locked up. So I took 4th place. I really wish I had placed, but that’s how it goes. I think next year I will set a goal for myself to just medal in the FGO and then work from there. In other news soon my blog will be moving to www.jitsujourney.com. Yup thats right I purchased my own domain. Videos of my matches can be found here.
This Saturday night we all decided to do a little test run to check our weight. We didn’t eat or drink much of anything after 5pm. The next day we woke up and went down to the gym and weighed in. I was relieved when I hit the scales weighing 154.5 HELL YEAH! Finally. Now I just need to work on eating right this week and getting my energy back. No Shawn that doesn’t mean bud lite limes. The other thing that I wanted to talk about was things I do to mentally get ready for a match. We do a lot of running and extra workout stuff of course to make sure the cardio and strength is on par. The most important thing I do is visualize, and no matter what I am concentrating on at the time, it always ends with my hand raised. I hate running, but one thing I found that passes the time quicker is music. I’m sure everyone runs to their fav jams, so this isn’t out of the norm, but I do something a little different I think. I like to run to trance or progressive techno. I started doing this because I hated finding a song that matched my mood while running. Lets just say I couldn’t find a tune that said “I friggen hate running, and I’d rather been drinkin’ beeeeeeer!” So the techno I listen to has no words just a driving beat that starts slow and builds and ramps up, just like my run. Now where my visualization kicks in is every time a new layer is added to the beat I add in another step in a sequence of moves. By breaking down the different steps to a move and assigning them to a beat, I am essentially drilling technique in my head. This goes hand in hand with my game plan because the early songs will start with everything from stepping on the mat and shaking hands, to later on finishing the match and raising my hand. Then of course Jacare runs out and hoists me on his shoulders and all the Brazilians start chanting a special chant just for me. What? You don’t think of that?
It’s been a few days since our trip out to Cali and it’s been great to get back out on the mats. It’s also nice to be able to roll again full speed without having to worry about them tweaking something before such a big tourney. We have had some really good new guys showing up that are starting to learn some fundamentals and it’s great to see. A few of them got their first stripe last night and you could tell they were happy by the look on their faces. I remember getting my first stripe and how good it felt.
We had a couple guys go to the Naga Worlds right after we got back from the Pan Ams. Shawn did great as always, placing 2nd and 3rd in various divisions. He is a great competitor and it just shows the reward of competing often. I can’t wait to see him in class next time to ask him more about his wins.
The weather is getting nice outside and it’s almost time to start running again. As crazy as it sounds once I get in the swing of running I actually like it a lot. It’s one of the few things that are so simple, just you and the track. No distractions.
Like the good weather changing, the club is going through some changes as well. Noel and Missy are moving to DC in pursuit of a better life (one outside of Farmington Maine.) Justin and John will be taking over the club and keeping the Foundry name going. The location will eventually change and where to is still up in the air. This all makes me sad, but happy for them and I wish them the best of luck.
My game seems to be changing again, I can no longer play De La Riva guard on Justin he is figuring out a way to counter it right off the hand shake. I still play open, but its morphing into a more scissor type guard. One thing I feel, is as my guard has become better my escapes have become worse. This could be very true or it could just be the people who pass my guard are skilled and are getting better every day.
Tomorrow we leave for the Pan Ams. I am ready to film up a storm! Everyones matches are all spread out so we should be able to coach and tape everyone. I am going to be making a big post when we get back to fill everyone in.
PS- Missy won the Budovideos.com contest so they will be paying for her Pan Ams entry fee along with a grab bag of prizes! Grats Missy!
Thursday is coming very soon, and that means the trip to Cali and the Pan Ams is becoming more of a reality. We leave Thurs morning at 530am I believe so we have a full day of travel ahead of us. Friday it looks like Bri and Justin will be competing and Saturday Noel. Sunday should be a day of rest…erm or a bunch of badass black belt matches! Heck yes!
