Post by R. Devane on Feb 3, 2013 21:22:34 GMT
Stephen and I went to Bristol, UK yesterday to take part in the Spartan Grapple Challenge 9. It was a good opportunity for me to brush up on my grappling skills and to gain more experience ahead of my fight on 16th March in Newcastle. I was impressed with the standard of competitors and most of them seemed to be dedicated BJJ'ers. This was the third no-gi comp I've entered. The first one I got gold, the second one I got bronze but this time I didn't medal. However, I performed better at this event than the previous ones. Without sounding like a sore loser, the ref's decisions were opinion based. They didn't use the normal points scoring system and simply declared whoever they felt won.
Stephen and I didn't try to cut weight and simply weighed in as was. We both competed at a weight category above our normal weight because we were smack bang between 2 categories. We were of course in the more advanced sections but I bet there were advanced fellas sneaking into the under 1 year experience section. There were some big boyos with big muscles there. All 100% natural I'm sure!
Stephen felt that in the past he didn't push the pace enough and he probably pushed it too much this time. He didn't settle and went for the takedowns early. Poor Ste lost 2 fights to Darce chokes. His opponents seemed very experienced.
I was in the light heavyweight section (I fight at middleweight normally but have to cut to make that). I felt like the smallest in the section. My first fight went the distance. I tried plenty of subs and gave it a good blast. It was close but the ref chose my opponent. I’ll post up the fight on MAI YouTube Channel as soon as possible and you guys can let me know what you think? www.youtube.com/martialartsinc
My second fight was a bit more one sided. I was on top position for the whole round. I probably could have taken more risks but felt I had it won. I was surprised when the ref decided it was a draw and required an extra 2 mins. I wanted to ensure the victory so I scored a take down early and again kept top position for the rest of the round. The ref said it was still a draw and that was the end of that. Both my opponents were good and so were all of the competitors in my section. I didn’t win the comp but I definitely felt I didn’t lose. It was a good tester and as always, I did very well for a striker
Thanks to Louise for the support and the coaching. Thanks to Stephen who is always good company on these trips. Thanks to everyone that’s grappled with me this year and helped me to get ready. Thanks to the MAI members that have an interest in my competitive career.
Stephen and I didn't try to cut weight and simply weighed in as was. We both competed at a weight category above our normal weight because we were smack bang between 2 categories. We were of course in the more advanced sections but I bet there were advanced fellas sneaking into the under 1 year experience section. There were some big boyos with big muscles there. All 100% natural I'm sure!
Stephen felt that in the past he didn't push the pace enough and he probably pushed it too much this time. He didn't settle and went for the takedowns early. Poor Ste lost 2 fights to Darce chokes. His opponents seemed very experienced.
I was in the light heavyweight section (I fight at middleweight normally but have to cut to make that). I felt like the smallest in the section. My first fight went the distance. I tried plenty of subs and gave it a good blast. It was close but the ref chose my opponent. I’ll post up the fight on MAI YouTube Channel as soon as possible and you guys can let me know what you think? www.youtube.com/martialartsinc
My second fight was a bit more one sided. I was on top position for the whole round. I probably could have taken more risks but felt I had it won. I was surprised when the ref decided it was a draw and required an extra 2 mins. I wanted to ensure the victory so I scored a take down early and again kept top position for the rest of the round. The ref said it was still a draw and that was the end of that. Both my opponents were good and so were all of the competitors in my section. I didn’t win the comp but I definitely felt I didn’t lose. It was a good tester and as always, I did very well for a striker
Thanks to Louise for the support and the coaching. Thanks to Stephen who is always good company on these trips. Thanks to everyone that’s grappled with me this year and helped me to get ready. Thanks to the MAI members that have an interest in my competitive career.
Well done again guys!
