The King of Grappling tournament is in 10 days and I’m not ready! Curses! I am still missing a gameplan, which is my goal in the next 3 days. I wonder if any of you guys will be there! Please come say hi to me if you are!!
I nearly made my goal of 15 days in jiu jitsu this past month. I got to 15 classes over a period of 14 days. Unfortunately this week I had a medical condition that came up and is finally recovered, so I’ll be heading back to class tonight. Still, not at all bad!
I love Streaks!
In any case, I’m not dreading the King of Grappling tournament. I’m looking forward to it. They have some prizes for the women posted now – there’s a $50 gift certificate for the Isami store, and a $150 boil and bite mouth guard. Whatever happens, I’m going to do my best. I don’t expect to win if I go up against someone with more tournament and nogi experience, but I also don’t expect to do poorly. Ultimately I feel like I CAN win, but as it is my first tournament, I don’t EXPECT to win.
I mentioned that I rarely do nogi. I decided to record myself and put it up for everyone to see. I remember when I first recorded myself and put up a video of me rolling. It felt EMBARRASSING. Now, not so much.
The guy in the video is also a blue belt, and I think he’s around 10 lbs heavier than me. The magical grappling spats are by Pony Club Grappling Gear. Slideyfoot did a marvelous review of them on his site. Yes, I make some dumb mistakes (“Would you like me to gift wrap my back for you? No? Okay, you can just have it.”), but watching it didn’t pain me like it used to.
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NXFFmWnECs]
If you watch, I would really love to hear some positive feedback. I already know many of the mistakes I made, and at this point would like to know at which points, in nogi, does it look like I’m doing fair to middling.
What is your gameplan for nogi tournaments? I would sincerely love to hear more about gameplans. Mine is lacking existence.
“Whatever happens, I am going to do my best.” You have a gameplan. That is your gameplan. You are more ready than you know…;)))
Thank you!!!
My game plan is pretty much limited to pull guard, work armbar/triangle/kimura, try to get back. Try to choke. Take whatever they give me.
But I guess it would be smart to just roll for points. I find people get sweaty really quick and its hard to keep a grip to attempt any kind of submission.
My friend Dirty Rancher suggested: go for control. Don’t rush, and don’t give up. I really hate trying to escape from nogi guard. Haaate. Prefer mount escapes. Not sure why.
When he took your back arund 1:50, he had his ankles crossed. I’m a dumb white belt, so you both look phenomenal to me. If I was going against him, he would have eaten me for breakfast.
Also, your spats are fabulous.
Yep. I noticed that, which is why I lifted my leg to put them over it. ^_^ Thank you for the kind words!
I feel ya girl. My last tournament was as a white belt. And I refuse to see my videos.
My next competition is planning to be this month. As a blue belt. And after my dark and twisty time. I’m concerned about making weight. My therapist doesn’t think it’s safe for me to be cutting and such a time.
You’ll kick ass though.
What if you’re not cutting but instead eating well? Like – cut sugars and wheat? Perhaps just bump yourself up to the next weight level rather than deal with that extra added stress.
Some day you should watch your video. Either a) it will not be as bad as you think b) it will be as bad as you think and you can congratulate yourself on your improvement c) it will be worse than you think and you can be overjoyed at how much better you’ve become.
Did my comment go through…?
Ok…I’m going to guess no. I had two comments – one is that I am crazy in love with those spats and find them to be marvellously distracting in their awesomeness! What size are you wearing? I think we are a similar body shape even though I’m a bit taller/heavier than you.
In regards to a game plan, I recommend having an objective from standing (pull a guard/sweep combo, or work tk, etc.). Beyond that, I think it is okay to just go with the flow, do your best, and have fun — especially in your first tournament.
Nope! Not sure why. Only these two. Yes, I love these spats. They’re size medium. I’m curious as to how the smalls fit. These are mediums. I’ll post my calf/thigh/hip circumference later tonight. These are not TIGHT, but they fit well. The top is slightly loose – I’d like them to be somewhat grippier. I feel like my bum might fall out sometimes. ^_^
I’m considering just sitting down. The upside: I have the most anxiety about takedowns and would bypass that. (gah! That anxiety feeling is washing through me right this second). The downside is not confronting that fear and always wondering. So…I will likely try a single or double leg takedown and face that fear head on. Thinking about it, that feels right for me. I think that confronting that fear/unknown is actually more important to me than to simply win or do well. Is that weird?
I would venture to say that most girls are going to be in your shoes as to being uncomfortable doing takedowns. (I’m a girl, and I mostly see girls pulling guard, though there’s always at least one that does the super aggressive charge double-leg.) Are you more comfortable being on top or bottom? Where do you usually get your submissions from? If bottom, then you shouldn’t feel bad about pulling guard at all – try not to just sit down – grab an arm or a leg or something and sit down at an angle so that you swing them off balance at the same time. If top, then by all means, go for the takedown, but have a plan B to transition out of there if they sprawl and stuff it. I would say go through each position (guard, mount, back, side, top and bottom) and have a go-to move ready for each, so you don’t have to do any thinking if your brain decides not to work during the competition. Try to make your moves first rather than waiting to react to what your opponent does. Always good to stay a step ahead. Good luck girl!
Thank you for your advice! I can definitely see people either going extra cautious or SUPER AGGRESSIVE! ^_^ I was just shown an AWESOME finish from side – and I’m always in side and never seem to get a finish from there. It’s a great N/S choke that sets up from there, and not too hard to remember. Thank you for your advice. I HOPE I get to use any of it – as of yesterday I was the only one signed up, but registration is until midnight tonight, so – fingers crossed.
Your measurements would be useful – based on their size on the website, I would be a large for sure. Not that it’s in stock anyway. 🙁
That’s not weird at all!
I agree with approaching it like Chrissy says. Whatever route you decide to take (pull/TD), be sure to do some sparring from standing!
Have fun! =D
Forgive me for being a little bit Zen, but I believe one of the best gameplans is to “just do it” and see what happens by analyzing your strengths and directing the game there. The best advice I ever received in no gi was to use the 2 on 1 grip FOR EVERYTHING. When I tie up, 2 on 1, when I pass or put my hands on a limb, 2 on 1, etc. This at least guarantees you having twice the leverage and avoids making things a purely strength game. I have also had a lot of success when passing no gi to place my head right in the sternum of my opponent, especially if they play butterfly. You have a lot of ground intelligence and play a good game, plus, as everyone else has said, your spats look great and might I add, you have a great haircut. Best of luck, you have great insight and we can’t wait to hear of your successes and the things you learned!
Yeah! I’ve heard that before. It was emphasized twice in the last week, yours was the 3rd time. I’ll definitely try to use that advice.
You and your spats look fabulous!
Yay thanks!