Worlds Post, Day I & II

 How can you not get excited coming around the corner to the glassy pyramid at one of the biggest competitions of the year? Our own gladiator’s stadium, a perfectly based battlefield, humming with Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese and English sounds. On one level the competition is about you showing off and giving your brand of BJJ a name and on the other its an opportunity to admire and revel in the awesome displays on athleticism, determination, technique and discipline. What’s more, Xande is sitting over to the right with his brother and a few other guys, meanwhile Rafa runs up and down the stairs, over seeing his AOJ and Atos troops like the fearless General, Who happens to be pacing with the upper echelons of the alliance crowd. And then the Red shirts. Spotted everywhere to remind you that the Gracie name is still strong in BJJ. Despite the lack of active competitors, but hey Roger was just sitting behind me and his leg was bouncing frantically for a long time until he finally got up, rushed down to the barricade and jumped it…But hey, who is going to exit him from the arena?!
My comp day began at 9:00 with a 2 hour train ride from L.A to Long beach. Through Compton (and i survived!!). Once arrived I suit up and enter the bull pen and proceed to warm up lightly. The T.V screens in front of you have each match coming up over the next hour. You enter the bull pen once your match is listed, along with the other hundred blue belt competitors, who are spread out across 12 mats. We stand, some are visible tense, clenched, perhaps moving or twitching. All of us eyeing each other off, looking for patches, tell signs that we might be fighting in the first round. Who is the tallest, the smallest or the lightest? A yellow light next to name means fighters should be on deck. The bull pin filters into two sections, mats 1-6 on the left, 7-12 on the right. I move to the right and pass through the Gi and weight check. This area is smaller and about twenty other guys move around the space. It is hot, from the body heat, with some cometotors having already fought, or just fought. Some of them sit, some lie. I take a quick shot of honey, a swill of water and start moving the body and begin amping my motivation levels up. The gate co-ordinator calling up names. Checks you are there and your ID. Anyone missing is called over the P.A, but the noise is so loud the words get lost. 

Fights turn to orange. You are called to stand in a line, not dissimilar to one you would find at a bank. We are still outside the fight area, but by this point your opponent is opposite you. I don’t really take much notice. A quick physical survey, he’s tall, broader, heavier. All normal when fighting up a weight class. Instead I continue to play with my motivation levels, get them up a little more and think on Coach Jeroen’s advice. Action beats reaction, take the game to where you are strongest. Repeat it. Action beats reaction, take the game to where you are strongest. Green Light. We are led to the field of play. That fluorescent yellow and blue is exhilarating to look at. Especially when you have watched, Lo, Galvao, Marcello, Viera,Buchecha, all step out from similar corners, into these very arenas. You on the right the competitor on the left. The Match preceding finished and you wait. At this point you are allowed to remove your shoes, and only once the ref invites you on may you enter into the ring, and it’s quick. Everyone knows the rules, so no one goes over them you shake hands, the ref looks at the timer and we begin.

This was Something I did three times over, but, alas was not my day to bring home the shiny shine of all that glitters. But. All is not lost. I fought 2 really strong fights, passed really well and took backs. The third I let slip from my hands.It was a good fight but i just didn't or wasn't technically up to it. I leg dragged and had the solid leg drag position, but failed to hold him, or advance and capitalise and let him re guard. Then i got out and pass round his legs to the left, blocking, he was wormy so went to NS and he re-guarded. 3 rd time i pass right and similar sort of story but by this time i'm a little tired and he throws on a triangle position and i think swept somewhere in that but I can't remember. No worries, i go to defend the triangle but he wanted the arm and took it. Doh!!!!!! Still, a great day all in all, and I think with some math that puts me in the top 16 of a stacked division. And I've got something even more out of this that a medal would have only represented, which is my confidence to compete and train hard and go for it. This camp and experience for me was as much about showing up and seeing what came out and because I seriously questioned if I would ever have the physical capacity to compete at a high intensity again.

I felt fit, i fought well and was a breath away from fighting for a medal. The tournament was smooth, slick and easy to partake in and the ifbjj events are something we need more of in Australia. It has an air of professionalism about it, from the rules around the Gi, to the presentation of the arena and officials. And of course the competitors. These events bring the top competitors, especially with the new qualifying rules coming into place for 2015, people want to compete and prove themselves, which filters across the local BJJ ecosystems. It wasn't just Cobrinhas that had world class athletes in its walls. GB was host to the likes of the Estimas, Sanchez and Romulo to name a few. Imagine having just a few of those names annually visit Aus, and what it would do for the local level.   But what can I tell you from the event thus far that you might not already know? If you are not already, start training ankle locks. Inverted, straight and (yes) flying (or jumping). I have seen so many ankle locks, from half guard, inverted guard, berimbolo and they literally cut the comp ready and the not so ready apart…because even if you don’t get it a good one can a) save you from conceding 2 points if you are being swept and really threaten b) give you an advantage. Leading me to the next point. Advantages (like Jase has said pretty regularly) win fights. They are like points pretty much. Rack them up. Because the refs are super tight. So tight. Points are not easily awarded without the criteria being supremely met, where you can demonstrate actual control of the position. So knowing when an advantage is given and how to take them is super valuable. I saw a guys win in the last thirty seconds through an advantage, just wrapping an ankle, or trying a choke hard enough to get a defensive response. 

And here is an interesting one to contemplate. An Aussie guy I have been training with is a brown and won the european No-Gi weight and open just gone. He has been coming to Cobrinha’s since he was a blue. His team mate (who also travels with him annually) told Cobrinha that their were rumours he might get his black if he placed well at this comp. Cobrinha shook his head and said “why is your coach in such a rush? Under me he would still be a purple, let him be a world champion purple belt and have a lot of success.” True to form a lot of Cobrinha’s medaling browns and purples have occupied their rank for three years and up and those that are really good in their division have spent a fair while their. Some browns as long as four years, but consequently are taking the shiny stuff home. I raise this as just an interesting juxtaposition between perhaps the emphasis placed upon time spent at a particular level, in aus compared to U.S and other places. I don’t know the right amount of time or skill ment to be acquired but i think its noteworthy to mention!
Tomorrow we have the blacks. Atos is leading at the moment in the team events. Looking super good. Will get some photos and report back!