Made my purple belt debut February 1st/this past weekend at US Grappling Submission Only Greensboro.
Won my first match in the combined -162 weight class then lost to a teammate in the final.
Won my first match from knee on belly to setting up the lapel choke, Brabo-whatever-you-call-it then sliding over into mount.
I also lost in the 1st round of the absolute.
My opponent pulled guard pretty low and hit the outside of my knee (the non-surgery knee which has some collateral damage from years of training across Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and my 5 MMA fights).
I spent the time in his closed guard trying to determine if my knee was okay and got caught in a triangle which he eventually finished with an armbar.
The Takeaway: I should've pulled guard immediately in the absolute because as the guys get bigger, I'm a bit more hesitant on the feet in the event exactly what happened happens: pull guard and launch into my leg/knees.
Going forward, I'll be pulling guard immediately rather than be worried someone takes a flying jump toward my knee(s).
At any rate, I learned a bunch which is the most important part and got my first 3 matches at purple under my belt.
US Grappling runs great tournaments minus pretty much all the things we hate about Jiu-Jitsu tournaments: start late, poor refereeing, et cetera.
Submission Only, in particular is awesome.
I got to see a bunch of black belt submission only matches and a lot of great, solid Jiu-Jitsu.
Won my first match in the combined -162 weight class then lost to a teammate in the final.
Won my first match from knee on belly to setting up the lapel choke, Brabo-whatever-you-call-it then sliding over into mount.
I also lost in the 1st round of the absolute.
My opponent pulled guard pretty low and hit the outside of my knee (the non-surgery knee which has some collateral damage from years of training across Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and my 5 MMA fights).
I spent the time in his closed guard trying to determine if my knee was okay and got caught in a triangle which he eventually finished with an armbar.
The Takeaway: I should've pulled guard immediately in the absolute because as the guys get bigger, I'm a bit more hesitant on the feet in the event exactly what happened happens: pull guard and launch into my leg/knees.
Going forward, I'll be pulling guard immediately rather than be worried someone takes a flying jump toward my knee(s).
At any rate, I learned a bunch which is the most important part and got my first 3 matches at purple under my belt.
US Grappling runs great tournaments minus pretty much all the things we hate about Jiu-Jitsu tournaments: start late, poor refereeing, et cetera.
Submission Only, in particular is awesome.
I got to see a bunch of black belt submission only matches and a lot of great, solid Jiu-Jitsu.
