Well the tournament is over and I did all right for myself. Took 2nd in gi, and 1st in no gi.

In my first gi match, I went against a 15 year old intermediate girl. She actually passed my guard for a brief second, I re-guarded quickly enough that no points were awarded. I then spent a minute messing with a cross choke that I didn’t have deep enough. I held on and waited until she let go of my bottom arm and shot it in. Tap.

In the finals I went up against a blue belt with a truly amazing base! This chick was keeping me on my toes! She ended up winning off points (guard pass and mount), but I didn’t give up – so I’m happy! She made comment after about my knees being everywhere – at least I made her work!

I watched the video of that match, and I should have had her several times. Twas my own fault – I goofed and she was skilled enough to take advantage. Next time!

The finals in no gi were pretty eventful! I found out halfway through that I forgot to tie my shorts – so I hope no children were scarred by seeing half my butt!

I’d like to find out who is teaching people to try to open guard by digging elbows into the inner thigh. I’d like to slap them. I was still bruised from last week and after a minute of being stuck in my guard, this chick added on a new layer. It didn’t work, but man was it annoying! Our ninja brown belt showed me a triangle setup for next time that happens.

Eventually, I opened guard, shrimped out, and we both stood up. I jumped half guard and managed to snag a funky “armbar from hell” for the tap.

I also found out that the girl I beat in no gi finals took 3rd at worlds this year. Kudos!

So I ended up leaving with a silver medal, a battle ax, and a t-shirt. I skipped the absolute category because my gut was telling me it was a bad idea – and when I don’t listen to my gut, injuries happen. They let me have a t-shirt instead.

So no more tournaments until the Atlanta opens in Sept – which I need to register for asap. But to pacify myself, I’m flying to LA next month – gonna go to Disneyland with my bro and his family, hang with a teammate, and train some with Eddie Bravo. Twill be a most excellent week!