2012 Looks Kind of Blue!

Tonight was one of the best nights of my life. I feel like I have accomplished something. All the blood, sweat, frustration, obstacles and health issues I have over come this year have driven me to this point to get my Blue Belt.

Billy, who competed with me in our first tournament, got his Blue belt tonight as well.

After Tim, did the belt ceremony we ran the guantlet of our training partners. One minute with each and just enough time to smile in between before we got attacked by another eager opponent.

A special congratualtions is in order for all who got stripes as well, Mark, who got his 4th stripe, before going to Royler Gracie's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu camp in Brazil. Charlie and Zach also got stripes tonight. Well deserved!

This was definately not one of my 2012 goals, but it is once again a good indicator for 2012! I couldn't have done this without the support of my wife, who talked me out of quitting several times in the beginning,Tim for his instruction and knowledge, and the friends I train with at Swamp Fox BJJ, who keep me training and leaving it all on the mats.

2012 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Goals and Quick Tips on How to Keep Them

With the New Year just around the corner, it is time to make those New Year resolutions. Most people are going to continue making the same resolutions about weight loss, financial stability, to quit smoking or drinking, to find love or maybe even learn a new language. These are some of the usual New Year resolutions, but I wanted to see if there have been many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu resolutions set and what some of the examples were.

43things.com is a site where people can document things they would like to achieve as goals. I did a couple of quick searches for BJJ and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and this is the result of the inquiry: 

 64% of people want to start training or learn BJJ

25% of people want to earn the next belt ranking

6% want to Compete or win their division in tournament

"When setting a long-term goal, find the pace necessary to achieve it." Rickson Gracie

 Based on statistics and previous data I have found 78% of people never complete their resolution. That means, three out of those four people that wanted to learn/start Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will never do it. That is an eye-opening statistic!

I think people make these goals just like any other goal, just with broad vision and specifics. Many people rather deal in generalities than in specifics. Zig Ziglar says, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”

It is okay if you want to earn your next belt, which is an admirable goal to have. How would you go about achieving getting your next belt level? What are some steps to take to start training and learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

Here are some quick tips to achieving your goals:

1)      Make them SMART Goals (Specific, Manageable, Attainable, Realistic, Trackable)

2)      Write them down-

         Studies show that you are 80% more likely to achieve your goals if you write

         them down

3)      Tell a friend-

    Who else to hold you accountable and keep you on track other than a friend?

4)      Post them up somewhere-

           This is just a reminder to keep you focused

5)      Set small goals to achieve the big ones

            Once you achieve some small goals you start to feel a sense of completion and

            Getting some momentum going your way

6)      Reward yourself

     When you achieve success, reward yourself with a magazine, CD, or whatever      you want.

Some of my goals this year:

1) Post at least one article and try my best to keep the blog updated

   I am hoping to do some interviews and product reviews for 2012

2) Achieve 200 hours of mat time ( that is at two times per week)

This is something that I think is achievable with my current schedule. It will give me the mat time that I so need.

3) Drill techniques 50 times each side

I am hoping to accomplish this on Sundays to improve my fundamentals

4) Compete in at least two tournaments

Uncertain how unstable the beginning of the year will be with my family, but

 I will definitely do some towards the end of the year. I was only able to compete in one tournament this year.

5) Visit at least a couple of schools in some different areas either for Seminars or just to train

This is something I have wanted to do for a couple months now,

Now that the baby is getting old enough to travel, am hoping I can hit up some during vacation

            6) Improve my note taking

          Get in the habit of taking notes and jotting down techniques. I do it but not all the time. 

7)  Try to get my Crossfit back on track

           That is one area of training I think that has helped my cardio and Jiu jitsu skills

8)  CLEAN my diet up!

           When I eat like crap, I roll like crap and have no energy. Before I fell off the wagon and went into a diet coma, I had a ton of energy and could roll several rounds and not worry about a break

9)  Take some private lessons
I think this will point out some errors I have been making

                
What are some of your goals for 2012? How do you plan on achieving them?

          

         

To Compete Or Not To Compete, That Is The Question.

Yesterday, I decided to get some advice from one of my friends, Mike B, a blue belt from the school. I bounced the idea of competing in some upcoming tournaments in January and February.

The discussion about competing lead to a couple of topics:

1)      My home life is still unpredictable with the new born and parenting. This would impact my training and preparation for the tournament

2)      I am currently not in “Competing shape” I have managed to lose a step or two and gain a pound or 10 during my hiatus while doing my fatherly duties at home.

If I compete on January 28^th, the tournament weight class is 200-215lbs, I am currently 228lbs. That means at least 13 lbs in 5 weeks, which is doable.

As far as the training aspect goes, I believe a good 3-4 rolling and drilling sessions per week would get make me for more comfortable for the tournament. The only issue with training is I will miss spending time with my daughter and would be putting extra burden on my already stressed out wife.

The upcoming NAGA in Atlanta is February 18^th, and seems to be a little more feasible as far as me competing. The only issue with this is that there will be a lot more fairly skilled opponents than me, and right now, I just do not think my technique or cardio will be on point to handle the 5-minute rounds.

The academy is closed starting 12/22 and will re-open at the beginning of the New Year.

That is 10 days not rolling, but I can do some drills at the house or something.  I am having a conflict part of me want to compete, and the other half of there is a that little bit of doubt and fear in my current capabilities.

I have set a deadline to try to have answer for myself by January 18^th   for  the tournament coming up on January 28th.  I think this will be enough time to try and evaluate my rolling and conditioning. And as for the NAGA in Atlanta, I am going to play that one by ear and try to train enough to make sure I can compete.

Any suggestions as to what to do?

First Tournament Results

Well,  last weekend I competed in my First tournament and I had an absolute blast despite being really nervous.I was so nervous, I thought I was going to throw up on the way to Myrtle Beach and while I was weighing in at the tournament.

I made it through the weigh ins at 213lbs, which is where I wanted to be and started looking at the competition that had signed up, only 3 people in my division. One of which was, Billy, another white belt from my school. He and I would square off against each other in the 200-225lb division and have several matches to boot.

Billy lost his first match by points, and that set me up to go against my first opponent.We squared off and slapped hands and the crowd went silent. My heart beat was echoing in my ears and my breathing was erratic. I kept trying to get the take down, and pulled a very sloppy guard. There was a back and forth exchange of positions and we ended up back on our feet. I managed to grab a leg and get the single leg take down. I tried several kimuras from the top and got swept. He left his arm in and ended up getting him in a triangle. After watching the video and getting some feedback from everyone at my school, I missed several opportunities earlier in the match to go for a triangle.

I was on an high as I rolled into gi and submitted the same guy with a triangle I had submitted in no-gi. Then Billy and I faced off, there were several reversals back and forth. He got me in an Omaplata and rolled out and got side control. Eventually I caught my friend in a key lock and won the match by submission to take 1st in Gi. Do not worry Billy got his revenge on me in the Absolute white belt

  Going into white belt absolute, I was more nervous for this division. I ended up going against a guy that was about 175lbs and who seemed to me to be the Flash, disguised as a white belt. He was all over me and I could not shake him. He had my back and racked nice cushion of lead of 9-0. I ended up trying to escape and forgot to block his leg and ended up in a triangle. Ironic, huh?

Then Billy came back, and took third place in absolute, by defeating with an arm bar submission. By this point my cardio was shot and I was tired and hungry.

I ended up with 2 first place finishes and a not so bad showing in absolute for my first time. Overall, I am proud to have finished like I did. I never would have thought that I would have ever got enough nerve and would have ever been this physically ready to do something like this. I have exceeded a goal and met my biggest fear by doing this tournament. Now, unfortunately, I have the bug and I want to compete again! Congratulations to Billy, for a great showing in his first tournament!

Things to work on before my tournament:
1) Cardio- Back to Crossfit and Rolling more
2) Game plan- Get one and use it
3) BREATH!!!!
4) Drill my escapes over and over
5)Do the best I can, and learn from what I did wrong

Any and all feedback is welcome and let me know your thoughts on my performance or any tips that you would give me to work on for my next tournament. 

Upcoming Tournament, This weekend!

I was out of town all last week in Virginia and did not get a chance to train at all. Now I am back in good ole South Carolina, and back to hitting the mats and the weights in preparation for this tournament this weekend at Myrtle Beach, SC.

This is my first tournament and I definitely felt the butterflies earlier in the week. After talking with all the guys they reassured me I would do fine and I probably would have some adrenaline rush and gas out early. It actually felt like I was already competing; I was sweating and my heart rate was through the roof since from listening to them describe my first tournament.

I then turned to internet for guidance and searched through several blogs I follow, and read everything I could about tournaments and competing in all of them. It was nice to see all the people that have competed for the first time and survived to compete again, and kept us newbies informed so that we can learn from their experiences.

Preparation for this tournament is nil, but I am going in with no expectations and will definitely learn from this weekend. My mind has been racing all week with antici......................pation (using my Dr. Frankenfurter voice).

After 8 months of training, here I am face to face with something I thought I would never do. This is a milestone for me in my life. Win, lose or draw, I am going to have fun and meet some fellow practitioners and do I what I love to do, Jiu Jitsu. Wish me Luck!