My first BJJ Competition: Vids included

[wizwar31]

I started training in BJJ at AKA - Sunnyvale in April 2010 and after a year (give or take a few months for injuries) I competed in a smaller tournament held by Claudio Franca called "Jiu Jitsu by the Sea" in Santa Cruz. I was in the Featherweight division (weighed in at 151.6lbs) which was the largest division (8 competitors). I'm the skinny asian with the yellow/green belt around my waist and the ankle things on:

Round one:

Semifinals:

Any thoughts, comments, tips, suggestions would be appreciated. Things I need to work on: Triangles, Wild bills, getting out of side control, takedown defense

[Omega Supreme]

LOL...white belts...good job my friend, but take every single sweep you missed and drill it until cows stop mooing.

[neoex]

That went much better than my first comp. Good job, keep at it.

[tao.jonez]

Lemme get the math right - 11 months of training minus a couple months for injury? So let's say 9 months training? Pretty good, considering.

Rawr noobstrength! Try not to muscle so much. Technique homie, not power.

Like Omega says - sweeps and sweeps and sweeps. Nearly every time you got a sweep you got carried right over and ended up on the bottom again.

so...Work on maintaining position once you get there. Make sure you have control before you try for the sub.

Good performance though, given your limited time training.

[Kintanon]

In addition, you should work on that triangle finish. Toes up, heels down, squeeze your knees together, pull the head down. You could definitely have finished that.

[Nwp]

Like Kin said. Your hands were everywhere (vid 1) BUT on his head pulling down!! Good looking triangle but 1. arm across, 2. pull head down w BOTH hands. You adjusted well but remember -the squeezin the knees together is critical.

[Kinzei]

Good job on your first competition. I can't really add much to what has been posted, as I just started training BJJ less than 1 month ago. I am, however, hoping to have my 1st tournament in a few months. I will be 40 in May, so I figure I should just dive in. Schedule permitting, I try and attend 4-5 training sessions a week.

[tao.jonez]

Kinzei - start your own thread. post video.

You'll be the youngest guy in your division probably, and the masters are usually pretty cool - we all know that we have to go to work the next day.

[wizwar31]

Good luck to Kinzei. It was quite an experience and surprisingly exhausting. After the first match I felt like I just ran a marathon.

Thanks for all the tips. After competing, I know what points to focus on (sweeps, triangles, maintaining position).

I banged up my elbow a bit (a little bruised and swollen) but hopefully, i'll have some vids from my first judo competition up here shortly (tournament on Sunday 3/27)!

[tao.jonez]

After competing, I know what points to focus on (sweeps, triangles, maintaining position).

This is your most insightful post ever.

Good luck on Sunday.

[Kinzei]

Kinzei - start your own thread. post video.

You'll be the youngest guy in your division probably, and the masters are usually pretty cool - we all know that we have to go to work the next day.

Sorry, and point taken. I did not mean to attempt to high-jack the thread. Hopefully when the time comes I will be able to supply video.

[ADM]

Better than I did on my first comp :)

Keep training, listen to your coach / instructor. And roll the guys who smash you on a regular basis! You'll just get better and better!

[wizwar31]

amusingly enough, the things we drilled in class yesterday were sweeps and triangles... i couldnt help but wish we had that class a week earlier... next time i guess! keep your eyes peeled for more comp footage!

[tao.jonez]

Last night I rolled on both ends of this spectrum - first guy was recently given the go to start grappling with us. He had 0 base and got I swept and reversed him at will. I didn't even try to finish, just helped the poor kid work on his posture and base.

Second guy outweighed me by 60+ lbs and is ox-strong with good base. Almost all I did the entire time was sweep and recompose guard over and over. Finally frustrated the big fella enough to maintain top position at which point I easily got the tap.

I don't have a point here, but I could make one up. Something about the value of working sweeps against various opponents/partners.

[Tonuzaba]

Wiz, there was much more (successful) action in your first competition fight(s) than in mine...

Good luck with your training.