It's hard to believe it's already been 2 weeks since I competed at Pans. The entire trip was a really great experiencel; the california weather, the shopping, the training, spectating, and competing. part of the reason it's taken me so long to get this blog post started/finished was because I could figure out what I wanted to focus on and how I wanted to structure it. There is just so much to talk about that the thought of typing it all out was overwhelming me. That, and I recently restarted playing diablo 3, which is another problem all together.
I'm going to start with my competition experience, and branch out in time from there. It might be the most illogical way to do things but that's just how it's going to me.
I competed in the medium heavy division, and was actually stupidly close to the top of it, considering I was 148lbs just over 3 weeks before. It's amazing how fast I fatten up when I say F it to making a tiny weight class. I had a late lunch and some snacks Wednesday, and some snacks before competing on Thursday. I wasn't dehydrated or anything, but perhaps not optimumly fueled. I ended up being 1.5 under, but hey, better under then over because at these things, they don't mess around, if you are over by 0.1 you are out.
My division had 6 people in it, that means there is 1 fight in the "quarter finals" and everyone else is automatically in the semis. That means for everyone but myself and Melissa (the girl I fought), they could lose their first fight, and still get on the podium. This isn't uncommon in the higher belt, girls division at pans or even worlds. That being said, I was actually happy to be in the fight in the Quarter Finals. I wanted to have the path of greatest resistance to my medal, no matter what colour it may or may not end up being. Please don't take this to mean I don't think the girls that got bronze earned their medals. They 100% did, they trained, they showed up, they made weight, and they fought their asses off! they earned them.
Going into this event, I had it in my head that I wanted to go back to my roots a bit. I had 2 things I wanted to do. Get a throw, and pull DLR and not get my guard passed imidiately. I accomplished the first (get a throw) in my first and third fight, and I pulled DLR and didn't get my guard passed in the second. So, even though, I didn't get the exact results I wanted, I am really happy to have accomplished those two things.
My first fight was a really fun fight. It was probably the most fun of the day. We were closely matched, and I think we had fairly even strength as well. She had really good defense to all my attacks and had a really good guard. After a mid-match intermission for my bloody nose (which the medics thought they could stop wtih some glue, hahah silly medics, you've got to shove some stuff up there), I ended up winning the match on points. I think, if the draw was different, she could have easily ended up on the podium, and even in the final. During the match I could here Professors Rafa and Gui cornering me, which was awesome. I didn't know they were there until I heard them yelling mid-match. They gave me excellent advice and information (no surprise really) and having them there really helped. At some point during this match, my knee got twisted in a really crazy way. At the time, I remember thinking to myself "that's probalby not a good way to have your leg, let's move it". But after that I forgot about it until we got back to the hotel at the end of the day.
After that match I suddenly felt really really sick. Maybe it was adrenaline, or from not eating enough, or what ever, but I got the shakes, my stomache and digestive system was trying to eat itself and I ended up running to the bathroom and spending more time in there they anyone should have to. I ended up being on deck by the time I was out of there and my ring coordinator was not impressed. I didn't really have time to explain because I was up almost right away. That would have really sucked if I hadn't made it back... anyway, I was feeling a bit better, but in my head I thought I needed to not mess around because I wasn't sure my body was going to hold up to another full length match.
Second match of the day went pretty much by the books. I pulled DLR (yay), worked it a bit, even re-guarded to DLR when she tried to pass, then I switched to closed guard when the opportunity came about. From their i worked the grips and went for the closed guard arm bar for the win. I felt pretty good after the match and my ring coordinator reminded me not to go far this time.
The final match was a tough fight. Sarah is a really good, and really strong competitor from out west. She is the only girl I fought that day that felt stronger then me, but that is no excuse. She beat me with good jiu jitsu. I hit a footsweep at the begining and ended up in closed guard. For the next 4 minutes it was a battle of me trying, unsuccessfully to pass and her working collar chokes and some sweeps. My gi came undone pretty badly, but the reff didn't seem to mind, at one point, when she pulled on my sleeve the gi came so far off my arm was exposed to my elbow! It was pretty annoying, probably just as much for Sarah as for me! The end came when she had an open guard, I didn't respect the grips and she armbarred me with a belly down armbar from there. It was a pretty sweet armbar and my elbow is still not a fan of being straight because of it. (totally not blaming her, it was brilliantly done, and she let go as soon as I yelled tap tap tap).
All in all, I am pretty happy with the results and my performance. I've got some things to work on though; dealing with spider guard, breaking grips, not giving my arm away, the ussual. I am definitely looking forward to an opportunity to compete with Sarah again sometime. She's got a great guard, and competing against that will make my jiu jitsu better!
Now, more about the competition in general. It was insanely well organized and well run. They had the draws up online, with mat number and estimated time. They also had the order of fights online, that was updated live. These lists were also available in the pit/corral/warmup area. They had 2 weighin stations and once past the weigh in station, the section had lines for each mat that you had to wait in while on deck/double deck/and so on. Having 2 weighin stations and waiting areas makes a HUGE difference in how quickly competitiors can get through and for helping the ring coordinators find the athletes. I hope more competitions around here pick up on this and impliment it when there is more then 6 rings.
Gi check was SUPER picky. It was the strictest I have ever seen. Aparantly, the IBJJF has a new rule about rashguards for women, they can't be long sleeved. They didn't feel like telling anyone about this before hand, so when I went up for gi check they told me and I was like "ummm I wear long sleeve rashgaurds all the time to IBJJF events", and they were like "Not this one". They wanted me to just take it off, right there. I managed to convince them to allow me to just roll the sleeves up, so it seemed like a short sleeve rashguard. A couple of my friends had the same thing happen. They were also really strict about the arm baggyness, pant length, and patch / embroidery placement. I saw a bunch of people with storm pants being sent away because the embroidary on the bottom of the leg was to close to the bottom.
You can see the videos of my matches on my sponsor sweet sweat canada's post about it . Don't worry, it's not spammy and full of pop-ups.
I completely forgot to talk about the absolute! It was probably 4 hours after my division finished, I was completely out of competition mind set, and the girl I fought was ridiculously good. I can't say that I did a single good thing in the match lol. Anna (the girl I fought) ended up placing third. She was tiny (I think feather or maybe even light feather) and kicked up ass in every aspect. Seriously, it wasn't pretty. She won by triangle armbar about 3 minutes in.
Righto. Enough about me! Let's talk about my teammates!
Alasdair was the first to compete from team Pura on Wednesday. His first match he completely dominated the guy with his guard, throwing up a few solid subs before finishing with a super tight triangle. Alasdair's guard is a thing of beauty, and of terror. I feel bad for anyone who ends up in it. His second match was a really good war. He was working to pass a lot, and near the end took a calcuated risk to go for a rolling ninja kimura thing. It would have been amazing if it had worked, but it did not and he lost :(. I was pretty bummed for him, because I know how hard he trained and how much he put into the competition. Not saying everyone doesn't train, but man, Alasdair lives Jiu Jitsu and had a tonne of preasure on him (from himself, and from everyone else) to perform. You can watch Alasdairs matches on the sweet sweat blog here.
Matt also competed on Wednesday. He was nursing a pretty bad knee injury that kept him from training the last week or so of their stay in Costa Mesa. He didn't let that stop him though. After a tough war in his first match that he won on points. He went on to finish the next 3 guys and win the gold! The second match was pretty sweet, he a sweep he's been working on for a while, straight to the back and finished with a choke. His third match was much closer, going almost the distance with a score of 2-0, until there was an almost sweep to back where he hit a slick belly down armbar that I really liked. The final was against the same guy he fought in the final at Montreal a few weeks earlier. He won with an ankle lock for the gold! Matt's Jiu Jitsu is a thing of beauty. His style is that of a featherweight and it's frightening to see it done in the super heavy division.
Jon competed first thing Thursday, his first match was the 2nd of the day so he wanted to get to the venue really early to check his weight and whatnot. He competed in featherweight, which is kind of crazy considering he is 6' tall. But he has a tiny frame so it mostly works for him. Anyway, the venue didn't even open the doors until 8am (with it starting at 9), which I think isn't really early enough. They gave us a mega hard time about our snacks to, which was annoying and not the thing we needed before fighting. Oh well. Jons' first match was excellent. He was working the guard he's been practising lately and hit a sweep with it. He also didn't give up a sweep easily (which is is proned to do, because he likes playing bottom). With around a minute left, he ended up down slightly (I think by an advantage, but maybe 2 points) and was playing guard. We all saw the setup, except for the guy he was fighting, it was pretty awesome. He put the guy to sleep with his signature move. His second match was really good too. Again he was working his sit up guard and fighting well. Unfortunately he left his neck undefended going for the sweep and almost took a nap from the loop choke that resulted from the undefended neck. It was a pretty neat choke and it taught him a pretty good lesson.
3 of my female jiu jitsu friends each won gold in their division. Man those three are bad ass, Val from Buffalo, Sarah and Emily from Toronto. You guys are all awesome and kick serious ass. Val won the blue belt light weight division, she had, I believe 4 fights, and was dominant is every single one. Sarah was in the white belt medium heavy and pretty much destroyed the entire division. I think maybe 1 match went to points and even that one she was ALL over the girl. Sarah is an amazing person, but honestly, she kind of scares me hahaha. Emily won the white belt middle weight class. I didn't see a lot of her fights, but the ones I did she was showing amazing jiu jitsu. My other awesome local friend Mandie didn't have quite as golden of a day, she had a super tough fight against the eventual gold medal winner, who subbed the girl before Mandie(who had a bye), subbed the next two, and smashed the girl in the final. She only beat Mandie on points, and it was a fairly close match. It sucks when a draw ends up that way, but at least she got a good match out of the deal. Here's a pic of the five of us, after we were all done competing!
The rest of pans was equally excellent. The venue was really nice, except for the staff who were doing "security" at the door. Bag checks every morning that seemed to get stricter and stricter. No Cupcakes, no bags of candy, no "bulky" food. Only gatorade and small snacks. Apparently that was the venue, not the IBJJF, so we can't be mad at the event for that. The venue layout was great, vendors outside the "arena" area, with the mats sunken into the floor. This is a pretty idea setup. The only down side was that it's a decently long walk from the seating to wear you had to be to weigh in and whatnot. Not a big deal, but a minor inconvenience.
The food at the venue was amazing as usual, but I must admin the acai bowls were not as good as the ones from worlds last year, and not nearly as good as the ones you can get from bonzai bowls in costa mesa. They seem to have switched to a "sorbet" which is a pre-mixed bulk made frozen paste thing. They didn't even blend it so the bowls had less in them to. The toppings were delish still and they did taste good(I had 5 or 6 between friday-sunday), but the Bonzai bowl I had on sunday morning, for 2 bucks less, was at least double or maybe even triple the size, had way more interesting ingredients and wasn't made with the sorbet.
The other food at the venue was the BBQ. For the life in me, I can't remember what the place was called, but they are at pans and worlds every year. They are based our of California and the garlic fries they serve are AMAZING. They were more garlicy last year, but it might actually be a good thing that it was less garlicy this year. It was borderline to much garlic last year, I wouldn't think that is possible, but it is. They also obviously sell bbq'ed meat, which was equally, if not more delish then the fries. I supose there is a reason I'm not even currently in medium heavy right now, just reading these last 2 paragraphs hahaha. Actually, I pigged out for just over a week after we got home to, so it was a LOT of gluttony since I competed. I probably have an eating disorder.
Changing Gears...
There's been a lot of talk on the interwebs about all the closeouts that happened in the black belt divisions this year. 5 of the 9 Adult Male black belt divisions were closed out. I'm not going ot go through them all, they've been covered. But I did want to talk about it a little bit.
Jiu Jitsu is a weird sport, and there isn't really something with the same structure to comepare it to. A lot of people online have been saying "You don't see closeouts in Judo". That's because, at the olympics countries qualify 1 spot per division, they don't get the opportunity to create a situation for a closeout to happen. MMA fighters don't fight training partners all the time. Look at all the drama that came around with Jon Jones and Rashad Evans, at first they didn't want to fight, then one of them did, then they hated each other.
I'm not saying that closeouts are good, they really aren't. But in some cases, I get it. If it's your brother, or someone you train every day with, I get not wanting to compete against each other. In other cases, there shouldn't be closeouts. If you represent the same team, but don't even train together, you should fight. If you aren't even on the same team anymore, you should fight. Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of closeouts when you aren't regular training partners, but if you are, I don't see the issue. If, by some crazy turn of events, I ended up in a final, at a big tournament, with a team mate, and regular training partner across from me, I think I would close out the division with her. The odds of this happening are pretty low though, so my opinion is pretty meaningless.
The only good thing about all the closeouts on Sunday night was that it meant we were able to actually watch all the fights (well, the ones that happened), unlike last year at worlds, where we had to miss a few of the finals. They also did all the medals at the end, instead of after each final, which sped things up nicely as well. We ended up having enough time to get to the airport, drop off the car, and relax for a bit. Speaking of the airport LAX's terminal that air canada flies out of is pretty terrible. There isn't enough seats at any of the gates, and service at the restaurants is abismal.
While Jon and I were in California, we trained twice before the competition. The first time, we hit up an open invitation from Brea Jiu Jitsu to anyone in the area for pans, and the second we visited AOJ for a morning fundamentals class.
Brea Jiu Jitsu is run by TrumpetDan, a brown belt Bruno Paulista. He's a super nice guy and is fairly active on the interweb in the Jiu Jitsu communities. Jon chatted with him a few times and wanted to take him up on the offer, so we headed to Brea on Monday evening to train with them. Brea itself is a cool little town with a really nice downtown. We ended up in the area really early, so we hit up starbucks and enjoyed the atmosphere of their downtown and the lovely california weather. Brea Jiu Jitsu is tucked away in a plaza on "the wrong side of the tracks" as Dan put it. It's a lovely plaza, but there really isn't much going on in the town once you pass it. The class was a lot of fun and we had a great time. It was ridiculously hot and humid in the gym, which killed my cardio a lot worse then I have ever experienced in my life. Everyone at Brea was really friendly and I got some good rolls in while we were there.
On Tuesday, we hit up the early morning fundamentals class at AOJ. It's always amazing training at AOJ, and I wish we had had more time to be able to train their before competing. Unfortunately we both have jobs that limit the time we can get away, so we have to take what we can get. We worked on pulling x-guard, some drills and some rolling. It was a really excellent experience and it was nice to be on the mats with Professors Rafa and Gui again. After we trained, we hit up the laundry mat to wash our gis and then went to the condo Alasdair and Matt were renting while they trained at AOJ the previous 2 weeks. Once they were all packed up and ready to go we crammed all their crap into my car (these guys do not pack light!) and headed back to our hotel.
Our hotel was pretty excellent, it would have been more excellent if the OJA had paid for 3 full nights like they said they would instead of the 3 nights at a cheap hotel they found weeks after I had booked after asking what they would cover. But hey, what can ya do? We stayed at the embassy suites in Irvine. It was the closest hotel on the map that I could find to the venue, and also has free excellent breakfast. Another bonus about this hotel is that the rooms are really big. They are "two room suites" so there is the bedroom, and then there is a living room area which also has a decent size table, microwave, fridge and a sink. It's not quite a kitchenette, but hey, it was nice. The staff was really friendly and didn't even blink when I said we were double charge for internet one night, he just took it off right away. That is the downside to this hotel, parking and internet were not free. I did a lot of searching, and trying to find a decent hotel, that had free parking, wifi, and breakfast, in the area, was pretty much impossible.
On Saturday, our friends Rico and Danica (who Jon knows from way way way back before he even met me days) who live in Arizona came out to California to hang out with us, so we dropped the kids off at the venue and went with Rico and Danica to The Getty. This place was really really cool! It's a pain to get to in LA traffic, and an even bigger pain to get back form, but it was totally worth it. It's an art gallery that was built way up in the mountains, that is free, and full of amazing work by serious historical artists. When Rico suggested it, i was like "ehhh, i guess that could be kind of neat", but it was way better then "kind of neat". A bonus, to how awesome it is, it's also free, except for parking, which was only $15. If you are in the LA area, I would highly recomend making a trip there.
We ended up back at the venue with Rico and Danica along with us, intime to watch a lot of the blackbelt fights. There were some good matches, and Rico and Danica are starting to kind of understand Jiu Jitsu now (they were also in California for a day when we were there for worlds and watched some then). After we got bored of that, we went for dinner to Umami Burger. Our teammate Steve goes on and on and on about this place so I wanted to make sure we got there this time around. Boy, am I glad we did.
The service was exceptional, and the food, my goodness, the food was amazing. You wouldn't expect burgers to be worth going on about, but they were. All the sauces were amazing, the onion rings were the tastiest I've ever had, the sweet potato fries were delightful. I had the "Manly Burger" which was cheese, bacon, and some sauces and stuff. I can't remember exactly, all I remember is how delightful it was. Everyone loved their food, and no one left hungry.
The prices were pretty reasonable for the quality of the food to. Not mcdonalds cheap, but not insane either. I think it worked out to about 20 bucks if you got a burger and a side. Well worth it in my humble opinion. I will make a point of getting Umami Burger every time I am in California from now on.
I took a tonne of pictures at pans, mostly of AOJ, Atos, and Ontario people, but on Saturday and Sunday I just took pics of random black belts. It was fun. Here are the albums of the pics I took. Enjoy!
I think this novel is long enough now, and since I have a tournament to check out tomorrow, it's about time to wrap this up. I won't be competing because of my knee, I was hoping it would be well enough, but when it totally crapped out on me demoing a leg drag for the kids class on Wednesday, I had to withdrawl.
See you around!
Showing posts with label jiu jitsu competition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jiu jitsu competition. Show all posts
Friday, 28 March 2014
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Montreal Pro Trials: Feb 22nd 2014 Recap
A couple weeks ago, we went to Montreal for the pro trials. For the first time since I can remember, the drive there wasn't horrible. Last year, it was a nightmare, at one point, we though we weren't g-going to make it,even though we left on Thursday night!
We did hit traffic about 5 minutes into the drive, there was an accident on the highway just outside of hamilton, but nce we got past that, we decided to jump on the 407, since we were getting into rush hour time, and rush hour, on the 401 through Toronto, is not a lot of fun at all.
We stayed at the Universal Hotel, which is right across the road from the venue. We like to stay here, because it's price is comparable to the mid-town, but has free parking, and is super convenient for walking to the venue. When the tournament was 2 days it was even better because we could just go back and forth through out the day.
We headed over to the mid-town for weighins around 3pm, ended up parking on the street, and paying 9 bucks, which is cheaper then hotel parking, but still pretty ridiculous for a couple hours of street parking. The worst part about paying or a couple hours of parking, was that we didn't use most of it, that's because, after we weighed in we attempted to get dinner at the hotel restaurant.
we got sat down pretty quickly, but that was it, we were there for literally 20 minutes and none of the restaurant staff even glanced at us. It's like they were purposefully avoiding even looking at our table or walking near bye. It was ridiculous. we gave up, left, and ate dinner at our own hotel.
Our hotel restaurant was under construction, but they just had all the tables in one of the conference rooms and it was a-ok. We got there before they were technically open, but they sat us and fed us anyway, which was nice. The restaurant isn't cheap, but the food is pretty good and the service is decent all the staff we have dealt with in the times we have stayed spoke English well enough, and put up with our weirdness well.
Anyway... back to the event. The level of jiu jitsu was really high, in the ladies divisions especially. There were way more ladies then in any of the past Montreal trials. There were 3 brown/black divisions and a light and heavy purple absolutes. The two blue belt absolutes were way bigger then in the past as well.
One competitor that stood out to me, in the women's division was Dominyka, She's from Marcelo Garcia's school and has fantastic jiu jitsu. She just got her brown belt a couple weeks before worlds last year, and won her division there, she won her division at the trials this year, AND the absolute.
The men's brown/black divisions were split up for the first time (that I can remember anyway) this year as well. The brown belts got 2 absolutes and the black belts had a bunch of weight classes. You can see all the results on the trials website here.
I ended up going home with a silver medal. I won 1 fight, lost 1. My first fight went pretty well, I actually worked on some things I've been training and was able to finish the fight with an armbar. We did have a bit of a situation mid-match though. We were near the edge and I was working to take her back. I had a collar grip but it wasn't high, and we ended up mostly out of bounds, the ref stopped us, and tried to re-start us in the middle, but her coach was having none of it. The ref ended up giving her 2 penalties for delaying the match before she got back into position. There beef was that we were "in a submission" and should be stood up and me get 2 points. But, all I had was 1 collar grip on her back, and it wasn't near a sub. She got out of that pretty quick and in the transitions I got the armbar.
My second fight was against Yacinta, who is awesome. I pulled guard, and she smashed through it to half guard. I almost got a kimura, but I held on to it way to long when it wasn't viable anymore, and it went down hill, quickly, after that. I ended up in a triangle for about 4 minutes till the end of the match. Not my best match by any means, but I learned some things to work on from it and my Jiu Jitsu will be better for it.
The tournament started on time, but ended up behind schedule by the end of the day. We left around 7 and the blue absolute was just getting started. Generally, the event ran really well.
Weighins and checkin were pretty quick, but strange. We had to weigh in with our gis, but it was day before weighins. To me, the only reason to weigh in with a gi on is, because the IBJJF does weighins right before the division, so t gt through it quickly and get the matches running, you have your gi on so you don't have to go change. It's weird to require a gi when weighing in the day before. It's not really bad, just strange. They weren't even inspecting the gis at weigh ins, that happened at the venue before the matches to. So you could weigh in with one gi, and compete in another.
This year was the first time they did the event all in one day which made for a really long day. Especially because there were more kids competing, and a lot more masters then in the past. They gave out 5 kids trips, which were "to be decided by the organizer". Personally, I'm not sure kids should be competing for trips at a scale like this, it is a cool opportunity for them but it's a lot of pressure and also puts a lot of financial pressure on the parents as well. I don't think there should be masters either. They can't win a trip and it adds a lot of time to the day. Either get rid of the divisions, or give the trips!
On the way home, we discovered something horrible The onRoute service centres on the 401 only have tim hortons open after 9pm on weekends. During the week they are open much later, but apparently, on weekends, they all shut down at 9, even the convenience stores aren't open. We ended up stopping in Brockville to grab some pizza hut. It was a weird pizza hut, that didn't follow the same promos that most of the pizza huts do. But, it was quick and we pretty much always get pizza after competing.
Te drive home was really uneventful, the guys slept most of the drive, as usual, and there wasn't snow to deal with which was amazing. We made great time, even with our 2 gas stops and the pizza stop.
There were a bunch of photographers at the event. One even got a few decent shots of me! You can see that album here. It's linked one one of the pics of me, but there are hundreds of pics in the album. The talented Erin Herle's (who was multi-tasking at the event, winning the light purple absolute, and taking amazing pics) album can be found here. She worked with Martin to take pics for Gracie Mag.
I also took a bunch of pics, but my camera battery was dying, so I didn't get many. You can check them out on facebook if you like.
That's all for now! See you on the mats!
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Grappling Industries : Pans Edition (Toronto) Oct 26th 2013
Last Weekend was an insanely busy weekend for me. It started out on Friday evening with a Matthew Good concert at Hamilton place. Jon loves Matt good, so he goes to see him whenever he is semi-close by. It was a really good show, even though Matt was a bit sick.
I am pretty sure he was sick last time he was in Hamilton to, so maybe he is just allergic to the city. We met up with some friends before the show and I ate poutine and cheescake. "But Patricia", you say, "that's not keto at all". No, it is not, every once and a while, when my schedule get's crazy, I take a break and eat lots of terrible food. Last weekend was one of those weekends. I felt pretty crummy because of it, and every time i do it i swear not to. But then a few months later I'll do it again. It's a good reminder of why I eat the way I do.
After the show everyone wanted to go out drinking and for another bite to eat (at like 11:30 PM). I declined and drove Jon's car home because I didn't want to referee on 2 or 3 hours of sleep. The sacrifices I make for you people, you have no idea haha. Of course, I still didn't get a great nights sleep because of all the ringing, and Jon not being home till who knows when. He was the smart one, didn't register or the competition because he knew he'd be in bad shape for it.
Anyway, the referees were supposed to be there for 8:20am, so we could have a little meeting, get organized and get the show going on time. Surprise, Surprise, only 2 or 3 of us were there at the expected time, and a couple strolled in only a couple minutes before nine. It would have been nice to have said meeting, so I could be more informed when people come up and ask me questions about divisions I am not refereeing. I am not going to name names, or point fingers, but come on guys, if we want to be treated like professionals, let's act like them by being on time and being professional at all times.
I had a very good experience as a referee last weekend. I wasn't yelled at once!! It was amazing. I did have to ask one coach to stop yelling at a fellow referee, but they didn't yell at me, and stopped yelling at the other referee as well. I also had one or two questions where people were unsure about why advantages were scored they way they were, but they were quite polite about it, and very respectful of my explanations and decisions. It was really refreshing. Now, all this could be because I had to leave around 3, and missed most of the nogi, but I like to think it's because the spectators, coaches, and competitors are becoming more respectful and maybe even learning the rules.
One thing, looking back, that happened more then I would like, was me making simple scoring mistakes. Once I scored 2 for a pass instead of 3, and once I scored 2 for a sweep, when it was actually a reversal (fighter A swept straight to mount, maintained for 3, then got reversed, i scored 2,4 then 2 for the other). BUT, in both cases, I realized my error and fixed it well before the match was complete. Getting the score board right after mistakes like that can be a bit of a challenge, especially when the score keepers are spending more time on their phones then paying attention to the match. This seemed like a bigger problem on Saturday then it normally is, but I am not sure why. Some of the regulars were not there, and perhaps the new people were not explained enough about how important paying close attention was. There were no crisis's because of it, but it was fairly frustrating.
The event started a couple minutes late, this is not the norm for grappling industries, but I think that, with all the changes to the process of weighing in and whatnot that were made for this event, it is not surprising, and is forgivable. A lot of people showed up just before weighins closed so they ended up bogging down the weighin line and causing that to go late. I think a stricter cut-off would help with this, and perhaps having 2 weighin scales, so that the rushes could be handled more efficiently. Having a "check" scale would alleviate this as well, because then the weighin station wouldn't get bogged down with people who are just checking their weight.
The event ran pretty smoothly once it got going, There were about 60 gi matches per mat, then about 25 or 30 nogi matches. Gi was wrapped up, except for absolutes, by about 2pm, and nogi started on several mats at about that time. It was delayed a bit, on some mats, because the gi absolutes, but that is pretty much unavoidable. Matches were all wrapped up by 5:15 or so.
The mat areas were back to to small size that Grappling Industries normally has when they have 10 or 14 mat areas. This did slow the matches down, and made me sad as a referee (and would make me sad as a competitor as well). In order to have 7 mats in one row, it's pretty much unavoidable though. People want to be able to see all the mats, but they also want bigger mats. I really like having at the mats in one line, because it generally means you only have to look out for people coming onto your mat from one or two sides, instead of 3. While that may seem minor, it means more attention can be paid to the competitors. It also makes for the best spectator experience because views are not blocked when there is only spectator seating on one side of the gymnasium. In venues like the Pyramid in California, this obviously isn't an issue because there is seating on all sides, and it's raised. But in most gymnasiums, there is only seating on one side. Hopefully the next event they can come up with a configuration that offers a bit more safety area, while still being spectator and competitor friendly.
I mentioned earlier the changes to the weighins. Grappling Industries is constantly evolving to best serve the competitors. The changes they made were made with a lot of input from the community and were, what I think, a really good compromise that serves all sides well. The old style of allowing night before weighins, and using the standard GI weight classes, when athletes could weighin without their gi on, was creating an environment that allowed much more serious weight cutting and gave advantages to local competitors who could weighin the night before. Now, they use the NOGI weight classes, still allow you to weighin in whatever you like (just not naked) and have ONLY morning of weigh ins. I really like this setup. It pretty much means I will never be able to fight in the smaller womens weight class, but, let's be honest, I probably don't belong there, and I think this way pretty much stops everyone who was squeaking into divisions they didn't belong in, no longer able to. I noticed a few regulars have moved up a weight class with this change, and I think it'll shake things up and make for a better experience for everyone.
I had the pleasure of refereeing quite a few of the women's matches, particularly the two white belt divisions. One of the greatest things about refereeing the ladies was the camaraderie they all showed to each other. They all cheered for each other, no matter what team they were from. They supported each other. Almost every match ended with a hand helping each other up and a hug. Not a bro, quick tap on the back hug, a proper hug. For 5 minutes, they try to beat the crap out of each other, but as soon as the match is over, everyone is friends again. Even during matches, there was a lot more "sorry"'s then you would ever hear in a guys match. Though, that might just be because there is generally a lot more hair to be pulled.
Here is one picture that is a great example of how the ladies divisions were. Both of them smiling and having a good time. Here is another, smiles all around. And one last one. It was amazing to watch and be a small part of. Mandie won the -136 division, and Maura won the +136 division. In the absolute final (well, there was only 1 fight for the absolute, since there is only 2 weight classes) Maura got a great footsweep, but then got a little ahead of herself and Mandie snuck in a tight guillotine for the win and a trip to California. Yacinta won the blue and up trip, she has won a fair share of the trips that grappling industries has given away, she has amazing judo and her Jiu Jitsu is catching up quickly! I am really looking forward to being able to compete with her when I am back. I think we will have some great matches.
My Teammate Matt won the blue belt trip! He smashed through his division, then won the absolute in a most impressive fashion. This is the first trip that he has won, and I do not think it will be the last. He trains like a monster and even though he is a heavy weight (220ish) He moves and fights like a light weight or feather weight. I cannot wait to see him compete at Pans in March and al the other tournaments before then to.
Eric Phan from Open Mat won the purple/brown trip. It's pretty amazing that he, as a tiny, fairly new, purple belt could win the absolute. He had to beat some very tough guys to get there and he doesn't dick around trying to win on an advantage or two so I really enjoy watching his matches. I imagine he will be ruining a few peoples days at Pans as well.
Eric Chibuluzo won the white belt trip. This guy is one scary human being. He has only been doing jiu jitsu for a few months, but he already competes, and wins matches, in the nogi advanced divisions. His jiu jitsu is... not beautiful, but he is ridiculously athletic and knows enough to use that athleticism. He is going to be a serious force to be reckoned with in the years to come as he moves up the ranks.
Wrapping up the year, Grappling Industries has an event scheduled for Dec 7th in Montreal. They are giving away season passes to all their events as the grand prizes. This is a cool concept because it will hopefully get people to travel a bit more and expose the Montreal people to Toronto and vise versa. This is also the weekend I have set for myself as a deadline for whether I will cancel my shoulder surgery or not. Sadly, this event has been canceled :(
I am pretty sure he was sick last time he was in Hamilton to, so maybe he is just allergic to the city. We met up with some friends before the show and I ate poutine and cheescake. "But Patricia", you say, "that's not keto at all". No, it is not, every once and a while, when my schedule get's crazy, I take a break and eat lots of terrible food. Last weekend was one of those weekends. I felt pretty crummy because of it, and every time i do it i swear not to. But then a few months later I'll do it again. It's a good reminder of why I eat the way I do.
After the show everyone wanted to go out drinking and for another bite to eat (at like 11:30 PM). I declined and drove Jon's car home because I didn't want to referee on 2 or 3 hours of sleep. The sacrifices I make for you people, you have no idea haha. Of course, I still didn't get a great nights sleep because of all the ringing, and Jon not being home till who knows when. He was the smart one, didn't register or the competition because he knew he'd be in bad shape for it.
Anyway, the referees were supposed to be there for 8:20am, so we could have a little meeting, get organized and get the show going on time. Surprise, Surprise, only 2 or 3 of us were there at the expected time, and a couple strolled in only a couple minutes before nine. It would have been nice to have said meeting, so I could be more informed when people come up and ask me questions about divisions I am not refereeing. I am not going to name names, or point fingers, but come on guys, if we want to be treated like professionals, let's act like them by being on time and being professional at all times.
I had a very good experience as a referee last weekend. I wasn't yelled at once!! It was amazing. I did have to ask one coach to stop yelling at a fellow referee, but they didn't yell at me, and stopped yelling at the other referee as well. I also had one or two questions where people were unsure about why advantages were scored they way they were, but they were quite polite about it, and very respectful of my explanations and decisions. It was really refreshing. Now, all this could be because I had to leave around 3, and missed most of the nogi, but I like to think it's because the spectators, coaches, and competitors are becoming more respectful and maybe even learning the rules.
One thing, looking back, that happened more then I would like, was me making simple scoring mistakes. Once I scored 2 for a pass instead of 3, and once I scored 2 for a sweep, when it was actually a reversal (fighter A swept straight to mount, maintained for 3, then got reversed, i scored 2,4 then 2 for the other). BUT, in both cases, I realized my error and fixed it well before the match was complete. Getting the score board right after mistakes like that can be a bit of a challenge, especially when the score keepers are spending more time on their phones then paying attention to the match. This seemed like a bigger problem on Saturday then it normally is, but I am not sure why. Some of the regulars were not there, and perhaps the new people were not explained enough about how important paying close attention was. There were no crisis's because of it, but it was fairly frustrating.
The event started a couple minutes late, this is not the norm for grappling industries, but I think that, with all the changes to the process of weighing in and whatnot that were made for this event, it is not surprising, and is forgivable. A lot of people showed up just before weighins closed so they ended up bogging down the weighin line and causing that to go late. I think a stricter cut-off would help with this, and perhaps having 2 weighin scales, so that the rushes could be handled more efficiently. Having a "check" scale would alleviate this as well, because then the weighin station wouldn't get bogged down with people who are just checking their weight.
The event ran pretty smoothly once it got going, There were about 60 gi matches per mat, then about 25 or 30 nogi matches. Gi was wrapped up, except for absolutes, by about 2pm, and nogi started on several mats at about that time. It was delayed a bit, on some mats, because the gi absolutes, but that is pretty much unavoidable. Matches were all wrapped up by 5:15 or so.
The mat areas were back to to small size that Grappling Industries normally has when they have 10 or 14 mat areas. This did slow the matches down, and made me sad as a referee (and would make me sad as a competitor as well). In order to have 7 mats in one row, it's pretty much unavoidable though. People want to be able to see all the mats, but they also want bigger mats. I really like having at the mats in one line, because it generally means you only have to look out for people coming onto your mat from one or two sides, instead of 3. While that may seem minor, it means more attention can be paid to the competitors. It also makes for the best spectator experience because views are not blocked when there is only spectator seating on one side of the gymnasium. In venues like the Pyramid in California, this obviously isn't an issue because there is seating on all sides, and it's raised. But in most gymnasiums, there is only seating on one side. Hopefully the next event they can come up with a configuration that offers a bit more safety area, while still being spectator and competitor friendly.
I mentioned earlier the changes to the weighins. Grappling Industries is constantly evolving to best serve the competitors. The changes they made were made with a lot of input from the community and were, what I think, a really good compromise that serves all sides well. The old style of allowing night before weighins, and using the standard GI weight classes, when athletes could weighin without their gi on, was creating an environment that allowed much more serious weight cutting and gave advantages to local competitors who could weighin the night before. Now, they use the NOGI weight classes, still allow you to weighin in whatever you like (just not naked) and have ONLY morning of weigh ins. I really like this setup. It pretty much means I will never be able to fight in the smaller womens weight class, but, let's be honest, I probably don't belong there, and I think this way pretty much stops everyone who was squeaking into divisions they didn't belong in, no longer able to. I noticed a few regulars have moved up a weight class with this change, and I think it'll shake things up and make for a better experience for everyone.
I had the pleasure of refereeing quite a few of the women's matches, particularly the two white belt divisions. One of the greatest things about refereeing the ladies was the camaraderie they all showed to each other. They all cheered for each other, no matter what team they were from. They supported each other. Almost every match ended with a hand helping each other up and a hug. Not a bro, quick tap on the back hug, a proper hug. For 5 minutes, they try to beat the crap out of each other, but as soon as the match is over, everyone is friends again. Even during matches, there was a lot more "sorry"'s then you would ever hear in a guys match. Though, that might just be because there is generally a lot more hair to be pulled.
Here is one picture that is a great example of how the ladies divisions were. Both of them smiling and having a good time. Here is another, smiles all around. And one last one. It was amazing to watch and be a small part of. Mandie won the -136 division, and Maura won the +136 division. In the absolute final (well, there was only 1 fight for the absolute, since there is only 2 weight classes) Maura got a great footsweep, but then got a little ahead of herself and Mandie snuck in a tight guillotine for the win and a trip to California. Yacinta won the blue and up trip, she has won a fair share of the trips that grappling industries has given away, she has amazing judo and her Jiu Jitsu is catching up quickly! I am really looking forward to being able to compete with her when I am back. I think we will have some great matches.
My Teammate Matt won the blue belt trip! He smashed through his division, then won the absolute in a most impressive fashion. This is the first trip that he has won, and I do not think it will be the last. He trains like a monster and even though he is a heavy weight (220ish) He moves and fights like a light weight or feather weight. I cannot wait to see him compete at Pans in March and al the other tournaments before then to.
Eric Phan from Open Mat won the purple/brown trip. It's pretty amazing that he, as a tiny, fairly new, purple belt could win the absolute. He had to beat some very tough guys to get there and he doesn't dick around trying to win on an advantage or two so I really enjoy watching his matches. I imagine he will be ruining a few peoples days at Pans as well.
Eric Chibuluzo won the white belt trip. This guy is one scary human being. He has only been doing jiu jitsu for a few months, but he already competes, and wins matches, in the nogi advanced divisions. His jiu jitsu is... not beautiful, but he is ridiculously athletic and knows enough to use that athleticism. He is going to be a serious force to be reckoned with in the years to come as he moves up the ranks.
The Acai Cafe was at the event again, I hope these guys are at every tournament for the rest of time. I freaking love Acai bowls. I will cheat any diet I am on, for an acai bowl. They actually ended up selling out on Saturday, so I think that is a good sign that they will continue to come out to tournaments. I only got 1 bowl on Saturday, I was planning on two, but didn't get a chance to get away to buy a second before I had to leave. I hope they add peanut butter to their menu soon, then, it would be perfect.
Also on site was the gi hive. The Gi Hive is a relatively new company, based out of Ontario, that sells great gis and gear, at reasonable prices and with cheap shipping. If you have ever shopped for gis online, you know that is a tricky balance. He has a nice variety of gis and the customer service is top notch.
SO, as I said earlier, I had to leave at 3, it ended up being more like 3:30, which, when you add the terrible Toronto traffic to, made me have to adjust my plans, and drive a little faster then I would have liked, to London. My other officiating job of the day was judging fights at the inaugural Provincial Fighting Championships in London last Saturday. It's important to note, I do not work for PFC, I work for the Ontario Athletic Commission. As such, I can't really get into a lot of details about the fights, or talk about my opinions of the results ect ect. What I can say is this: It was a great night of fights and I hope PFC will continue to puts cards on. Not only so that I can have more work as a judge, but so that Ontario MMA fighters have a place to fight. With the Score no longer putting on cards, It left a pretty big hole in the scene. So hopefully new organizations like PFC an SCC can put on a couple events a year and give our guys somewhere to fight!
This past weekend marked 1 year since I started refereeing jiu jitsu! I have worked at 14 events and refereed probably over 1000 matches. It's been an amazing learning experience and I am glad that I have been able to referee so much this year, since I was unable to compete for such a large part of it. I have to thank Grappling Industries for taking the risk of having me as a brand new referee at one of their events, and for continuing to employ me. I also have to thank the OJA for following their lead and letting me give back to the community at their events as well. The money I have made from refereeing (and from judging MMA) all goes straight back into my Jiu Jitsu career so I have to thank everyone for supporting me, by employing me.
There aren't to may more events left to finish of the 2013 year of Jiu Jitsu.
The IBJJF Montreal Open is on Nov 16th. It's fairly expensive, but very well run, and a good opportunity to get some IBJJF points for rankings (which don't actually get you anything but bragging rights) and to test your jiu jitsu against the Montreal scene.
November 23rd is the NoGi Zombie house event at Toronto Nogi. Zombie House events are a LOT of fun, they are a completely different environment compared to a regular tournament and I would recommend anyone who doesn't have an ego give one a try.
November 30th is the OJA Provincials in St. Catherines. This is the tournament I am aiming to make my comeback at. Training went pretty well last week, until I got sick, but I am feeling better now, so I will be back t the grind on Monday (or maybe tonight for an open mat). There are some trips to california on the line, and bragging rights as the "Provincial Champion". Also, the medals are quite nice looking.
The OJA has released their tentative schedule for 2014. It looks a lot like the 2013 schedule. Hopefully, it stays the way it is. 2013 had quite a few date changes, cancellations and location changes. Events with *'s by them have the location and date confirmed, and I assume, the venues booked so are very unlikely to change.
SO, This post has gotten pretty long, I guess I'll stop rambling now. See you on the mats!
Thursday, 12 September 2013
Grappling Industries: Sunshine Blvd Sept 7th 2013 Recap
Grappling Industries was back in Toronto this past weekend for a smaller event then their past events. I didn't count the competitor list but it we ran 5 mats with about 90 matches per mat. In the past there have been as many as 14 mats but with less matches per mat.
First, I have to say, as a referee I LOVED the setup. The small mat areas they have had in the past has been the biggest negative for their events. They had very large mat areas, with a double row between for a safety area. I wasn't run into from a neighbouring mat area once! Only having a single row(of mat areas), Instead of two also allowed for better viewing for the spectators. Speaking of spectators, the fee was 15, which to me is pretty high, but they post what it is on the website so I can't complain to much, and as a referee I didn't have to pay, so it didn't affect me.
There are a few reasons why I think.the event was smaller then their past events.
1. The proximity to the GTA classic. This is a well established event that a lot of people really look forward to. It's a solid tournament that is always in mid September so people plan to attend it. Hosting an event only two weeks before will certainly make you lose some potential attendees.
2. Their last event in Toronto was only 6 or so weeks earlier. When the Ibjjf comes to a city twice in one year, its 6 months apart, not 6 weeks, they do that for a reason! They also have another event at the end of October, 6 or 7 weeks away again. There is lots of talk of an over saturated market, and I think they will feel the pain of it hosting 3 events so close together.
3. It was the weekend after everyone went back to school. Kids are just getting back into their school routines, post secondary students are settling into their school year homes and parents are dealing with kids who are back to school. The last thing on any people's mind this weekend is a Jiu jitsu competition!
So yeah, it was smaller, but it was well run, there was really good competition in a lot of the divisions and there was acai!
I love acai bowls. I discovered them when we went to Costa mesa for the first AoJ training camp is summer 2012. I had resisted trying them until the last day of the camp because I don't know why. Anyway, we.all went the the place just down the road from AoJ after class and waited like 40 min for the bowls, it they were amazing. Fast fwd to worlds 2013, we were in Costa Mesa for a few days before and I was really watching what I.ate for the first few.days because I was still disillusioned into thinking I could compete, but then I realized I could not,and ate a bowl the last day we were in Costa mesa, and then every day at worlds.
So anyway, a couple guys from Toronto Bjj have started the Acai Cafe and this past weekend was their first event! The bowls were simple, just granola and banana, it they were really tasty anyway. They seemed sweeter then I remember from California,but that could just be me. Hopefully next time they have a few more toppings like coconut, peanut butter and cocoa nibs. The prices were reasonable considering the costs to get acai packs up here. The bowls were smaller then California, it that's not terrible because the ones in California are almost too big. Just a side note, they will be at the GTA Classic next weekend, and also at the next Grappling Industries Toronto event as well.
Ok, enough about acai.
I got to referee some pretty excellent matches and I was also requested to not referee some other matches. This is a first for me, and I have to admit I was pretty shocked and sad when David came over to my mat and said someone wanted to have a different ref for their matches. This was a first for me and I didn't take it very well. I'm sure it's nothing personal, maybe they don't like that I ask the fighters to switch sides so I can raise their arm properly. Who knows. Anyway, after that, I sat around for a bit and got over it fairly quickly after I ate some pizza and acai.
One competitor stood out for me while refereeing the blue belt -154 gi division. The whole division was pretty stacked with some amazing fights, Myles Allen hit a pretty sweet triangle on Kevin Wheeler really fast, which was almost disappointing, because I was looking forward to seeing them really duke it out ya know? Props to Myles though, he has sick triangles.
But, That is not who I wanted to talk about, one of the competitors went 4-0 in the round robin, winning every single fight with a loop choke! Milkias, from Body of Four, has ridiculous loop chokes! It's scary how he sets them up, from almost any position. Standing? No problem, Guard? done, Getting guard passed? done. It's like Jon and his silly baseball chokes! I had an inkling about that he worked them a bit, when he was training at the redstar training a ways back. He hit it on a few people there. Those were good times, I hope we can do that redstar training again soon. Maybe I'll actually be able to roll this time! Back on topic: Loop Chokes are pretty awesome, and I think I might want to start working them into my game a bit. That's right, me... doing a choke, we shall see. I'll probably just end up using it to set up an armbar.
One other thing about refereeing that I wanted to talk about was how disrespectful a couple of coaches were to some of the referees. If you think you know the rules so well, put on the tuxedo shirt and bowtie and try doing the job yourself. Seriously. I know, as a coach, you want your fighter to win, but abusing the referees isn't going to help them.
One particular case that stood out in my mind relates to the infamous baseball bat choke. Fighter A had fighter B in his guard, fighter B passes, and fighter A sets up a baseball bat choke, but incorrectly his arms never crossed so fighter B, who is passing is never in danger of being submitted. The referee gave the 3 points and eventually fighter B ended up back in fighters A's guard, 3 points ahead. Maybe the coach didn't see that the choke wasn't being effective because of the angle, but that doesn't give him the right to make a scene and insult the referee the way he did. Even if the choke was effective, I've seen HIGH level referees(at IBJJF events) give pass and back points for competitors stuck in baseball bat chokes(I've seen points given to a guy as he promptly takes a nap) so to go off about how terrible the refereeing is because of a situation like that is even more ridiculous.
Personally, I had one case where I had the crowd pretty upset with the delay in giving an advantage. There was a scramble, I can't remember exactly what, and one guy almost gets the other guys back, he's got one hook in, and is controlling pretty well, but never get's that 2nd hook in. Anyway, the crowd is yelling for the advantage, but I am focusing on the fighters, and in my head reviewing how they got there to make sure I didn't miss points or an advantage for the other guy before I give the advantage for the back. It probably looked like I wasn't going to give the advantage so I can kind of understand why they were yelling for it. So I didn't let it phase me. I just hope that people didn't see the delay as me being influenced by the crowd to give the advantage.
The event started on time, as usual, and ran pretty close to ontime. Nogi did start a bit later then estimated, maybe by 1/2 hour or so, but there wasn't much a lull between gi and nogi so that wasn't to bad. I headed out a bit early, since I was going camping, but 2 mats were already shut down, and it was pretty much just absolutes running when I left at around 4:15pm.
As with pretty much every tournament I have attended as a spectator/competitor/referee/other there was some confusion about which techniques were legal and not legal for the various ages of kids. I was lucky to not have to referee kids, so I only had to keep what's legal for different belts straight and not worry about ages. You'd be surprised that adults sometimes don't even know what they are allowed and not allowed to do. Anyway, with the kids, guillotines are not supposed to be allowed and there were some matches where they happened. I don't want to blame anyone, but it sucks for the kids when they get guillotined(and the refs stops it before they even think about tapping) and lose, when that technique isn't supposed to be allowed for like 5 or 7 more years!
As referees, especially for kids, we really need to review the rules and know what is allowed and not allowed. Like I said, this happens all the time, not just at Grappling Industries but it's something, as a referee I know I even need to work on, because I was asked the next day, which subs are legal and which aren't and I couldn't nail down a solid list off memory. I usually have a copy of the rule book with me at tournaments (IBJJF Rules for ones that follow that anyway) so I can reference it before a match If I have to ref some kids of various ages and I think perhaps tournaments should supply an easy to read, clear, and detailed list of what is allowed at what ages/belts for the referees, but also for the coaches and spectators.
Grappling Industries is making some pretty major changes to their events for their next one in Toronto, On October 26th. You can read about the new changes to the format on the announcement post here. The highlights are: kids will be split between white and colour belts, and white belt kids will be no-sub, while colour will follow the IBJJF rules for allowed subs. Finally, they will be changing the weighins so that nogi will use the IBJJF nogi weight classes, and Gi will use the Gi weight classes and weighins will be done before your first match, instead of the night before/first thing in the morning.
I am a fan of pretty much all of this, except for the weighins not being first thing in the morning. I love the first thing in the morning weighins, it gets it out of the way, it lets you know who is there and who isn't and it keeps things running better throughout the day. Jiu Jitsu is pretty much the only sport that uses the right before the match weighin system and I don't know why it loves it so much. I know it's to combat weight cutting, but It generally just means people who are naturally close end up fighting hungry and dehydrated.
Coming up next (in my best Mike Goldberg voice):
The GTA Classic: Saturday Sept 21st in Toronto. There will be Acai, samurai swords, food bank donation collections and lots of Gi Jiu Jitsu. It's pre-registration only and registration closes sometime next week. I couldn't find the date off hand. I imagine it closes on Tuesday or Wednesday. You have to be a member of the OJA to compete and you can register through the OJA's website.
The Canadian Submission Expo aka Sub-X: Sunday Sept 21st in Toronto. This is a really cool charity fight show that will feature the absolute finals from Saturday's GTA classic as well as a bunch of other really great super fights. It's all for charity and well worth the trip to Toronto for the afternoon.
JCC GTA Invitational: Saturday Sept 28th. This is a kids/juniors only event put on by the OGA. These tournaments are unique in that it's kids only and they use simulated submissions for the younger/less experienced competitors (this means they only have to lock the submission on, not apply it). They've made some changes about what is allowed at what age/belt so make sure you check the rules before you go!
Zombie House Submission League: Saturday Sept 28th. This is a really cool event that has been fairly "underground" for the last couple years. It's basically sub-only matches that go 5 minutes, and you get as many subs as you can. It's a very chilled out atmosphere and very friendly. It's split up by weight classes not belt and there are handicaps applied to the various belts, so if a white belt subs a purple, it's worth way more then purple subbing a white. It's worth checking out on a Saturday afternoon.
Grappling Industries Montreal: HWY 401 Edition. Saturday Oct 5th They are moving up to the big gym at the same location, and using 5 big mats like this past weekend in Toronto. The last event in Montreal was pretty cozy, so this will be a great change. They are giving away 8 trips to the last Grappling Industries event in Toronto for 2013 (Oct 26th). If, you happen to be from the GTA, you can always cash out the prize. I like the idea of giving trips to Toronto, I hope it gets some more mixing of the Jiu Jitsu scenes in the two cities.
SAU: Autumn Jiu Jitsu Games. Saturday Oct 12th in Montreal. I still have not made it out to one of these events, and I don't think I will this time around either. But I have heard a lot of good things about it. They do a double elimination Gi tournament, and a subonly nogi event in one day. Worth checking out if you are in the area.
Ottawa BJJ Open:Saturday Oct 19th Sunday Oct 20th in Ottawa. This is a Gi Only event that should bring out a lot of the Ottawa area teams that don't often make it out to the GTA or Montreal events in big numbers. You need to be a member of the OJA to compete and it is pre-registration only.
Grappling Industries Toronto: Pans Edition: Saturday Oct 28th. This is the event I mentioned earlier with the format changes. Don't tell me I didn't warn you about the weighins when the time comes. They are giving away 5 trips to California for the IBJJF Pans. If they get 500 competitors, they will double that and give away 10 trips! That is absolutely crazy. I may just register and fight with 1 arm!
So, that is a busy time coming up. There are a bunch more events to round off the year, but I think that is enough for now. I'll probably be at all the grappling industries events, and any of the ones in the GTA. It's not really worth it for me to travel to the non-near by ones unless I have teammates competing so we shall see about Ottawa and the SAU event.
First, I have to say, as a referee I LOVED the setup. The small mat areas they have had in the past has been the biggest negative for their events. They had very large mat areas, with a double row between for a safety area. I wasn't run into from a neighbouring mat area once! Only having a single row(of mat areas), Instead of two also allowed for better viewing for the spectators. Speaking of spectators, the fee was 15, which to me is pretty high, but they post what it is on the website so I can't complain to much, and as a referee I didn't have to pay, so it didn't affect me.
There are a few reasons why I think.the event was smaller then their past events.
1. The proximity to the GTA classic. This is a well established event that a lot of people really look forward to. It's a solid tournament that is always in mid September so people plan to attend it. Hosting an event only two weeks before will certainly make you lose some potential attendees.
2. Their last event in Toronto was only 6 or so weeks earlier. When the Ibjjf comes to a city twice in one year, its 6 months apart, not 6 weeks, they do that for a reason! They also have another event at the end of October, 6 or 7 weeks away again. There is lots of talk of an over saturated market, and I think they will feel the pain of it hosting 3 events so close together.
3. It was the weekend after everyone went back to school. Kids are just getting back into their school routines, post secondary students are settling into their school year homes and parents are dealing with kids who are back to school. The last thing on any people's mind this weekend is a Jiu jitsu competition!
So yeah, it was smaller, but it was well run, there was really good competition in a lot of the divisions and there was acai!
I love acai bowls. I discovered them when we went to Costa mesa for the first AoJ training camp is summer 2012. I had resisted trying them until the last day of the camp because I don't know why. Anyway, we.all went the the place just down the road from AoJ after class and waited like 40 min for the bowls, it they were amazing. Fast fwd to worlds 2013, we were in Costa Mesa for a few days before and I was really watching what I.ate for the first few.days because I was still disillusioned into thinking I could compete, but then I realized I could not,and ate a bowl the last day we were in Costa mesa, and then every day at worlds.
So anyway, a couple guys from Toronto Bjj have started the Acai Cafe and this past weekend was their first event! The bowls were simple, just granola and banana, it they were really tasty anyway. They seemed sweeter then I remember from California,but that could just be me. Hopefully next time they have a few more toppings like coconut, peanut butter and cocoa nibs. The prices were reasonable considering the costs to get acai packs up here. The bowls were smaller then California, it that's not terrible because the ones in California are almost too big. Just a side note, they will be at the GTA Classic next weekend, and also at the next Grappling Industries Toronto event as well.
Ok, enough about acai.
I got to referee some pretty excellent matches and I was also requested to not referee some other matches. This is a first for me, and I have to admit I was pretty shocked and sad when David came over to my mat and said someone wanted to have a different ref for their matches. This was a first for me and I didn't take it very well. I'm sure it's nothing personal, maybe they don't like that I ask the fighters to switch sides so I can raise their arm properly. Who knows. Anyway, after that, I sat around for a bit and got over it fairly quickly after I ate some pizza and acai.
One competitor stood out for me while refereeing the blue belt -154 gi division. The whole division was pretty stacked with some amazing fights, Myles Allen hit a pretty sweet triangle on Kevin Wheeler really fast, which was almost disappointing, because I was looking forward to seeing them really duke it out ya know? Props to Myles though, he has sick triangles.
But, That is not who I wanted to talk about, one of the competitors went 4-0 in the round robin, winning every single fight with a loop choke! Milkias, from Body of Four, has ridiculous loop chokes! It's scary how he sets them up, from almost any position. Standing? No problem, Guard? done, Getting guard passed? done. It's like Jon and his silly baseball chokes! I had an inkling about that he worked them a bit, when he was training at the redstar training a ways back. He hit it on a few people there. Those were good times, I hope we can do that redstar training again soon. Maybe I'll actually be able to roll this time! Back on topic: Loop Chokes are pretty awesome, and I think I might want to start working them into my game a bit. That's right, me... doing a choke, we shall see. I'll probably just end up using it to set up an armbar.
One other thing about refereeing that I wanted to talk about was how disrespectful a couple of coaches were to some of the referees. If you think you know the rules so well, put on the tuxedo shirt and bowtie and try doing the job yourself. Seriously. I know, as a coach, you want your fighter to win, but abusing the referees isn't going to help them.
One particular case that stood out in my mind relates to the infamous baseball bat choke. Fighter A had fighter B in his guard, fighter B passes, and fighter A sets up a baseball bat choke, but incorrectly his arms never crossed so fighter B, who is passing is never in danger of being submitted. The referee gave the 3 points and eventually fighter B ended up back in fighters A's guard, 3 points ahead. Maybe the coach didn't see that the choke wasn't being effective because of the angle, but that doesn't give him the right to make a scene and insult the referee the way he did. Even if the choke was effective, I've seen HIGH level referees(at IBJJF events) give pass and back points for competitors stuck in baseball bat chokes(I've seen points given to a guy as he promptly takes a nap) so to go off about how terrible the refereeing is because of a situation like that is even more ridiculous.
Personally, I had one case where I had the crowd pretty upset with the delay in giving an advantage. There was a scramble, I can't remember exactly what, and one guy almost gets the other guys back, he's got one hook in, and is controlling pretty well, but never get's that 2nd hook in. Anyway, the crowd is yelling for the advantage, but I am focusing on the fighters, and in my head reviewing how they got there to make sure I didn't miss points or an advantage for the other guy before I give the advantage for the back. It probably looked like I wasn't going to give the advantage so I can kind of understand why they were yelling for it. So I didn't let it phase me. I just hope that people didn't see the delay as me being influenced by the crowd to give the advantage.
The event started on time, as usual, and ran pretty close to ontime. Nogi did start a bit later then estimated, maybe by 1/2 hour or so, but there wasn't much a lull between gi and nogi so that wasn't to bad. I headed out a bit early, since I was going camping, but 2 mats were already shut down, and it was pretty much just absolutes running when I left at around 4:15pm.
As with pretty much every tournament I have attended as a spectator/competitor/referee/other there was some confusion about which techniques were legal and not legal for the various ages of kids. I was lucky to not have to referee kids, so I only had to keep what's legal for different belts straight and not worry about ages. You'd be surprised that adults sometimes don't even know what they are allowed and not allowed to do. Anyway, with the kids, guillotines are not supposed to be allowed and there were some matches where they happened. I don't want to blame anyone, but it sucks for the kids when they get guillotined(and the refs stops it before they even think about tapping) and lose, when that technique isn't supposed to be allowed for like 5 or 7 more years!
As referees, especially for kids, we really need to review the rules and know what is allowed and not allowed. Like I said, this happens all the time, not just at Grappling Industries but it's something, as a referee I know I even need to work on, because I was asked the next day, which subs are legal and which aren't and I couldn't nail down a solid list off memory. I usually have a copy of the rule book with me at tournaments (IBJJF Rules for ones that follow that anyway) so I can reference it before a match If I have to ref some kids of various ages and I think perhaps tournaments should supply an easy to read, clear, and detailed list of what is allowed at what ages/belts for the referees, but also for the coaches and spectators.
Grappling Industries is making some pretty major changes to their events for their next one in Toronto, On October 26th. You can read about the new changes to the format on the announcement post here. The highlights are: kids will be split between white and colour belts, and white belt kids will be no-sub, while colour will follow the IBJJF rules for allowed subs. Finally, they will be changing the weighins so that nogi will use the IBJJF nogi weight classes, and Gi will use the Gi weight classes and weighins will be done before your first match, instead of the night before/first thing in the morning.
I am a fan of pretty much all of this, except for the weighins not being first thing in the morning. I love the first thing in the morning weighins, it gets it out of the way, it lets you know who is there and who isn't and it keeps things running better throughout the day. Jiu Jitsu is pretty much the only sport that uses the right before the match weighin system and I don't know why it loves it so much. I know it's to combat weight cutting, but It generally just means people who are naturally close end up fighting hungry and dehydrated.
Coming up next (in my best Mike Goldberg voice):
The GTA Classic: Saturday Sept 21st in Toronto. There will be Acai, samurai swords, food bank donation collections and lots of Gi Jiu Jitsu. It's pre-registration only and registration closes sometime next week. I couldn't find the date off hand. I imagine it closes on Tuesday or Wednesday. You have to be a member of the OJA to compete and you can register through the OJA's website.
The Canadian Submission Expo aka Sub-X: Sunday Sept 21st in Toronto. This is a really cool charity fight show that will feature the absolute finals from Saturday's GTA classic as well as a bunch of other really great super fights. It's all for charity and well worth the trip to Toronto for the afternoon.
JCC GTA Invitational: Saturday Sept 28th. This is a kids/juniors only event put on by the OGA. These tournaments are unique in that it's kids only and they use simulated submissions for the younger/less experienced competitors (this means they only have to lock the submission on, not apply it). They've made some changes about what is allowed at what age/belt so make sure you check the rules before you go!
Zombie House Submission League: Saturday Sept 28th. This is a really cool event that has been fairly "underground" for the last couple years. It's basically sub-only matches that go 5 minutes, and you get as many subs as you can. It's a very chilled out atmosphere and very friendly. It's split up by weight classes not belt and there are handicaps applied to the various belts, so if a white belt subs a purple, it's worth way more then purple subbing a white. It's worth checking out on a Saturday afternoon.
Grappling Industries Montreal: HWY 401 Edition. Saturday Oct 5th They are moving up to the big gym at the same location, and using 5 big mats like this past weekend in Toronto. The last event in Montreal was pretty cozy, so this will be a great change. They are giving away 8 trips to the last Grappling Industries event in Toronto for 2013 (Oct 26th). If, you happen to be from the GTA, you can always cash out the prize. I like the idea of giving trips to Toronto, I hope it gets some more mixing of the Jiu Jitsu scenes in the two cities.
SAU: Autumn Jiu Jitsu Games. Saturday Oct 12th in Montreal. I still have not made it out to one of these events, and I don't think I will this time around either. But I have heard a lot of good things about it. They do a double elimination Gi tournament, and a subonly nogi event in one day. Worth checking out if you are in the area.
Ottawa BJJ Open:
Grappling Industries Toronto: Pans Edition: Saturday Oct 28th. This is the event I mentioned earlier with the format changes. Don't tell me I didn't warn you about the weighins when the time comes. They are giving away 5 trips to California for the IBJJF Pans. If they get 500 competitors, they will double that and give away 10 trips! That is absolutely crazy. I may just register and fight with 1 arm!
So, that is a busy time coming up. There are a bunch more events to round off the year, but I think that is enough for now. I'll probably be at all the grappling industries events, and any of the ones in the GTA. It's not really worth it for me to travel to the non-near by ones unless I have teammates competing so we shall see about Ottawa and the SAU event.
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Grappling Industries: Montreal (NoGI Worlds Edition) August 17th 2013
What the heck blogger? Why didn't you save the 98% finished post I wrote two days ago???
I hate re-writing stuff. So now I don't even feel like writing about this event. But alas, there were some things I liked and did not like and whatnot, like with all tournaments.
Starting off, we almost didn't go, and our carload ended up being just Alasdair and I. Jon messed up his shoulder when Rick from AOJ was here so he stayed home and worked on the renos to our entryway that he started 3 or 4 years ago. Anyway, we were going to bail and just stay home and rest our weary bones, but I had committed to refereeing and they had some people cancel, so like good little sponsored athletes, we made the trek down.
It was a pretty terrible drive there. Nothing like the great blizzard and car failure of February(I think it was Feb anyway) but 3+ hours to get through Toronto is pretty awful. Once we were past Pickering it was smooth sailing though. The drive home was almost perfect. 6 hours door to door, with one quick gas / food / bathroom break at the first service center in Ontario. We only took one break each way, which really does cut down on the time spent, but also makes for pretty stiff joints and a sore butt.
Our hotel was pretty sweet. I think it was either very new, or recently completely renovated. It didn't quite have the new smell, but everything from the carpets, to the tables, walls, and TVs seemed new.
It had a pretty good location to, close to one of the airports(I don't know which one), and also very close to a bunch of shops, a theatre and other entertainment type stuff. Good for a 2 day event. Free parking and WiFi is also pretty sweet and helps keep the costs of a trip down, especially for me and Jon, who are on wind, so we don't have data in Montreal. Lastly, the hotel had a decent breakfast, for a reasonable fee, buffet was 14 bucks, or a standard omelet or eggs with bacon coffee, toast and whatnot was 11.50. Buffet is great for events with day before weighin, not so great for ibjjf style events.
Anyway, it's a good thing we did show up because one of the other referrers canceled on Friday night, and a table worker or two no-showed! We started at 9 am pretty much on the button, and ran steady till 530ish, with a bit of a break on some mats between the transition from nogi to gi. This went more smoothly then at some past events because it seemed like they put divisions that would likely be the same.between gi and nogi on the same mats.
For example: mat 1 was the light weight classes of nogi advanced, and then the purple belt lighter weight classes. So there was less trouble with not being able to start a gi division because competitors were still finishing nogi on another mat. Of course, this doesn't always work, because if it is one of the really big divisions, having both gi and nogi run on the same mat, would lead to that mat running much later then other mats. This did happen on the weekend as well, but I think it was only about half hour or so, once I was.able to pass a few matches off onto a done mat.
So, refereeing was an experience, as always. I got called "bush-league" which turns out to mean bad. It's a new term for me, but I suppose it could be worse. He did say "with all do respect" first. I'm not sure how that is respectful, but whatever. He didn't like how I stopped fights before a takedown was complete on it's way out of bounds, and how I didn't stop it when they weren't heading towards the edge and the other guy got a takedown. Sadly, with the small mat areas, and small(ish, well pretty standard which i find small) safety area, you have to stop things more often then on say, IBJJF size mat areas (which also vary from event to event, fun fact there).
One other thing, that has kind of got me stewing about refereeing and my brain, was that after one match, the ended up being 3-1 advantages, the coach of the guy who lost was asking me about the advantages. He was certain it should have been 2-2, and I couldn't recall what the advantages were given for. This was like, right after the match. I felt bad, because I should be able to remember, it was 30 seconds ago, max 5 minutes total. I am still confident I scored it right. I believe the videos are already up so feel free to dig it up and prove me wrong. But, I couldn't defend the calls I made. That being said, I probably shouldn't even acknowledge people who want to question my refereeing, but he is a well respected member of the community and I could have been a good opportunity to learn perhaps.
Anyway, the fact that my brain is working this substandardly makes me question my ability to referee. I have always, for as long as I can remember had an iffy memory, I can re-watch a movie like 6 months after I watch it, and forget the dialog and whatnot. The general plot I can mostly remember but details are all lost. Same with reading, I can re-read a book a year apart and it'll be new again. It has definitely gotten worse since the last 2 concussions (one from sparring back in 2009 or so) ad the most recent one last December.
Another thing that was quite frustrating as a referee was the number of competitors reaping knees and not even knowing they are doing it. Instructors/Professors/Coaches: If you are going to teach DLR, and/or ankle locks please make sure your students know where they can and cannot put their feet, and which way they can turn! Thankfully, with the new rules, I don't have to DQ instantly, but it's bad form. I had 2 guys in intermediate going after ankle locks, and they were reaping like crazy. I stopped it and said "you can't do that", and they were both like "do what???". I can only shake my head and hope they remember or next time. I gave them a penalty, explained, un-reaped the legs and started them up again. Here's a picture of it, in-case your are wondering if I'm crazy.
Last thing about refereeing that drives me crazy, is when competitors don't know the commands. Again, coaches, if you are going to allow your students to compete, PLEASE make sure they know the basics like start,stop, and what tapping means. Seriously. I had a guys elbow get pretty jacked b/c the competitor didn't stop cranking when the guy tapped, and also didn't stop when I said Pa-row. To me, that is one of the most disrespectful things you can do in competition (next to walking around with no shoes off the mat). Even if you just hold, but don't apply anymore pressure until you are sure the referee has seen the tap, that would be ok.
Alright, I am done ranting about refereeing. Let's talk about the other thing that I was not a fan of this time around. The medic situation was not good. There was a medic, but he didn't have a table or area set up. He was ill-equiped (no sports tape) and he didn't handle some injuries very well. He was also not always easily found (since he didn't have a specific area). I sent a guy to get his foot that was bleeding from mat burn taped up. He came back with a bandaid and a strip of clear tape on it. The tape wasn't even wrapped around his foot. Needless to say, it lasted about 10 seconds. A friend of mine who's elbow got jacked when to see him. The medic asked if it hurt, and he said yes, so he gave him some ice. He didn't inspect it or try to diagnose it or anything. While I don't expect the medics to be orthopedic surgeons, I do expect them to be aware of the sport, and the special needs that come with working at it.
I didn't get a lot of free time to observe the tournament in general, weigh ins went smoothly. They have a really nice, very accurate scale and people were going through the weigh ins quickly. I am a huge fan of doing weighins in the morning. Maybe I am partial to it because that is how it is done for most judo tournaments (there are some that do day before, but never matside). But I like how smooth it makes the rest of the day. The one thing I am not a huge fan of that Grappling Industries still does, is use the IBJJF GI weight classes, but allow people to weighin without their gi. The Gi weight classes have a pretty significant weight allowance built into them to accommodate people wearing a gi. So they should be using the NOGI weight classes if they let ppl weigh in without their gi.
I did get a few minutes to sit down and watch my friend Quincy referee. She is a pretty new referee, but she controlled the action well and I didn't see any glaring issues or problems. She handled the small space well, and did a good job positioning herself to see the action. All the other referees were fairly experienced. I do feel a bit bad for them, compared to the GTA, they don't have nearly as many opportunities to referee and stay sharp.
True North BJJ was there snapping pictures. I think Scott took probably 700 or so. He was all over the place and didn't rest all day. I don't know how he did it, especially with his bum knee. You can check out their photo galleries on facebook by liking their fanpage. Here is a shortcut to one of the three albums. True North BJJ is a new media/information/whatever outlet for the Jiu Jitsu community In Ontario and Canada. It focuses more on the information and events and less on the memes and douchbaggary that seem to be becoming more and more popular around the interwebs.
This tournament has out-grown it's current venue. With 5 mat areas there wasn't a lot of spectator room, and the gym got very very hot and stuffy by mid-afternoon. This is great for the promoters and for the scene in Montreal in general, but they may have to start looking for a mid-size venue to accommodate the growth. Being able to it 6 mat areas, with ample safety room and spectator room would make for a shorter day and would be more comfortable for everyone. I do congratulate Grappling Industries on the growth though, it's great to see more and more competitors coming out to events in Montreal. It seems like Montreal has a very different scene then Toronto, and I am not sure why. Montreal is huge city, and there are other cities in driving distance that also have pretty good BJJ clubs in them (Ottawa for one). There certainly is a lot more MMA and Judo guys coming out to these events then any events in the GTA.
Alasdair had a pretty decent day, especially if you take into consideration that he doesn't really like nogi, has a hyper extended elbow, and wasn't feeling well. None of that stopped him from going 4-0 in the round robin, with 3 slick subs, and one win by points. Unfortunately it all caught up with him, and he didn't exactly perform to his full potential in the final against fellow Grappling Industries sponsored competitor Maxime Poulin. To be fair, Maxime is an absolute beast and destroyed pretty much everyone he fought! You can read up a bit more on Maxime on the Grappling Industries website.
There were a few competitors that I refereed that really stood out in mind mind.
Starting of with Scott Jutras, he placed 2nd in the -195 nogi advanced division. He's a 10th planet guy and had a bunch of very quick, slick subs. I was impressed with his composure when he got taken down (straight to a guillotine) and his transitions were very smooth.
In the big guys category, 2 competitors stood out: Eric Chibuluzo, who is actually only a white belt, and is a super athlete with an insane will to win. He shut down the game of much more experienced competitors. He is going to be a force to be reckoned with when he has a few years of experience under his belt. Also standing out was Jeff Muir, had never seen Jeff compete before, and his style was so relaxed and controlled. He was also ridiculously friendly, having a chat mid-match on at least one occasion. He didn't win medal, but he just stood out as a great competitor.
Of course, no grappling industries is complete without the ankle lock king, Jon-Taine Hall. Everyone knows it's coming, and no-one can stop it. In one match, he was down on points, and there was less the 30 seconds left and he pulled an ankle lock out of nowhere to get the tap! Jon-Taine is a super humble competitor as well, and he always(from what I've seen anyway) gives guys a chance to tap before he really puts the pressure on.
Well, I'm pretty sure this version of the post is entirely different then the original, but that's what you get when my phone craps out on me. I apologize for taking so long to get it finished, It's pretty un-motivating to have 2 hours of work disappear. I guess it's not safe to assume the mobile app auto-saves as anally as the web interface.
So, coming up next:
Sept 7th: Grappling Industries: Sunshine Boulevard Toronto. There will be trips to Miami and NOGI worlds to be won. Also, I think the brand new amazing podium made by Gabrielle will be debuted!
Sept 21st: The GTA Classic This OJA event is one of my favourite events of the year. It's like the back to school tournament. It's GI only, and they are working on some pretty cool prizes. There will be samuri swords for absolute winners which is pretty badass.
Oct 5th: Grappling Industries: HWY 401 Edition: Montreal. They are giving away a 8 trips to Toronto for the next Grappling Industries event in Toronto. I think this is a pretty cool concept, and I hope it helps kind of bridge the gap between the two scenes. It's also cool that they are giving away 8 trips, so almost everyone will be able to get a chance at one. If you are from the GTA, you will, of course, be able to cash-out the trip.
Oct 12th SAU 3 In Montreal. These guys are kind of new to the scene, but have put on 2 events in the past. I have never been able to make it out to one because of scheduling, but I have heard good things. They do sub-only and double elimination, so it's a little different then the everyone else, so check it out.
Oct 19th: OJA Ottawa BJJ Open. Not to much information out about this one yet. I get my ottawa events mixed up. There is two each year. They are a good chance to test your skills against the Ottawa competitors because they come out in full force.
That's enough upcoming events for today! There are more, like another Grappling Industries Toronto, OJA provincials, and the IBJJF Montreal Open. But this is long enough, and there will be plenty of posts to write about them as they approach.
Finally: I haven't talked about my shoulder much. It's now been 3 months and a couple weeks since it was injured. I had an MRI (A), got the results, talked to my sports doctor, and picked up the MRI cd. I am now waiting for an appointment with a surgeon. There was some talk of not doing surgery, because the tears (labrum and bicep tendon) are small, but because of where they are, they are still affecting my day to day (sleeping, driving, typing, laundry), they are going to fix it. Dr. Levy was confident I would be able to see the surgeon in a couple weeks (it's been two since i saw him, I should probably check up on that), and have the surgery before the end of the year. I haven't bee training or using it really the last few weeks, so it feels not to bad. Next week I am going to train, and teach, so we shall see how that goes. It will probably go poorly, and I will end up having to take advil for a week again. Whatever.
Alright, this really is the end. Thanks for reading and see you on the mats (or side lines, or wherever).
I hate re-writing stuff. So now I don't even feel like writing about this event. But alas, there were some things I liked and did not like and whatnot, like with all tournaments.
Starting off, we almost didn't go, and our carload ended up being just Alasdair and I. Jon messed up his shoulder when Rick from AOJ was here so he stayed home and worked on the renos to our entryway that he started 3 or 4 years ago. Anyway, we were going to bail and just stay home and rest our weary bones, but I had committed to refereeing and they had some people cancel, so like good little sponsored athletes, we made the trek down.
It was a pretty terrible drive there. Nothing like the great blizzard and car failure of February(I think it was Feb anyway) but 3+ hours to get through Toronto is pretty awful. Once we were past Pickering it was smooth sailing though. The drive home was almost perfect. 6 hours door to door, with one quick gas / food / bathroom break at the first service center in Ontario. We only took one break each way, which really does cut down on the time spent, but also makes for pretty stiff joints and a sore butt.
Our hotel was pretty sweet. I think it was either very new, or recently completely renovated. It didn't quite have the new smell, but everything from the carpets, to the tables, walls, and TVs seemed new.
It had a pretty good location to, close to one of the airports(I don't know which one), and also very close to a bunch of shops, a theatre and other entertainment type stuff. Good for a 2 day event. Free parking and WiFi is also pretty sweet and helps keep the costs of a trip down, especially for me and Jon, who are on wind, so we don't have data in Montreal. Lastly, the hotel had a decent breakfast, for a reasonable fee, buffet was 14 bucks, or a standard omelet or eggs with bacon coffee, toast and whatnot was 11.50. Buffet is great for events with day before weighin, not so great for ibjjf style events.
Anyway, it's a good thing we did show up because one of the other referrers canceled on Friday night, and a table worker or two no-showed! We started at 9 am pretty much on the button, and ran steady till 530ish, with a bit of a break on some mats between the transition from nogi to gi. This went more smoothly then at some past events because it seemed like they put divisions that would likely be the same.between gi and nogi on the same mats.
For example: mat 1 was the light weight classes of nogi advanced, and then the purple belt lighter weight classes. So there was less trouble with not being able to start a gi division because competitors were still finishing nogi on another mat. Of course, this doesn't always work, because if it is one of the really big divisions, having both gi and nogi run on the same mat, would lead to that mat running much later then other mats. This did happen on the weekend as well, but I think it was only about half hour or so, once I was.able to pass a few matches off onto a done mat.
So, refereeing was an experience, as always. I got called "bush-league" which turns out to mean bad. It's a new term for me, but I suppose it could be worse. He did say "with all do respect" first. I'm not sure how that is respectful, but whatever. He didn't like how I stopped fights before a takedown was complete on it's way out of bounds, and how I didn't stop it when they weren't heading towards the edge and the other guy got a takedown. Sadly, with the small mat areas, and small(ish, well pretty standard which i find small) safety area, you have to stop things more often then on say, IBJJF size mat areas (which also vary from event to event, fun fact there).
One other thing, that has kind of got me stewing about refereeing and my brain, was that after one match, the ended up being 3-1 advantages, the coach of the guy who lost was asking me about the advantages. He was certain it should have been 2-2, and I couldn't recall what the advantages were given for. This was like, right after the match. I felt bad, because I should be able to remember, it was 30 seconds ago, max 5 minutes total. I am still confident I scored it right. I believe the videos are already up so feel free to dig it up and prove me wrong. But, I couldn't defend the calls I made. That being said, I probably shouldn't even acknowledge people who want to question my refereeing, but he is a well respected member of the community and I could have been a good opportunity to learn perhaps.
Anyway, the fact that my brain is working this substandardly makes me question my ability to referee. I have always, for as long as I can remember had an iffy memory, I can re-watch a movie like 6 months after I watch it, and forget the dialog and whatnot. The general plot I can mostly remember but details are all lost. Same with reading, I can re-read a book a year apart and it'll be new again. It has definitely gotten worse since the last 2 concussions (one from sparring back in 2009 or so) ad the most recent one last December.
Another thing that was quite frustrating as a referee was the number of competitors reaping knees and not even knowing they are doing it. Instructors/Professors/Coaches: If you are going to teach DLR, and/or ankle locks please make sure your students know where they can and cannot put their feet, and which way they can turn! Thankfully, with the new rules, I don't have to DQ instantly, but it's bad form. I had 2 guys in intermediate going after ankle locks, and they were reaping like crazy. I stopped it and said "you can't do that", and they were both like "do what???". I can only shake my head and hope they remember or next time. I gave them a penalty, explained, un-reaped the legs and started them up again. Here's a picture of it, in-case your are wondering if I'm crazy.
Last thing about refereeing that drives me crazy, is when competitors don't know the commands. Again, coaches, if you are going to allow your students to compete, PLEASE make sure they know the basics like start,stop, and what tapping means. Seriously. I had a guys elbow get pretty jacked b/c the competitor didn't stop cranking when the guy tapped, and also didn't stop when I said Pa-row. To me, that is one of the most disrespectful things you can do in competition (next to walking around with no shoes off the mat). Even if you just hold, but don't apply anymore pressure until you are sure the referee has seen the tap, that would be ok.
Alright, I am done ranting about refereeing. Let's talk about the other thing that I was not a fan of this time around. The medic situation was not good. There was a medic, but he didn't have a table or area set up. He was ill-equiped (no sports tape) and he didn't handle some injuries very well. He was also not always easily found (since he didn't have a specific area). I sent a guy to get his foot that was bleeding from mat burn taped up. He came back with a bandaid and a strip of clear tape on it. The tape wasn't even wrapped around his foot. Needless to say, it lasted about 10 seconds. A friend of mine who's elbow got jacked when to see him. The medic asked if it hurt, and he said yes, so he gave him some ice. He didn't inspect it or try to diagnose it or anything. While I don't expect the medics to be orthopedic surgeons, I do expect them to be aware of the sport, and the special needs that come with working at it.
I didn't get a lot of free time to observe the tournament in general, weigh ins went smoothly. They have a really nice, very accurate scale and people were going through the weigh ins quickly. I am a huge fan of doing weighins in the morning. Maybe I am partial to it because that is how it is done for most judo tournaments (there are some that do day before, but never matside). But I like how smooth it makes the rest of the day. The one thing I am not a huge fan of that Grappling Industries still does, is use the IBJJF GI weight classes, but allow people to weighin without their gi. The Gi weight classes have a pretty significant weight allowance built into them to accommodate people wearing a gi. So they should be using the NOGI weight classes if they let ppl weigh in without their gi.
I did get a few minutes to sit down and watch my friend Quincy referee. She is a pretty new referee, but she controlled the action well and I didn't see any glaring issues or problems. She handled the small space well, and did a good job positioning herself to see the action. All the other referees were fairly experienced. I do feel a bit bad for them, compared to the GTA, they don't have nearly as many opportunities to referee and stay sharp.
True North BJJ was there snapping pictures. I think Scott took probably 700 or so. He was all over the place and didn't rest all day. I don't know how he did it, especially with his bum knee. You can check out their photo galleries on facebook by liking their fanpage. Here is a shortcut to one of the three albums. True North BJJ is a new media/information/whatever outlet for the Jiu Jitsu community In Ontario and Canada. It focuses more on the information and events and less on the memes and douchbaggary that seem to be becoming more and more popular around the interwebs.
This tournament has out-grown it's current venue. With 5 mat areas there wasn't a lot of spectator room, and the gym got very very hot and stuffy by mid-afternoon. This is great for the promoters and for the scene in Montreal in general, but they may have to start looking for a mid-size venue to accommodate the growth. Being able to it 6 mat areas, with ample safety room and spectator room would make for a shorter day and would be more comfortable for everyone. I do congratulate Grappling Industries on the growth though, it's great to see more and more competitors coming out to events in Montreal. It seems like Montreal has a very different scene then Toronto, and I am not sure why. Montreal is huge city, and there are other cities in driving distance that also have pretty good BJJ clubs in them (Ottawa for one). There certainly is a lot more MMA and Judo guys coming out to these events then any events in the GTA.
Alasdair had a pretty decent day, especially if you take into consideration that he doesn't really like nogi, has a hyper extended elbow, and wasn't feeling well. None of that stopped him from going 4-0 in the round robin, with 3 slick subs, and one win by points. Unfortunately it all caught up with him, and he didn't exactly perform to his full potential in the final against fellow Grappling Industries sponsored competitor Maxime Poulin. To be fair, Maxime is an absolute beast and destroyed pretty much everyone he fought! You can read up a bit more on Maxime on the Grappling Industries website.
There were a few competitors that I refereed that really stood out in mind mind.
Starting of with Scott Jutras, he placed 2nd in the -195 nogi advanced division. He's a 10th planet guy and had a bunch of very quick, slick subs. I was impressed with his composure when he got taken down (straight to a guillotine) and his transitions were very smooth.
In the big guys category, 2 competitors stood out: Eric Chibuluzo, who is actually only a white belt, and is a super athlete with an insane will to win. He shut down the game of much more experienced competitors. He is going to be a force to be reckoned with when he has a few years of experience under his belt. Also standing out was Jeff Muir, had never seen Jeff compete before, and his style was so relaxed and controlled. He was also ridiculously friendly, having a chat mid-match on at least one occasion. He didn't win medal, but he just stood out as a great competitor.
Of course, no grappling industries is complete without the ankle lock king, Jon-Taine Hall. Everyone knows it's coming, and no-one can stop it. In one match, he was down on points, and there was less the 30 seconds left and he pulled an ankle lock out of nowhere to get the tap! Jon-Taine is a super humble competitor as well, and he always(from what I've seen anyway) gives guys a chance to tap before he really puts the pressure on.
Well, I'm pretty sure this version of the post is entirely different then the original, but that's what you get when my phone craps out on me. I apologize for taking so long to get it finished, It's pretty un-motivating to have 2 hours of work disappear. I guess it's not safe to assume the mobile app auto-saves as anally as the web interface.
So, coming up next:
Sept 7th: Grappling Industries: Sunshine Boulevard Toronto. There will be trips to Miami and NOGI worlds to be won. Also, I think the brand new amazing podium made by Gabrielle will be debuted!
Sept 21st: The GTA Classic This OJA event is one of my favourite events of the year. It's like the back to school tournament. It's GI only, and they are working on some pretty cool prizes. There will be samuri swords for absolute winners which is pretty badass.
Oct 5th: Grappling Industries: HWY 401 Edition: Montreal. They are giving away a 8 trips to Toronto for the next Grappling Industries event in Toronto. I think this is a pretty cool concept, and I hope it helps kind of bridge the gap between the two scenes. It's also cool that they are giving away 8 trips, so almost everyone will be able to get a chance at one. If you are from the GTA, you will, of course, be able to cash-out the trip.
Oct 12th SAU 3 In Montreal. These guys are kind of new to the scene, but have put on 2 events in the past. I have never been able to make it out to one because of scheduling, but I have heard good things. They do sub-only and double elimination, so it's a little different then the everyone else, so check it out.
Oct 19th: OJA Ottawa BJJ Open. Not to much information out about this one yet. I get my ottawa events mixed up. There is two each year. They are a good chance to test your skills against the Ottawa competitors because they come out in full force.
That's enough upcoming events for today! There are more, like another Grappling Industries Toronto, OJA provincials, and the IBJJF Montreal Open. But this is long enough, and there will be plenty of posts to write about them as they approach.
Finally: I haven't talked about my shoulder much. It's now been 3 months and a couple weeks since it was injured. I had an MRI (A), got the results, talked to my sports doctor, and picked up the MRI cd. I am now waiting for an appointment with a surgeon. There was some talk of not doing surgery, because the tears (labrum and bicep tendon) are small, but because of where they are, they are still affecting my day to day (sleeping, driving, typing, laundry), they are going to fix it. Dr. Levy was confident I would be able to see the surgeon in a couple weeks (it's been two since i saw him, I should probably check up on that), and have the surgery before the end of the year. I haven't bee training or using it really the last few weeks, so it feels not to bad. Next week I am going to train, and teach, so we shall see how that goes. It will probably go poorly, and I will end up having to take advil for a week again. Whatever.
Alright, this really is the end. Thanks for reading and see you on the mats (or side lines, or wherever).
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
Grappling Industries: Summer Havoc July 20th Recap
This past Saturday was Grappling Industries fourth foray into the GTA. The event was held at Ryerson University in downtown Toronto and had somewhere around 300 competitors.
They've gotten the format down pat, and it's all very smooth these days. They have weigh ins on Friday night, and Saturday morning with gi weigh ins closing 15 minutes before the start of the competition and nogi weigh ins closing 15 minutes before the start of the nogi.
Some of the things that were excellent about the day:
They've gotten the format down pat, and it's all very smooth these days. They have weigh ins on Friday night, and Saturday morning with gi weigh ins closing 15 minutes before the start of the competition and nogi weigh ins closing 15 minutes before the start of the nogi.
Some of the things that were excellent about the day:
- Started on time ran on / ahead of schedule and was pretty much done by 4pm. Most mats were done by 3:00pm
- The registration / weigh in process was quick and easy. Especially compared to past events where there was huge lines for registration due to the OGA paperwork.
- They gave away 8 trips to big IBJJF tournaments. Now, these 8 trips were not worth as much as some of the ones they have given out in the past, but with 8 of them, I'm quite certain the total value was the most they've given out.
- People are starting to understand the system and are at their mats ready to go, making the whole day smoother.
- There was a good size warm up area
- There were more masters out then at previous events, a trend I hope continues.
- The white belt ladies division was a decent size, and very competitive.
- The blue and up ladies -141 was the biggest I've ever seen.
Some things that were less then excellent about the day:
- my shoulder really hurt by the end, I was careful with it, making the fighters switch sides to raise their hand and stuff, but it still got sore.
- I had competitors from the mat beside me come onto my mat 3 or 4 times, twice they ran into me and/or my fighters. The mat area or safety area NEEDS to be made bigger somehow.
- Yacinta was the only one in the +141 blue and up divisions, so she didn't get too many fights. She still got to fight the winner of the -141 for the trips though, so at least she got some fights(and prizes).
- at least 3, and I think 4 referees who were scheduled to work did not show up on very short, or no notice. This lead to us having less breaks, and the promoters having to use backups.
- Coaches and Athletes STILL don't know the rules. Seriously people. RTFM.
- I got yelled at for not giving sweep points when someone reversed side control
- I got yelled at for DQ'ing for a heal hook.
- MANY competitors had no idea what a knee reap was and that they were doing it
- I got yelled at for allowing white belts to ankle lock. (News flash. they are LEGAL)
- The medics did an pretty good job. It's a hard job. But there were several times they had to be called multiple times to get their attention. Perhaps they need to have more so that they don't end up attending to to many athletes and not being able to keep an eye on the floor.
- There were several times throughout the day when fighters were called a whole bunch of times, and they weren't ever at the event. It would be good for the organizers to figure out a way to quickly/easily go through the weigh-in list and cross reference the draws and make notes of who never showed up. This would save some headaches for the table works.
- They use IBJJF GI weight classes, but allow you to weigh in with out your gi on. I like that they use the standard weight classes, but I think it would be better if they used the nogi weight classes because they don't have a weight allowance built into them.
Pura had a pretty small team out to the event. With it being summer and all not a lot of people are around on weekends. Here is how everyone did:
- Brayden: 4-0 in Gi, all wins by armbar for Gold! This was his first Nogi competition and he had a great showing winning silver.
- Kyle: His first competition and he went 3-1 in Gi and I believe 2-2 in nogi. Great work for his first time out hopefully he is hooked now :)
- Eric: 2-1 and one default win in Gi. This was his first time back competing in a very long time so it was good for him to work off the ring rust and now he is ready to really kick ass at the Toronto Open.
- Stephen went 3-2 looking like a beast.
- Jon went 2-2 in gi, putting 1 guy to sleep (that's 10 now). He entered in the advanced for nogi, which was a bit silly, and had a bit of a bad time against the killers David Mosleh, and Arther.
- Alasdair went 2-2 in gi. winning silver.
- Greg had a rough day, going 0-2 against a younger, larger guy. He did some great things in his matches though, and is steadily making his way down to super heavy where he is going to ruin a lot of peoples days.
The competition medal results can be found on the grappling industries website. Pictures from the event can be found on their facebook page and videos will be up on youtube soon.
On a completely unrelated note, I should get the results from the MRI today. I won't really know exactly what they mean, but it's progress. I have an appointment with Dr. Levy to go over them on August 7th. It's been pretty annoying the last few days. One day it will feel fine, the next it will feel awful. I imagine it's probably because it feels ok, so I move it more, and that pisses it off.
I guess that is all for now. The IBJJF Toronto Open is in a week and a half, registration closes this Friday. So get on that. It should be a pretty excellent event. We are heading to Montreal for the Grappling Industries event on August 17th as well and after that is another grappling industries event in Toronto, and then the OJA GTA Classic both in September.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention this!!
There are some women's open mats coming up in the Province as well! This is pretty awesome, and I wish I could participate in them. You ladies should all check them out.
Check out this facebook group for details and information on ladies jiu jitsu in ontario.
THIS SUNDAY in Toronto
Women's ONLY OPEN MAT on Sunday July 28th at 10am at Action & Reaction MMA.
August 25th in London:
See the facebook event for details.
On a completely unrelated note, I should get the results from the MRI today. I won't really know exactly what they mean, but it's progress. I have an appointment with Dr. Levy to go over them on August 7th. It's been pretty annoying the last few days. One day it will feel fine, the next it will feel awful. I imagine it's probably because it feels ok, so I move it more, and that pisses it off.
I guess that is all for now. The IBJJF Toronto Open is in a week and a half, registration closes this Friday. So get on that. It should be a pretty excellent event. We are heading to Montreal for the Grappling Industries event on August 17th as well and after that is another grappling industries event in Toronto, and then the OJA GTA Classic both in September.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention this!!
There are some women's open mats coming up in the Province as well! This is pretty awesome, and I wish I could participate in them. You ladies should all check them out.
Check out this facebook group for details and information on ladies jiu jitsu in ontario.
THIS SUNDAY in Toronto
Women's ONLY OPEN MAT on Sunday July 28th at 10am at Action & Reaction MMA.
August 25th in London:
See the facebook event for details.
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