This was supposed to be the 2nd sub only event of the year for us, but The OJA one in Kitchener got shut down by the snowmagendonpocalyse that was a minor snow storm. It was pretty disapointing for everyone involved, but there was nothing the OJA could do, the venue shut them down. But, this post isn't about that It's about last weekends road trip to Montreal.
It started out like a typical drive to Montreal, so that means horrible traffic from Mississagua to Whitby. We headed out around 3pm, and got to our hotel at around 10:00pm. Which isn't actually that bad, we made great time past whitby, and only took 1 gas/food/pee stop.
We stayed at the Novotel near the Mirabel airport. It was only $100+tax per night, and had free parking and wifi. The parking and wifi are two of the biggest factors when I pick a hotel. It's great that a hotel is like 75 or 80 per night, but if parking is 15 bucks (or 20 or 25, or even 35) and there is a fee for the wifi, suddenly $100 looks a lot better. The room was quite nice, the headboards had cool lights built into them, that we didn't discover until we were heading out in the morning. We couldn't hear people in the hall, the beds were comfy, the room was big enough, and the bathroom was quite nice. The pillows were kind of flat, and there was only 2 on each bed, so that kind of sucked, but if that is the worst thing about a hotel, I'll stay again. The bathroom doors were weird, and there wa s a gap in them, which meant zero sound proofing. I swear, this is the one thing hotels can't get right. We DON'T want to hear everything that is going on in the bathroom!
Anyway... We did our ussual morning routine for these events, go weigh in for the very start of weighins, then head to Cora's for breakfast and back to the venue intime to digest, relax, and get ready to fight. Cora's is a bit pricey, but it's realiable, never very busy, and pretty close to the venue.
The event started with a 20 minute sub only super fight between Gabe Sagman and Steve Shipinkas. It was a pretty entertaining match and ended in a draw. Steve did get a penalty, which the reff used to award Gabe the win, but that was changed right away, since it was only 1 penalty, and it was sub-only, ect. Neither guy dominated enough to be declared the winner so a draw was a fair outcome.
Next up after the super fight was the GI Super Absolute. This was IBJJF ruleset, open belt, open weight, open gender and it was an extra $10 to enter. I admit, some of the match ups that happened were pretty interesting, but I am not a huge fan of the concept, especially the guys vs girls thing. I'll be the first to say that women should be allowed to compete in men's divisions if there is no one in theirs, but to hae the potential for a 120lbs white belt women to fight a 250lbs purple belt guy, It's just asking for injuries. There were quite a few girls in the nogi version, and none of them made it out of the first round (that I saw). I admire them for giving it a go, but It's not something I will ever do. Toronto's Sub only coming up in March has the trips as prizes for the super absolutes and I am pretty disapointed about it.
Anyway... The format for the tournament was round robin, where you get 4 (ish) fights, and then there may or may not be tie breakers. A win by sub got you 3 points, decision got you 2 points, and a tie got you 1. This worked pretty well, but got a bit tricky when you ran into people who didn't show, and people who dropped out to injury. These were treated as decision wins, and got the "winner" 2 points. I think, down the road, they would be better of re-doing the draws after weighins closed so that no-shows were eliminated and everyone got a fair shot at getting the full 12 points for 4 sub wins. After the round robin, if there was a tie, we did tie breaker matches. If, after the first 5 minutes, there was no clear winner, they fought another 5 minutes, and another 5 after that if there was still no clear winner. I only had a few of these come up, and almost all of them had subs in the second 5 minutes, or were clear cut after that 5 minutes. I don't think anyone ended up in the 2nd overtime.
I reffed for the first 1/2 of the morning, while switching off and watching a couple of new(er) referees. The I competed in my division (blue+ open weight) and went straight back to refereeing till the end of the day. My second fight was a real eye opener for me. I fought Ashten, and she is really tough! It made me see that I really need to tighten up my game and never give an inch. it was a really good match, and I look forward to competing with her again down the road.
As you probably know, grappling industries uses really small mat areas. It's something I've complained about as a competitor and a referee on many occasions. I know mats are expensive, and they have limited venue space, blah blah blah blah, but it is DANGEROUS to have such small areas, with such limited safety areas between them. Especially with inexperienced referees who cannot control the fighters they are refereeing. On Saturday, I saw fighters repeatedly ending up on the mat beside them, and even once, on the mat beside that. This is ridiculous. The referees need to be more assertive, and have better positioning, the fighters need to have better awareness of where they are, and the tournament needs to have bigger areas and/or bigger saftely areas between them.
This issue was highlighted by a situation that happened to me, while refereeing min-afternoon. I was standing at the edge of my mat area, keeping myself between the fighters I was refereeing, and the mat behind me, focused on those fighters, when, out of the blue I got full on taken out from behind. Thankfully, my fighters were still standing, were paying attention, and stopped and waited, while the fighters from the mat behind me climbed off me me (while i was pretty much face planted) and I dragged myself up. I rolled my ankle and got some pretty awesome bruises from the whole ordeal, which isn't to bad, all things considered, but it could have been MUCH worse and should NOT have happened.
On to happier things. Pura had a pretty great day, we had 4 people competing: Steve, Jon, Andrew and myself, and took home 6 medals. Steve won gold in gi and nogi, Andrew won gold in gi and bronze in nogi, Jon won Bronze in gi (did not compete in nogi) and I won gold in gi (did not compete in nogi). Steve was on fire, subbing all his opponents handily. Jon had a bit of a rough day, he'd been sick for over a week and was still quite under the weather, but he still managed to put a guy to sleep. Andrew dominated his gi division and looked good in his nogi division as well. His gi final was a tie breaker that he won after overtime by decision.
I'm not entirely sure what happened, but the gi absolutes for the guys just didn't happen. My division was already combined, so I didn't have one. Since there were supposed to be "Season Passes" for the winners of the absolutes, Andrew and Steve were suposed to compete for them. They both ended up getting a seasons pass, I guess because they were the only ones that followed up about it, or they gave all the winners one, I don't know. I also earned a seasons pass by winning my division (which was, in reality, an absolute). Having the season pass will be a nice cost saver for us, since we attend so many competitions and they add up quick.
As the day was winding down, some mats finished way before others, the mat I ended up refereeing at for most of the afternoon somehow had way way way more matches then the others, so I pawned a few off on 2 other mats. Then I ended up being done before one of those mats (the other still finished ahead), so I got some of them back. The guys were giving me "can we go yet" faces for about an hour and a half, so I found one of the other referees who had not started till later in the day, and got him to take over for me. Thank You for that! It made me get home at 2am instead of 3 or 4 am!
Yea, 2 am. We left the venue around 5pm, and it was snowing. Surprise, a snow storm, when we are on a road trip to Montreal. If we are going to Montreal, between Oct and May, there WILL be a snow storm. It's a fact, it's science, and it cannot be disputed. The 401 was snow covered and kind of drifty from Montreal to Kingston, where there was a bit of a break, then again from just past Kingston to about Ajax and sporatically on the outskirts of Toronto. Once we hit Toronto proper it was just went so we could make decent time. In the snow covered bits, we varied between about 60-80km/h. We saw a bunch of cars in the ditches, and a plow that looked ot be stuck as well, which is kind of hilarious. I was having flashbacks to last february's nightmare trip TO Montreal, but the good news is, my car handled the snow fine. It stayed out of my air filter, so I am confident we are going to get to the trials without any car trouble this year.
The event Photographer did a really great job taking pictures. He got a good mix of the mat areas, and got some great shots. You can see the album here on facebook. As ussual, there are plenty of pictures of me looking stupid while refereeing. I swear, not a single picture exists of my refereeing where I don't have a stupid look on my face, or am in an awkward position, or am just generally looking stupid or fat or something. I might have to open up a bounty for event photographers: First one to get a good, flattering, not ugly picture of me refereeing will get a prize.
That's about all I have to say, overall it was a pretty good event. It ran surprising quickly considering the format, but I would like to see longer matches, I think it would end up with less draws, but, then we need more mats, more refs, more staff, more space, or we would be there all night. I'm looking forward to their Toronto Event on March 29th.
Coming up next for me is the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials in Montreal on Feb 22nd. I'm attempting to cut to the -145lbs weight class, and let me tell you, my body is not a fan. It's not a fan of middle weight, let alone 145 with a gi on, but I think I will make it. I SHOULD be able to given what my scale says my body fat is, but who knows, time will tell. We have a pretty good size crew from Pura heading out for that Trip, so it will be a fun weekend!
Also coming up, just confirmed, announced, registration opened. Is Ascension on March 1st. This is one of my favourite tournaments of the year. Omar puts on a great event. I think I wil just be refereeing though, since Pans is only 2 weeks later, and last time (Ontario Open last year) I competed that close to a major event, it didn't quite work out my way, and thousands of dollars were wasted. Wasted might be a bit harsh, but I ended up on the sideline for months, wasn't able to compete at worlds, and wasted over a week of vacation time on the trip.
See you on the Mats!
Showing posts with label grappling industries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grappling industries. Show all posts
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
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.
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Upcoming events in the Ontario Area (Summer Edition)
Hello Lovelies!
As you probably know, my shoulder is fucked. So I won't be competing in most (likely any) of these events! But, I thought, just because I can't compete, doesn't mean I can't talk a bit about them and help the potential competitors get an idea what each is about and the history and whatnot of them.
Saturday June 22nd - Ottawa International BJJ Championships. This is the second year for this event. I thought I wrote a blog post about this one last year, but it appears I did not. So, here is a mini re-cap. It was pretty much BTT Canada vs team Renzo Gracie, with a sprinkling of other teams mixed in. It was part of a fit-day expo of some sort, and there were fitness model competitions, crossfit, and pole dancing demos going on in the same venue. We brought a team of 4 to the event (myself, Alasdair, Greg M, and Jon), and managed to place 3rd overall in adult gi. This year, it seems like they have a much larger variety of teams coming out to the event, which will be good. There are a bunch of brown belts registered and it's shaping up to be a pretty epic super fight like brown belt absolute. Here is the facebook event for the tournament and here is the events official website. Registration closes TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT. So get on that. Now.
Saturday June 29th - Five Grappling presents Ontario 1. These guys are shaking things up a bit. They are tweaking the rules, bringing in HUGE super fights, a ridiculous seminar(Marcelo and Xande), and tonnes of prizes and gifts(gear bags, sub prizes, lanyards, something from storm, and more) for the competitors. They have been working their asses off to promote this event and I really hope the community supports them for all their effort.
The rule tweaks (that I LOVE):
As you probably know, my shoulder is fucked. So I won't be competing in most (likely any) of these events! But, I thought, just because I can't compete, doesn't mean I can't talk a bit about them and help the potential competitors get an idea what each is about and the history and whatnot of them.
Saturday June 22nd - Ottawa International BJJ Championships. This is the second year for this event. I thought I wrote a blog post about this one last year, but it appears I did not. So, here is a mini re-cap. It was pretty much BTT Canada vs team Renzo Gracie, with a sprinkling of other teams mixed in. It was part of a fit-day expo of some sort, and there were fitness model competitions, crossfit, and pole dancing demos going on in the same venue. We brought a team of 4 to the event (myself, Alasdair, Greg M, and Jon), and managed to place 3rd overall in adult gi. This year, it seems like they have a much larger variety of teams coming out to the event, which will be good. There are a bunch of brown belts registered and it's shaping up to be a pretty epic super fight like brown belt absolute. Here is the facebook event for the tournament and here is the events official website. Registration closes TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT. So get on that. Now.
Saturday June 29th - Five Grappling presents Ontario 1. These guys are shaking things up a bit. They are tweaking the rules, bringing in HUGE super fights, a ridiculous seminar(Marcelo and Xande), and tonnes of prizes and gifts(gear bags, sub prizes, lanyards, something from storm, and more) for the competitors. They have been working their asses off to promote this event and I really hope the community supports them for all their effort.
The rule tweaks (that I LOVE):
- Kneebars and wrist locks for all adults. Personally, I maybe would have kept keebars to blue and up, but the current IBJJF rules that don't allow them until brown is just silly. I think Kneebars are great, and they areally aren't that much more dangerous than an armbar, unless you try to be a hero and twist out and bust your know knee up. Wrist locks are the same, as long as people aren't assholes about it, they are perfectly safe.
- No Advantages. This means no more almost passing, or almost sweeping and sitting on an advantage for 10 minutes to squeak out a win.
- 2 points for coming up from the double guard pull. This should mean that people will be more willing to come up, b/c if they get re-swept, the score is still even, instead of them only having an advantage, and the other guy having 2 points. I think it will make for a more aggressive game.
- 6 minute matches, ala Abu Dhabi Pro. I like it, it means people can push the pace, and not worry about having to fight for 10 minutes. and it means if people are going to stall, we only have to watch 6 minutes of it, instead of 10.
- Weigh in 1-4 hours before your division. This means, if you are close, you don't have to starve yourself all day. It also means when it's time for a division to start, we don't have to wait for everyone to get weighed in. This should make for a much smoother process.
This tournament got input from 25 or so of the top BJJ competitors in the world when they were planning this event, and making the rules, and everything. They are trying to make the sport more spectator and competitor friendly and I think they are headed in the right direction. I will likely be helping out with tables, or something at this event
Saturday July 6th - Mat Militia Ladies Sub Only Show. I was pumped for this event when they announced it. I was going to be in it, but now I can't. I think the divisions are full, but you should totally go watch it and support the event. They are accepting donations for the Breast Cancer Society of Canada at the event and the whole thing is being run to raise money for that. There is no entry fee for the competitors, but everyone is being encouraged to donate to the cause. Some of Ontario's top ladies are competing and it's going to be an excellent showcase of jiu jitsu! I will likely be helping referee at this event.
Saturday July 13th - IBJJF New York Open. Does it seem like they just had one here? Why yes, they did! It was a solid event, and I'd go back, If I could compete. I think it will be a bit smaller this time around, since it's been less then 6 months since the last one, and Mundials just happened and no one likes to compete in the summer. That being said, It's a good venue, reliable competition and they have nice big medals. So, if you are in the area, it's worth checking out. Pre-register only, and don't be that guy or girl who complains about registration closing early because it's full and you booked your flight and hotel before registering and now are screwed. Register first, then book your travel.
Saturday July 13th - OJA Sub Only Event. This is going down in Thornhill, which is close to Toronto. It's GI only, and that's about all the information that is available at this point. It will be no time limit I believe, kids age 11 and up and should be a lovely time. I hope they can get more information, and registration, and whatnot out soon, or this might be a dud. They tried to have one about 6 months ago, but scheduling and venue conflicts just made it not happen. At least, if it does end up sucking, the ladies have the Mat Militia event the week before to have fun at. I will likely be refereeing (though, not much to referee in sub-only), and or supporting my team mates.
Saturday July 20th - Grappling Industries: Summer Havok They recently announced that they will be doing this tournament INDEPENDENTLY. This gets them free from the political fight between the OJA and the OGA, and hopefully means that those people who are strictly on either side can now support the event. That being said, I have talked to the guys who run this(since I work for the event, and happen to be sponsored by them) and they have assured me that they have a great insurance policy that has equal coverage to what the OGA or OJA have. So, don't worry, It is perfectly SAFE to compete at this event.
Alright, on to the good stuff! EIGHT trips are being awarded as prizes for absolutes. TWO of those are going to the ladies!! They will also have prizes from their sponsors, as usual. The rest of the tournament will be as usual for these guys, round robin (4 fights), morning weigh ins, no gi on for the weigh ins, competent referees and a good atmosphere. They will be recording the fights, but they have been slow to get them posted. They don't mind if you record your fights yourself. One difference will be, since there is no OGA registration to deal with, the process in the morning should be much simpler and smoother! YAY! I really hope my shoulder is magically better in time for this, because it seems like every time they put trips on for the ladies, I'm broken. Last time it was the concussion, now my shoulder. I competed at the last one in Montreal, when there was no trip of course. (I didn't win anyway, so I suppose it doesn't matter that there was no trip heh) I'll be refereeing at this event!
Saturday August 3rd - IBJJF TORONTO Last year was the first year the IBJJF brought their event to Ontario and it was a well run event. It was smaller than most of their tournaments, but just as well run. I think this year will be bigger and better than last. Now that people know that the IBJJF run a great event, I think they will be more willing to shell out the slightly higher entry fee to participate. That being said, this past Ontario Open was run as well as any IBJJF tournament I've been to, so they may have to step up their game if they want to lure people out. Here is the facebook event for the tournament.The IBJJF only uses brown and black belt referees, so I won't be working at this event, but, if my shoulder is healed up, I'll be competing.
Saturday August 17th - OJA Northern Ontario Championships This will be the first BJJ tournament in Northern Ontario (that I am aware of). It's a bit of a trek for most of us, but Sudbury is a pretty beautiful area, so make a weekend camping trip of it or something. This should be a solid event, but I have a feeling it will be small. Hopefully they get people from Manitoba out or something.
Saturday August 17th - Grappling Industries Montreal: Nogi Worlds Edition This is likely where I will be this weekend. It's not that I don't like sudbury, but the OJA separates blues and purples, and there are only about 10 purple belt girls (being generous) in ontario, and none of them are near sudbury. There are lots of blue and purple belt girls in the Montreal area, so the chance of having someone to compete with is much higher at this event. Also, I'd rather have 4 fights than 1 or 2. That being said, you know the drill by now about these events. The Montreal ones are smaller, but equally well run. They get a lot of MMA and Judo guys out, so the vibe is a bit different. Be prepared to see guys almost lose by stalling b/c they don't know you can't just sit in side control to win a match. They are giving out 3 trips to NoGi worlds at this one (edit: confirmed: one of which is for the ladies), so If you are hunting for a prize trip, check it out.
That about round off the summer. I hope I didn't miss any. There are a million IBJJF tournaments happening all over the world now, a bunch of which are this summer, chicago, boston, atlanta. They aren't really in my area, and I won't be travelling to them, so I didn't get into the details on them. All will be solid tournaments, in theory, so If you are in those areas, check out the IBJJF schedule for more info.
In September we will likely have another Grappling Industries tournament, and the GTA classic, but I don't think either has been officially announced and neither has a confirmed venue and date, so I won't post about them officially let.
See you on the mats (or the sidelines, whatever)!
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Montreal Grappling: April 28th 2013
This past Saturday we made the short (well, relatively short,
compared to Chicago and New York) trip down the 401 to Montreal for the
Grappling Industries Montreal: Mundials edition. It was a lovely trip,
traffic was pretty much perfect and we made great time.
The day started
off with a trip to the dentist, which is never very fun, but a
semi-necessary evil. I didn't go to the dentist for the longest time
because I had no coverage and was a poor student, then house poor, then jiu
jitsu poor. Now, my work, and Jon's work both have coverage, and we are DINKS, so
the dentist is a-ok. Anyway... everything was fine at the dentist, no
cavities! Yay!
So we picked up
Stephen around 11:15 and hit the road. We made great time out of Toronto,
and the 401 was smooth sailing all along. We stopped for gas at the
Odessa service center (just before Kingston) and carried on straight to the
hotel.
We stayed at the A
Loft hotel, by the airport. It's a weird hotel. It's right on
the airport property, so we had to pay $10 parking, but compared to the
downtown hotels, that's nothing. The hotel had a strange vibe.
Hipster, modern, but loft-like - so tall, rough ceilings, and weird use of
space. The front desk lady was very friendly and helpful, and had
excellent English. The room was nice and large, but only had a shower,
and the bathroom door was a sliding door, that didn't really seal or sound
proof too well. I swear that is my most common complaint when it comes to
hotel rooms. When you’re staying at a hotel, with 3 or 4 or 5 people, you
don't really need or want to hear them all do their business. The room
had 2 queen beds, and a little couch/bench thing, that someone could sleep on
in a pinch. It also had a very large desk, and a very nice TV.
The really neat thing was that the TV had a box with a bunch of different
plugins that hooked straight to the TV. The hotel also had cables to lend
out, but they had run out when we asked.
We got directions
to Amir (which is a Middle Eastern chain in the area) from the front desk lady,
and Jon and I headed out for some food. Stephen was a fatty, so he stayed
at the hotel watches streams of people playing video games. I don't
understand this phenomenon, but apparently it's quite popular, 100’s of
thousands of people were watching it. Weird. We picked up some
tasty food and then wanted to go to Wal-Mart to pick up a cable, and maybe some
drinks and snacks, and it was closed. Walmart closed at
6:00pm on a Saturday. What is wrong with Dorval? Anyway... some
interesting traffic circles and construction later and we were back at the
hotel.
The food was
tasty, I asked for chicken shawarma, but got beef, but that's ok. I
enjoyed it anyway. We streamed the fights on my netbook for a
while, and then on Stephan's laptop after he fell asleep. Some decent
fights, but some very strange calls! Like the instant stoppage for the
eye poke. Wrong call by the referee. He should have had the doctor come
in and check him out, give him a chance to recover a bit, and keep fighting.
I fell asleep during the first fight of the main card, and still haven't
watched the rest. I did see the clip of Jon Bone's toe going all crazy.
Ewww, that is freaky. While we were watching some of the
fights, Stephan the Fatty took a super super hot shower, and turned the entire
bathroom into a sauna pretty much, to sweat out a few lbs.
Not ideal, but the best we could come up with without a tub, and no Sauna
in the hotel.
In the morning, we
checked out, and headed to weigh in. Jon weighed in at a whopping
162lbs with all his clothes on. That boy needs to move down to feather
weight. He is too small for lightweight. But he likes candy and pizza
more than fighting people his own size so whatever. Stephan
squeaked by right on the 1lb allowance of 169, wearing much less the
Jon. I weighed in at 152, with ALL my clothes on, except my
shoes. Hello Middle weight, it’ll be nice to see you at the Ontario
Open. It didn't really matter how much I weighed because the division is
+141.
After weighing in,
we headed to our traditional breakfast place for the Montreal Grappling
tournaments, Cora (previously known, and always for me known as Cora's,
calling it just Cora is awkward and dumb). We like to go here because
it's just down the road, and has a lovely selection, and, there is almost
always someone with us who is cutting the weight closes and starving by the
time weigh ins come around. They are pretty quick and, unlike the ones
around here, it's not very busy. Jon got the maple latte, which was
disappointing, so, don't bother with that if you are in there. It
sounds so promising, but does not deliver.
Back to the
tournament.... I had 3 matches with my friend Sissi. She's a ridiculously
good blue belt from BTT Canada. We fought once before at the
Toronto IBJJF tournament and I won by armbar. That was when we were both
in medium heavy. I believe she has been fighting in Heavy for the last
couple tournaments, but barely, so the weight difference isn't really enough to
be a factor. I'll be honest, I underestimated her. I
came in expecting the Sissi I competed against in Toronto, and got a version
about 5x better! Man, she has gotten good!
I won our first
match on points; I believe the score was 3-10 or so. I can't remember exactly.
I got a pass, a sweep, and maybe mount? She definitely got a pass, but
that may have been it. In our second fight, she came out more aggressive,
and scored early. At one point, with about 1 min left, I was in her
guard, and she went for a hip bump/kimura/sit up sweep, and her elbow caught me
in the side of the head and eye. I panicked. It was bad. My brain
was like "Ahhhh I’ve got a concussion, ahhh panic, ahhhh you
can't fight anymore ahhh ahhhh ahhhh” I completely stopped fighting and she
got to mount and I'm still panicking. I tapped and it took me a
while to re-compose myself. I wasn't actually hurt, but I clearly
have some mental shit to get over still. After the match I told the match
setter I couldn't fight anymore, and sat down. I thought about it
for a bit, calmed down, and realized, it was all in my head, and I was
actually fine. So I asked to do the 3rd fight, Sissi was all for it, and
David and Mathieu were fine with it as well. So, third fight, she
was super aggressive again, and I was trying to play the new stuff I was
working on, with DLR, and rolling to recover my guard and inverting and
whatnot. It worked OK at some points, but eventually I ended up flattened
out on my stomach, with her hooks in. For like 3 minutes.
Throughout the match she had racked up a few stalling penalties and was 1 call
from being disqualified. She kept busy enough to avoid the DQ, but didn't
really go for anything. It was pretty frustrating to be stuck on the
bottom like that, but it gave me motivation to tidy up my game and not get
stuck like that again!
Jon's second
opponent forgot his pants. How do you go to a tournament without
pants? I always bring 2 full sets of gear for a tournament, gis, shorts,
rashguard, sports bra. Two of each. You never know what could
happen, and this way, if anything does, I've got it covered. Did he
not have a teammate he could borrow pants from? Or buy a pair or a gi from the
gi hive, who was there pimping some wares. They actually had some really
nice stuff, cheap Redstar gis, Tatami gis, and scramble rashguards. Also,
Gi Soap, which isn't for washing your gi, it's for washing your body, after
doing gi things.
Jon went 1-2 in
his matches. He scored his first points in almost a year and first points
at blue belt. Jon has a weird style; He pretty much doesn't
pay attention to the score and constantly tries to sub people. It works,
sometimes, but he tends to lose on points if it gets to the end.
His last guy was a judo guy, and it was insanely obvious. He had no idea what
the rules were, and almost got disqualified for stalling, in the first minute
and a half. He sat in side control doing NOTHING for almost 2
minutes. Then, moved to mount, and did the same thing. The only
reason he wasn't disqualified was because Jon was squirming so much it made him
look busy. I love to see the judo guys come out and compete,
but know the rules, and play the game. You don't see basketball players
trying to play soccer and carrying the ball or dribbling it down the field, do
you?
Stephan went 1-3
in his fights. He had some tough guys, and the weight cut really
affected his stamina and power. He gave the guys a hard time though, and
got a chance to work his DLR guard a bit. We are working on the mental
side of the game together for the next few weeks and He is going to ruin people’s
day at the Ontario Open and Worlds. Oh, the fight he won, it
was with a beautiful loop choke. It was nicely set up, and the guy didn't
see it coming.
One competitor
that stood out to me on Sunday was Kieran from Lin martial arts.
I've seen him compete before I think, with mixed results. I noticed him
warming up with a team mate and was really impressed with the flow of their
roll and the level of skill they were showing. In all the matches
except one he showed some really nice open guard stuff and pretty much
dominated the division. He fought the judo guy Jon fought and got
stalled out with the guy in his guard not trying to pass or do anything.
It was a shame to see, but I think it was a great lesson for him. I'm
really looking forward to watching him compete in the future.
We didn't stick
around for much after we were done fighting. We were looking at a 6.5
hours (ish) drive home and work early in the morning. We stuck around
long enough to be able to give Mike B a ride home, and took off.
Mike went 3-1 for the day, and, probably should have been 4-0, but I didn't see
the entire match he lost, so I cannot say for sure.
The drive home was
pretty uneventful as well. There was this one van, who insisted on
staying in the fast lane, and not driving very fast. They would go 105
for a while, then 110, then 115, then 105, then 125 for a while. It drove
me crazy. They were causing all sorts of traffic headaches, and people
kept tailgating me because, you know, by tailgating the person in front of you,
it gets the car, 10 cars up, that is the reason for the slowdown, to go faster.
It started raining
around Oshawa, which caused some traffic slowdowns, but nothing major, with the
detour to Brampton, and dropping of Stephan, it was about 7 hours all together
to get home. Not bad at all. Considering last time we went to Montreal it
took us 19 hours to get there and about 9 to get home. I love summer road
trips, except ones that start on Friday afternoon, and involve going through
Toronto traffic.
The tournament
itself was smooth, as usual. The mats were cleared at 9:55am and matches were
being called right at 10:00am. Things went smooth all day, except
when the few guys who registered and didn't show up were called. That
caused a bit of a delay, but nothing Major. In the future, Grappling
Industries will be giving refunds, instead of no-pay for people who earn a free
entry to their events. I think this will help keep people honest, and
hopefully keep the now-shows to a minimum. What they should
have done, was cross reference the weighin list, or the check-in at the
door list, with the draw sheets, before handing them to the tables, so that
they would know if the guy was there or not. This would take some time,
but will save time down the road. Hopefully, in the future, they will be
able to do that.
The new medals
came in! And they are nice! I didn't get one though :( All of
the silvers were stuck in transit lol. I probably would have just used
the old medals for one more event, but Hey, I like how excited these guys
are about making their events better each time. Like I said,
last time, the next thing they need to get is some kind of noise maker, to
signal the end of a match. You can't always keep an eye on the board as a
referee, and it's difficult to hear the score keeper sometimes. Also, the
mat size, as I mention after every event. They need bigger mat areas, or
even just an extra row of black between the mats. It would make for a lot
less stoppages, and would be much safer in general.
So, this weekend I
am heading to the OJA coaching course. I don't imagine I will get much
out of it, as I have already completed NCCP all the way up to Level 3, which is
the level you need to coach everywhere but the Olympics (for Judo). But hey, I
could pick up a tidbit or two, and it's always good to attend these kinds of
things to keep up with the times and be on the same page as everyone.
Next weekend is
the Ontario Open. The BIGGEST and highest level tournament in Ontario, probably
in Canada. They are giving away 10 trips to worlds, and tons of
rashguards, belts, gis, medals, trophies and other crap. It's going to be
an amazing event. Registration closes on Monday, so, if you’re in the
area, or driving distance, or flying distance, seriously, if you can get there, Do
it!
2 weeks after that
is WORLDS. Yup, we are going to California Baby!! Jon and I are
flying out on May 24th, training at Art of Jiu Jitsu till the tournament
(4 days), and then competing at the Mundials! I've already got 8
girls in my division! EIGHT!!!! Can you believe it??? That is
more purple belt women than have attended any of the tournaments I have been to
since December, and they are ALL in my division! I am so
excited!! Alasdair and Stephan are also going to worlds. They are
heading up 5 days earlier, and, coming back with us Sunday
night. It's going to be an amazing 10 days.
The weekend we are
in California training, is Grappler's Quest and FILA. If you are in town,
you should check them out. They should be pretty great events. Grappler's
Quest is giving out trips to Las Vegas to some of the absolute division winners,
and lots of other cool prizes to. The FILA event is a qualifier for the FILA worlds, which will take place later in the summer, in London, ON.
I was supposed to
go train today, but instead, I got some groceries, cooked some lunches and
finished registering and paying for the camp. I suppose these are all
things that needed to be done, but I hate missing class. It's really
difficult juggling a full time job, training, conditioning training, teaching
classes 2x a week, and finding time to do things like cook, laundry, and
other household things. Not to mention going on competition road trips on
weekends, when most people would be doing the catch up on the non-work-things.
Oh well, this is the life I choose, and despite this little bit of whining, I
love every minute of it.
Hey you, do
you have a company or brand you want to get more exposure for, how about
sponsoring me? I'll pimp your wears, I'll advertise your stuff, I’ll
spam my friends (well, maybe not spam them, but share stuff with them). I
could really use some financial assistance for worlds and whatnot. I've
already spent about 5000 bucks this year on tournament trips, and that's not
including all the money I have spent towards worlds.
See YOU on the
mats!
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