So here's the thing: I know in advance at the Kent BJJ Open, that I have only one opponent in my bracket (seniors under 76kg blue), and so for the past week or so I've planned my strategy and how I'm going to fight my one fight. And, remarkably for me, cometh the day, I actually win the match. Woohoo! But the organisers offer us a 'best of three' scenario. And now suddenly, my hard fought win looks tentative. Will I man-up and fight my best of three, or will I chicken out, take the medal and run?
Haha! I chickened out.
I feel a bit bad really as my opponent seemed a good lad and really wanted to fight again - not to prove anything - but just so he could say that he had two fights. But my reasoning was that I was tired and since I was given the choice, I took the easy option. He was also over 10 - 12 kilos heavier and if I made a mistake, chances are could have been squished in side or mount and lost my slender lead.
Here's the video to my fight. In summary - I pulled guard, got one or two sweeps, rushed too fast to apply an armbar, lost my mount and ended up underneath, although narrowly avoided giving up points. Then I heard Dominique shout out I had 45 seconds to go, so I held myself in his guard until the end. That's it, a win, and a gold medal. There will have been others in this competition who fought many many matches to win their gold, so I know where my effort stands in the great scheme of things, but overall I'm pleased with my effort.
Venue and tournament
I have to say, all the hype surrounding this event really lived up to its promise. It was superbly run, fast moving, great fights, good management, awesome venue. I was really really impressed. I'll be writing up my formal tournament report in the next few days and posting it online so watch this space. But it gets an A+ in terms of offering a great service for the competitor.
Team Mill Hill RGA
Oh my word, what can I say? Four fighters = Four gold medals!!!
What an achievement!!!!
Dominique won her blue belt womens under 58.5kg
Matt Wheatley dominated the blue master 88.3kg
Chris Hearn (fighting my conqueror from Grapplers Showdown) won best out of three to take the purple under 64kg crown
Oh and little old me with my gold.
Photos
Dominique Vitry (bottom) plies her bottom game against Sam Lowe (gold winning judo olympian!!)
Flickr slideshow here:
Flickr slideshow here:
3 comments:
Well done to the Mill Hill team - your smiles speak for themselves!
Seymour, that was awesome! Really, really smooth sweeps. Brilliant. Good work!
You stayed cool in potentially bad situations, too, which was good.
Looks like you had a great time!!
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