Copa Cyclone Jiujitsu Tournament

Yesterday was the Copa Cyclone Jiujitsu Tournament here in Rio, about thirty minutes from the house.  I decided last minute to compete, actually I was talked into it last minute.  My wrist has still been a nagging issue and with the rate I have been getting destroyed in class I didn't feel the need to spend R$40 (which is extremely cheap compared to american tournaments, and the quality of competition is much higher at all levels) to more than likely have the same thing happen.  So I competed and lost my match on points but it was actually a good thing and I am glad now that I competed.

First a bit about the competition. 

The tournament was I believe was put on by Gordo and for being a relatively small tournament there was a large showing.  The tournament spanned two days, with white-blue-purple competing saturday and brown-black on sunday.  They also posted approximate starting times for each division and those times seemed to be pretty accurate.  This was nice because you didn't have to sit around all day wondering when you'd be going.  If you wanted to compete in the absolute for your belt it did not cost extra.  Another thing I really liked was that they weigh you in right before your first match.  This is really nice because it helps to keep people fighting at more of their natural weight and not cutting a whole bunch just to gain it back before their matches.  You also weigh in with your kimono on.  There were three mats and matches going consistently on each mat.  I thought it was the most well organized tournament I have been to.  Also just going to be a spectator was free.  The event was held in a semi open air stadium with mat space a bit bigger than a basketball court I would say.

My Match

I had no idea the weight divisions and deciding to compete last minute really gave me no chance but to fight at the weight I am at right now.  Oh and one more thing, you tell them what weight you are going to compete at when you turn in your registration and if you don't make it you don't compete, period.  My weight division was 76-82kilos (167.2-180.4lbs), middleweight.  I weighed in at 78.1kilos (171.8lbs) and my opponent weighed in at 81.6kilos (179.5lbs) so I was at the bottom of the division and he was at the top.  No big deal though, next time I should easily make the next weight division down with a few weeks to get ready.  The fight started and we got our grips for take downs.  He really wasn't trying anthing and I felt like he was waiting for me to try a throw so he could reverse it.  I decided to try and get the fight to the ground so I put my foot on his hip and looked for a sort of butterfly sweep but wound up in halfguard.  I have been working my halfguard and in doing so have completely forgot to attemp other moves.  He never tried much, just lay on top of me while I tried to escape.  He had really good pressure on me and a solid crossface, yep I got crossfaced again...go figure.  I was trying to work out to my hip and get the pummel but he was locked in pretty tight.  He eventually passed scoring two points.  Once he got to side control again he did not attack, just lay there very heavily.  I bridged and managed to get my knee in an throw up an armbar.  It was really a reactive move and I didn't even realize I was doing it till he was starting to posture up and away.  He pulled his arm out and then hopped away from me.  I got back to my feet and went to engage again, he seemed content with his two points and was trying to waste more time.  I got ahold of him again and the whistle blew.  That was it.

I was glad to hear afterward that Dennis was in my corner yelling at the ref for letting the guy stall on top of me like he was.  At the time it didn't even dawn on me till Dennis told me he was upset with the ref with not making my opponent transition or attack.

 One thing this really reinforced is my need to work my side control escapes.  Also if I am going to start competing regularly like I want to I really need to start working competition jiujitsu, which IS different than what I have been doing.  Not the moves per say, but the style and mindset.  It was a good experience and I hope I can do another before I leave.