Copa 2013

Summary:
Drafted to the boys division (again).
1st place in Gi - Won the first round by points and the second by submission.
3rd place in No-Gi - Lost both rounds by submission.

Sooooo, despite my efforts to ensure I fought a girl, I was once again the only one in my division and was moved to the equivalent guys division.  There were other girls there; just not in my age and weight classes.

Match #1: Gi
My first match was against another orange belt named Chad.  He was basically my size and age.  It didn't take long to figure out that triangles were his favorite submission.  He jumped straight to guard and tried pulling three different triangles before I could pass.  I won the match on points, even though I spent most of the time in his guard.

Match #2: Gi
I was completely exhausted after my first match, but thankfully I had a bit of a break before round two.  When I found out I might have a second match, I began hoping and praying it would be a girl this time.  Lo and behold, it was another boy.  A yellow belt thank goodness, but a boy nevertheless.

During the second half of this match, Caleb was competing, so Eric and Jonathan coached me instead.  I got a deep collar grip right off the bat and pulled guard.  After some grip fighting, guard passing, and sweeps (Still not sure how I managed to pull one off by the way), I finally managed to get my other hand in for the collar choke.  Honestly, I was freaking out on the inside because Caleb helped me with this choke last month and although I had never successfully completed it during sparring, I knew my position was right.  I didn't know how much time I had though, so when my hand slipped under his chin, I pulled my elbows to the mat and my knees to my chest.  And it worked!

Match #1: No-Gi
Since my division had no changes from Gi to No-Gi, we went first (despite being the last round of Gi).  I nearly had a heart attack when I walked back into the gym to hear them calling my name.  This time, I was against Eli (the yellow belt) first.  So, as you know, takedowns aren't exactly my strong point.  He wasn't trying anything though, so I decided to go for something.  I had decided what takedowns I wanted to look for ahead of time, but, of course, my mind went blank.  So I tried the first takedown that came to mind, and did it wrong, despite the fact that I might have actually succeeded if I had tried my absolute favorite.  And I would have gotten extra points.  Urgg!  Anyway, I went for a double leg, but too slowly because I was unsure, and left my back and neck wide open.  So he did the logical thing: took my back and submitted me.  I didn't do too terrible at defending once he was there, but I think I probably should've tapped a bit sooner.

Match #2: No-Gi
I had just enough time to swallow the lump in my throat before my final match began.  Looking back, I'm honestly not sure how it happened, but I somehow jumped into a guillotine.  Although after how short round one was, I wasn't about to let that be the end of it.  By some miracle, I remembered enough of the defense to make it out alive.  I got caught in a triangle when I broke his guard.  I might have actually escaped, but my nose and mouth got covered and I had no choice but to tap.  I felt really bad about it, but between the fatigue, the lack of oxygen, and the disappointment, I couldn't quite hold back a few tears.

Highlights

• I successfully completed a cross choke.
• I tried a takedown.  It may not have gone as planned, but at least I tried.

Things to work on:

• Guard passing
• Double leg takedowns
• Defense against triangles (especially in No-Gi)

Very, very sore today; especially my neck.  Can't say I'm surprised though.  Hopefully I'll be rested up enough for class tomorrow.