First grappling torney , advice ?

[Rainbow_Warrior]

Well next april 12 I will fight my fist submission wrestling tournament. I have no previus grappling tournament experience , just have competed in western boxing and kung fu several years ago ( some kind of watered down sanda ).

Its a national luta livre internal tournament , but other grapplers are welcomed.

The here rules will be

- No small joint ( yes to wrist locks , no fingers )

- leg locks , YES

-Neck cranks , YES

-Face locks , YES

- Slamming , YES... Piledriver included ( I fear this one )

Fight time is 5 min. I will be fighting in the newbie division ( under blue belt).

My concerns are

My weight and Height. I am lil ´ lil´ bit under 200 lbs , so I will grapple up to 200. Im kinda small for my weight... I have pals in my gym who weight the same and are 6 feet something...while I am 5 ´8. Some of them are more built than me , but Im not fat.... I dont know why I weight that much. Some guys with the same muscle weight around 185 /180 lbs...

Technique : I m not agressive , either defensive when rolling .....I tend to change a lot depending the day , or mood. I have days when I can give a blue belt a battle, others I am destroyed with more ease with the same guy.

I learnt that...a take down can be almost all . I have done good sprawls and started a fight taking someone´s back.... And others , did the same to me ( and I started very bad )..

Should I wait the other guy to try to get my legs ? Play defensive ? What if nobody wants to shoot ?

[ps1]

Here's my advice:

1. Go in with a game plan! Your instructor should be able to help you with that. You should plan and train everything. How you want to pass the guard, how long to play for takedowns, which submissions you will go for first from each position and so on.

2. Personally, don't let yourself get caught up in the takedown game unless you're very good at them. It's too easy to waste 3 or 4 minutes on your feet. Then your opponent gets a lucky takedown and your behind on points with very little time left to make it up. Trust me...that's a bummer.

3. The aggressiveness may hurt you at this level. I say that because newbies have the tendencies to go all out really hard. When you play defensive, the match can take a while before you find the opening you're looking for. That's not a good thing when you only have 5 minutes.

4. MOST IMPORTANT!!!!!!!! Stay Relaxed. When you're relaxed you can flow better. Just relax and let your instincts take over.

Good luck.

[pittbullJudoka]

Sounds like PS1 covered it pretty well. But the most important is stay relaxed and have fun. This should be about gaining experiance with someone around the same skill level as yourself outside your dojo. Remember even if you loose a match talk to the guy he may tell you how he caught you. Most of the guys I've lost to are very open and pretty cool once you talk to them after the fight. If nothing else you may find a friend that you can look for the next time you go to a competion. And you may run into someone close enough to were you live to pick up an extra training partner.

About the only thing I can add to PS1's advice is DO NOT eat anything you haven't tried before next week just in case remember this especially from next Thursday on.

[Rainbow_Warrior]

Thank you.

About the ´´ takedown game ´´ , you are very right , I rather take the fight to the ground controling the head , etc. One problem here is I cant pull guard , or drop me to the floor( In fact I can , but is +1 for the opponent).

If I lose by fair points , Im OK...All I want is not to tap.

DO NOT eat anything you haven't tried before next week just in case remember this especially from next Thursday on.

uhhh I was thinking about a monkey brain dinner in a congo food restaurant.

[bushido_man96]

I can't offer you much, other than luck!

[Rainbow_Warrior]

can't offer you much, other than luck!

that is inaff ! thanx.

[ps1]

Two days left!! Do you feel ready? Good luck!

[pittbullJudoka]

Good luck man and let us know how it goes.

[Rainbow_Warrior]

Hey !

This is the way I think...

I dont care about a broken arm... I am worried about dissapointing my team or the people who go there to watch my fight...

I am a guy that can bear more tons of physical pain than a lowered ego....

I know I am wrong.....But its difficult to me to change it.

[Rainbow_Warrior]

hey guys.

When I got to the town of the tournament location , my instructor told me ´´ dude , you are gonna fight in advanced, there is not a rook division here ´´ I was...not scared , but I thought ´´ well , I have two arms...lets learn how to live with one ´´...

I decided to play UBBER DEFENSIVE ,to attack only if I had an awesome opportunity.

1)The first fight was against a 200 lbs , who represented my country with other few guys in the luta livre world cup in Rio, Brasil... I knew the guy and he has sparred with me and destroyed me before ( he is from the town where the tourney was set , but he comes here sometimes to train )

The fist 3 min , he couldnt take me down , but when he did he had two hooks under my underarms and proceeded to take me down , and look for the neck crank from there .I escaped, went for half guard...he passed the half guard , mounted...he couldnt submit.... The referee told us to stand up after some time ( it happens when the dominant guy doest move in much time and nothing changes )

Standing again , I got him in a guillotine , and took him to my guard... the guy had trouble to breath ...but he could escape...he passed to guard, side controled and mounted.....

He pulled an americana , I was defending with both arms... I was feeling a tolerable pain...and THAT CRAPPY REFEREE STOPED THE FIGHT AND GAVE HIM THE SUB !!!!!!!!!!!!! I DID NOT TAPP

2) Second fight against a big 220 lbs dude....we spent 5 mins...I could not take him down , but we went to the floor without any points...He tried a a leg lock .... Painful , but I did not tap , and defended with my arms....

The fight was a draw in points , so we went to sudden death ! And he won with a take down.

Any way...I feel very well....the first guy was a athletic beast with 7 years of trainin and the second has about 5 or 6 and I have a draw in the first part....losing by 1 point against such experienced ( and heavier) guy , is ok with me.

All my team was happy with my fights ,and even the instructors of my opponents told me I did very well..

The freak of my instructor didnt say a word....cold dude...

Edited April 13, 2008 by Rainbow_Warrior