Out of Retirement

[tallgeese]

Sounds like you're putting in a ton of work, Alex. Best of luck! We'll be pulling for you!

Thanks! I'll keep you posted!

[Patrick]

Thoughts after the event, Alex?

[tallgeese]

Thoughts after the event, Alex?

Great question. First up, for those on FB, here's a link to the video of the event from my wall:

https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.mogdansknezevic/videos/10155297878844025/?pnref=story

So in short, I was really happy that the bout went as well as it did and I had a great time. I ended up losing 8 minutes in to a heel hook. So it didn't go my way, but there were some great moments for me as well. Coming back into it after a multi-year lay off from competition it was probably better than I should have done.

The stand up went just like I'd hoped. I was able to maintain footing and force the guard pull on his end. His guard was tough, as expected and I was able to keep posture and frustrate some of his go to movements. All good.

On the down side here, I was a bit passive on the pass but I kept reading sweep at each effort. Still, should have worked it harder. At minute 8 or so he is able to get me moving. I knew there was no way I wanted a skilled guy like him taking position so I shrimped hard and force some movement.

I took some ground here and threatened a reverse heel hook but he cleared it well and we started scrambling. I tried a knee bar that go shut down early and we rolled up on each others legs. I started for a straight ankle lock and he beat me to the punch with the heel hook.

I liked how I was able to move in this sequence, but I know that it's a strength of his and not mine. I should have tried to get my knees clear and get to a neutral position rather than keep playing a game that I knew he was superior at. So, some big learning points.

That said, he is a killer, and I was very happy to go the distance I did with him. Not to mention, the intensity and volume I put into this camp threw my jiu jitsu ahead by far more than the five weeks I spent getting ready. That's great as well.

Finally, I'm excited again. I think we all go thru phases where we get complacent. I had been there for awhile. This really got me enthused to be on the mat again. For that, more than anything else, I'm grateful.

Bob had asked if I'd compete again. Probably. But I think I'll do some smaller venue stuff for a bit. Lower key tournaments, etc. But, I'm certainly glad I did it.

[JR 137]

Thoughts after the event, Alex?

Great question. First up, for those on FB, here's a link to the video of the event from my wall:

https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.mogdansknezevic/videos/10155297878844025/?pnref=story

So in short, I was really happy that the bout went as well as it did and I had a great time. I ended up losing 8 minutes in to a heel hook. So it didn't go my way, but there were some great moments for me as well. Coming back into it after a multi-year lay off from competition it was probably better than I should have done.

The stand up went just like I'd hoped. I was able to maintain footing and force the guard pull on his end. His guard was tough, as expected and I was able to keep posture and frustrate some of his go to movements. All good.

On the down side here, I was a bit passive on the pass but I kept reading sweep at each effort. Still, should have worked it harder. At minute 8 or so he is able to get me moving. I knew there was no way I wanted a skilled guy like him taking position so I shrimped hard and force some movement.

I took some ground here and threatened a reverse heel hook but he cleared it well and we started scrambling. I tried a knee bar that go shut down early and we rolled up on each others legs. I started for a straight ankle lock and he beat me to the punch with the heel hook.

I liked how I was able to move in this sequence, but I know that it's a strength of his and not mine. I should have tried to get my knees clear and get to a neutral position rather than keep playing a game that I knew he was superior at. So, some big learning points.

That said, he is a killer, and I was very happy to go the distance I did with him. Not to mention, the intensity and volume I put into this camp threw my jiu jitsu ahead by far more than the five weeks I spent getting ready. That's great as well.

Finally, I'm excited again. I think we all go thru phases where we get complacent. I had been there for awhile. This really got me enthused to be on the mat again. For that, more than anything else, I'm grateful.

Bob had asked if I'd compete again. Probably. But I think I'll do some smaller venue stuff for a bit. Lower key tournaments, etc. But, I'm certainly glad I did it.

I'm glad things went went well. I didn't watch the video yet, but I will when I have time. Your acknowledgement of what went well and what didn't shows you're a classy guy; you're not making excuses, nor are you saying "he got lucky" explicitly nor implicitly.

Something that really hit home for me here - training for competition really elevates your training. I'm not a fan of most karate competition. I participated in our organization's 40th anniversary tournament last year. I was a bit frustrated by the way the point fighting turned out for me. But those are frustrations inherent to point fighting - punches land that don't get called, some don't land and are points anyway; the referees can't see every single thing. And sometimes what I feel landing (for and against me) feel clean, but maybe they really aren't. But that's how that game inherently goes IMO.

But back to my point... In the several weeks I ramped up my training with specific goals in mind, my ability increased a lot. Far more than any other period. Since then I've regressed in some areas. Why? Because they're not a priority. When you're training for competition, you can't ignore your weaknesses. If you do, you're going to be done very quickly. You can't put off getting in better shape; you'll run out of time. If you prepare right, you eliminate the nonsense and excuses, and you don't keep doing what you feel works while telling yourself you'll work on your weaknesses later. And you significantly increase your intensity.

When I was training for that tourney, I wasn't training to win it, per se; I was training to get better. The important things improved tremendously - speed, reaction time, getting inside, getting outside, flexibility, and power. Almost a year later, and last year's me would beat today's me.

Competition forces us to be completely honest with ourselves. I see that more than anything else in your post. Thank you for posting it.

[Patrick]

Solid perspective on the whole thing, but also super cool to see you up there. Congrats on the renewed excitement and the investment you made to be able to hold your own up there.

Patrick

[bushido_man96]

It sounds like you had a great experience, Alex! Thanks for sharing this with us, and best of luck in the future of competition!