Big Apple BJJ Open 2013 Gold Medal

I have been competing for few years now and have placed in a few tournaments.

On May 18th, I competed in Big Apple BJJ Open 2013 in NYC, organized by Vitor Shaolin, in Man’s Masters Light weight (168) division.

I am 35 so this is my last year in the Masters division. My goal is to win Gold in a few tournaments this year.

So the first one is in the bag.

My first match I won by Bow and Arrow choke. The training at Marcelo Garcia‘s academy paid off and my back attack are more fluid and aggressive.

Final match was a bit tougher. I was happy again to see the training paying off and X-Guard becoming a functional part of my technique. I made a mistake at the completion of the sweep and got caught in the triangle choke attempt.

Thank’s to a Black Belt I used to train with (Ron), I was able to escape.

Once more, Marcelo Garcia’s relantless emphasys on staying on top and not letting apponent get on top paid off and at the end of the match I was able to prevent the opponent from scoring sweep point by kicking him off and standing up.

Overall, I am happy with my performance. Lessons learned and few things need to be polished off and more drilling to be done.

Big thanks to all my training partners and instructors.