American National 2008

Two years ago with little over three months training I competed in the American National BJJ tournament. It was my first experience in BJJ competition and one I will never soon forget. It also taught me many things about IBJJF competition and simply making it to the mat can be the greatest battle for some competitors, including myself. For me it was a battle to lose over 50 lbs of unwanted mass from my once very athletic frame. This was my greatest challenge and it was a challenge for others as well. I took home a second place medal in 2006 having made weight at 181 in Gi. I had a first round bi, my second match didn't make weight and I lost by two points in the finals to a four stripe white belt who was awarded his blue belt for his victory. I had caught him in a triangle but I forgot to hang on his head and he postured and escaped. A rookie mistake I have not repeated.

Well American National has grown up nicely. Just two short years ago this event was held at a high school in the Los Angeles area. This year's event was hosted at the now usual site CSU Dominguez Hills next to Home Depot Center in Carson.

One notable equipment change was the introduction of rolled Swain mats instead of individual tatami style mats. The mats were taped together instead of set in place side by side. I'm sure this matting system has been used elsewhere but it is the first I have scene used by IBJJF.org. I thought the mats were excellent and had no gaps what so ever. Which I very much enjoyed.

Another change to the usual management was no spectator fee and no competitor check it at the door like Mondial and Pan Americans. Everyone simply entered the gym area. Competitors were called to the bull pin on time, which was well noted by many competitors.

This BJJ tournament was run efficiently and effectively with excellent officiating and MC'ing. They also had free t-shirts available for competitors, no buying them in addition to the sign up fee, YIPPEEE!! The words "well run" come to mind when I think of this event and I believe this is one of the best overall experiences I have had while competing thus far.

Blue Belt, Male, Seniors 1, Middle Weight, Division was called on time at 1:20PM PST. The wait was about 30 minutes in the Bull Pin but they called us and took our names, checked our weight, and ID's so we had a chance to grab a drink of water prior to competition.

I caught up with a few familiar faces in the bull pin and I figured out who was in our bracket. We only had six guys signed up so it was going to be a short day but for older competitors six competitors isn't a bad showing. Three victories would ensure a gold medal this year.

I weighed in at 180 no worries about the 181 max limit again this time. Making weight has become a very comfortable and natural process for me. I can now drop just over 10 lbs in seven or less days with little effort. Using diet, exercise mostly with little dehydration.

My first round was a bi, so I got to watch a couple of matches prior to my first bought. Dave Leon took out a Gracie Barra competitor with ease via arm bar, nice work for a solid competitor.

I had one goal today to submit my first match with a choke. I faced off with a familiar competitor, Jesse Hughes. He's a super cool competitor that I had faced off with at Pan Ams this year. I made the mistake of crossing my foot on an ankle lock and got DQ'ed. I was upset but it was my mistake sooooo. My only goal was to capitalize on whatever I saw and obtain my submission.



Jessie was trying to setup a take down on my right side he had a new grasp of my right wrist almost from the start of our match. I established grips a couple of times but ultimately he made it difficult to get my take down game going. Eventually he pulled guard and went for either an arm bar or triangle. I smashed and passed, he gave a bit of a fight but I pressed him flat and he ended up turning for a second and exposing his back to me. I jumped on the chance and got one hook in and fight to establish my other hook then a grasp on his collar. The match ended seconds later by tap out to a collar choke. Jesse is a great guy and tough competitor and I know he and I will see a lot of each other in the coming years. But I was happy with this outcome and for the chance to compete with Jesse once again.

My third match was with Dave Leon. He took first at Pan Ams this year and he was the guy I most wanted to meet on the mat. No slighting the other spectacular competitors in our bracket but I wanted a chance to see Dave's game first hand. He's a bit taller than me so I figured he had a decent leg game. I was not mistaken. He pulled guard almost instantly and as I postured he setup a triangle attack. With my forearm on his right inner thigh and my hand firmly on Dave's belt I didn't feel as threatened as I should have by Dave's triangle. It took him a few adjustments but ultimately he got his choke. Frustrating yes but a good learning experience for me. You gotta maintain leg separation and both arms inside the legs. The one technique that could have saved me from this choke was a little shimmy technique my instructor showed me just after this match. I had scene it before but forgotten to employ this knowledge to get both arms back inside the legs.

Dave and I are looking forward to our next tournament and I look forward to defeating his triangle when next we meet.



Overall this year's American National was a good experience for me. That's three medals since I got my Blue Belt a few months ago. Two seconds and one first place thus far. Not bad for an old fart. ;-))) I'm hopeful another stripe will not be too far away. But we shall see.

Well that's it for now. Happy training.

KK