Ybot
Blue Belt
Hey all. I just competed at the Mundials and wanted to share with you my excitement at having competed and the excitement of watching the best in the world go at it. It's gonna be a long read, so I'll break it up as I go over the next couple of days.
I competed both in the Brown belt absolute, and heavy-weight divisions.
Absolute Brown:
The absolute division took place on Friday, August 24, and I ended up paired up in the first round with a guy that I fought twice last year at the US Open as a purple belt. At the US Open he beat me once and I beat him once. Anyway, we squared off and basically fought for grips. Really, I'm pretty awkward on my feet and have little in the way of takedowns. My strategy was to defend his takedown attacks and hopefully end up on top. He attacked some foot sweeps and caught me with one, I didn't let go of my grips and was able to turn quickly to my knees and get back up before he could even follow me down. He did get the 2 points for that takedown though. he attacked a few time more and eventually I had an opportunity for a deep underhook and so I stepped in to try to hip throw him. I had the stronger grip, and a great position for the throw, but didn't drive in hard enough, and he was able to reverse the throw. We went to the ground with him immediately taking a strong side control on top driving his shoulder across my chin. I was able to work him into my guard, and finished off the match quickly after with a basic armbar attack from my guard, tapping him out before the first minute was up.
This first match, even though short, taught me a lot. When I had face the guy before he had attacked foot sweeps too, but Cassio (my instructor) had been coaching me then and had told be to grab the leg when he attacked. I had completely forgotten to try to grab the legs this time. The other thing was there was no reason I shouldn't have got the throw on him when I got the underhook. I need to drill that throw so that I have the confidence to commit to it if it's there.
My second match was against a Brazilian who was a bit smaller than me. Again we fought for grips and he attacked foot sweeps, and again I neglected to grab his legs. I was feeling a bit off balanced so, I tried to re establish control, then pull guard. When I did, they gave my opponent the points for the takedown. Immediately I could feel him trying to stall in my guard, not bothering to try hard to pass. This seemed to be his strategy the whole match was to get up on points, and stall out. I was however able to sweep him from my guard and we ended up tied 2-2. I worked the guard pass and when I was nearly passed he turned to his knees and was able to get back to his feet. I don't remember how it happened, but in the scramble to stand he was able to take me down again and ended up in my half guard. 2 more points for him. Again he tried to stall, and again I was able to sweep him so I ended up on top in his half guard. Score is now 4-4. Working from the half guard he was able to get another sweep/takedown by getting a sort of double leg from his knees. I ended up pulling guard again, but he was able to stall out the remaining time in my guard for the win. I lost 4-6.
Really I feel my main mistake in this match was giving up the first takedown to him by pulling guard. I thought I was pulling guard from a stable stance, but watching the video latter I saw that he was attacking, and so the takedown was legit. I more or less gave it to him though, and in the future I need to be more careful. By giving him the first points it kept me behind trying to catch him, rather than dictating the match.
I competed both in the Brown belt absolute, and heavy-weight divisions.
Absolute Brown:
The absolute division took place on Friday, August 24, and I ended up paired up in the first round with a guy that I fought twice last year at the US Open as a purple belt. At the US Open he beat me once and I beat him once. Anyway, we squared off and basically fought for grips. Really, I'm pretty awkward on my feet and have little in the way of takedowns. My strategy was to defend his takedown attacks and hopefully end up on top. He attacked some foot sweeps and caught me with one, I didn't let go of my grips and was able to turn quickly to my knees and get back up before he could even follow me down. He did get the 2 points for that takedown though. he attacked a few time more and eventually I had an opportunity for a deep underhook and so I stepped in to try to hip throw him. I had the stronger grip, and a great position for the throw, but didn't drive in hard enough, and he was able to reverse the throw. We went to the ground with him immediately taking a strong side control on top driving his shoulder across my chin. I was able to work him into my guard, and finished off the match quickly after with a basic armbar attack from my guard, tapping him out before the first minute was up.
This first match, even though short, taught me a lot. When I had face the guy before he had attacked foot sweeps too, but Cassio (my instructor) had been coaching me then and had told be to grab the leg when he attacked. I had completely forgotten to try to grab the legs this time. The other thing was there was no reason I shouldn't have got the throw on him when I got the underhook. I need to drill that throw so that I have the confidence to commit to it if it's there.
My second match was against a Brazilian who was a bit smaller than me. Again we fought for grips and he attacked foot sweeps, and again I neglected to grab his legs. I was feeling a bit off balanced so, I tried to re establish control, then pull guard. When I did, they gave my opponent the points for the takedown. Immediately I could feel him trying to stall in my guard, not bothering to try hard to pass. This seemed to be his strategy the whole match was to get up on points, and stall out. I was however able to sweep him from my guard and we ended up tied 2-2. I worked the guard pass and when I was nearly passed he turned to his knees and was able to get back to his feet. I don't remember how it happened, but in the scramble to stand he was able to take me down again and ended up in my half guard. 2 more points for him. Again he tried to stall, and again I was able to sweep him so I ended up on top in his half guard. Score is now 4-4. Working from the half guard he was able to get another sweep/takedown by getting a sort of double leg from his knees. I ended up pulling guard again, but he was able to stall out the remaining time in my guard for the win. I lost 4-6.
Really I feel my main mistake in this match was giving up the first takedown to him by pulling guard. I thought I was pulling guard from a stable stance, but watching the video latter I saw that he was attacking, and so the takedown was legit. I more or less gave it to him though, and in the future I need to be more careful. By giving him the first points it kept me behind trying to catch him, rather than dictating the match.