Surf | Coffee | Jitz
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1996, John Will Seminar …
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I was ‘that guy’ ….. everyone had a clean white Gi with the club logo, I wore a cheap Black Karate style Gi top with contrast white pants. I wore shoes on the mat was ‘uncomfortable’ with people laying on top of me and often resorted to ‘erratic’ and ‘spasy’ movements to get out of ‘any’ position.
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Rocking up to a training session wearing Muay Thai Shorts and a T-Shirt where everyone else had a least some type of BJJ clothing on.
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Im guessing that I was that ‘person’ that no one liked or wanted to roll as I had no idea what I was doing so often resorted to strength and random movements (there is no way they will expect me to do this!!)
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My first ever tournament competing as a white belt was one of my biggest ‘turning points’ and I still remember that EXACT moment and feeling.
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The tournament was held in Justin Boylan’s gym in Wangara. I was up against a team mate that would always beat me at training - often to the stage that I didn’t like rolling him or had that ‘what’s the point’ sensation.
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The tournament started and we faced off, I knew I wasn’t going to win but thought I would give it a go.
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This part sticks with me as a constant reminder. I remember the crowd (maybe 40 people) being so close to the mats, I looked into the crowd and saw my partner walking in to watch - that EXACT second my opponent shot a double (which I didn’t see) and took me down. I hit the ground hard, it took me by surprise and rocked me a little.
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Fight or flight kicked in, I remember my opponent upgrading to a dominant position and me fighting (for my life) and using all my strength, grabbing my partner and trying with all my might to escape side control, then knee ride and finally mount.
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I was pretty much drowning in BJJ ... there was nothing that I could do.
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My opponent saw this fustration and how I wasn't handling the tournament, the situation or pretty much anything right then.
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He started to whisper to me 'hey settle down, breathe and relax' ... he released the hold slightly and I continued to struggle .. my opponent once again spoke to me .... 'relax, your going to be ok. Stop and breathe ... relax ... relax ... '
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Part of me wanted to fight, part of me had acknowledged the pointless effort I had put in for no reward.
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I relaxed, I took in several deep breaths and tried to sort out what was going on in my head. My heart was racing and I honestly thought I was going to die or at least vomit. But I didn't do either.
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My opponent relaxed once I had relaxed, he created some space and I remember getting my first ever bridge and roll. I was so excited, until my opponent took my back (after a minute or so of exchanges in positions).
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He sunk the back choke in deep, something that he tapped me with almost every training session. It was tight, but I was relaxed. I thought about tapping and I thought about how I would feel without giving it a fight.
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Hand fight, turn into the choke, back on the ground ...let's go! I managed to escape after about 40 seconds of being in such a deep choke. It was the first time that I had ever escapes his choke! What stuck with me tho was this....
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The crowd was cheering (for me) for escaping the choke. Just for escaping the choke ..., I was so far down on points that there was never a change to win the bout however I had my first taste at a small victory .. I didn't have to WIN the fight to get my victory
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My heart was racing and I wanted to keep going, pass the guard .... the timer went off and my opponent had his had raised.
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I'll never forget two things from this. My opponent helping me in the bout when he didn't have to, it made me realize that it's not all about winning. There is more to competing then taking home medals.
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Number 2: One of my most memorable victories was losing this bout. It made me want to get better at the little things and not guage my journey by how many times I tap or get tapped. That's simply one of the many ways to test your progress.
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‘Write your own story and be your own hero’
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