# My First Grappling Tournament



## masherdong (Aug 1, 2008)

Hello everyone,

Here is a vid of me participating in my first grappling tournament.  I was the only one in the Master's(35+) No-Gi Novice(< 6 mo exp) Lightweight (145 lbs - 160 lbs) Division.  So, by default, I won that division.  Then, they said just so that I can compete against someone, they stuck me in the Master's Beginner's (6 mos - 2 yr exp) Light Heavyweight division which I believe starts at 180.  So, I went up against this guy who was about 25 lbs heavier than me and had a little over a year of experience.  It looked liked he choked me out but in actuality, he had my neck cranked, which is why I tapped.  I didnt get choked!  Look carefully, his arms were not in the right place.  Towards the end you can see how he comes down on my neck.

Oh well, I lost.  I guess it should not matter on size or strength because if my technique was better I should of still been able to beat him.  Anyways, I had fun and had a great experience despite the loss.  Enjoy clip and as always, I welcome feedback.


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## terryl965 (Aug 1, 2008)

Look like you did Ok for your first time out. Remember do not get struck in gaurd in the beginning.


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## masherdong (Aug 1, 2008)

terryl965 said:


> Remember do not get struck in gaurd in the beginning.


 
What do you mean?


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## Lynne (Aug 1, 2008)

I'm glad you had fun.  Are you hooked now, excited about your next tournament?


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## masherdong (Aug 1, 2008)

Lynne said:


> I'm glad you had fun. Are you hooked now, excited about your next tournament?


 
Yep!  Next one is in September!


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## Nolerama (Aug 1, 2008)

congrats on just getting out there!


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## theletch1 (Aug 1, 2008)

terryl965 said:


> Look like you did Ok for your first time out. Remember do not get struck in gaurd in the beginning.


He didn't, Terry.  He got mounted in the beginning.  Guard is with your legs around your opponent.  Mount is with your opponent sitting on top of you with his legs on the outside.

Masher, I wouldn't worry about losing the first one in the least.  The fact that you not only had the guts to hit the mat in competition (nerve wracking to say the least) but to post the video here tells me a lot of good things about you.  Keep on keeping on!  Thanks for the video.


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## terryl965 (Aug 1, 2008)

theletch1 said:


> He didn't, Terry. He got mounted in the beginning. Guard is with your legs around your opponent. Mount is with your opponent sitting on top of you with his legs on the outside.
> 
> Masher, I wouldn't worry about losing the first one in the least. The fact that you not only had the guts to hit the mat in competition (nerve wracking to say the least) but to post the video here tells me a lot of good things about you. Keep on keeping on! Thanks for the video.


 
You are right mounted, just goes to show you I do not know the proper terminology either. Well at anyrate you did great and glad you had fun.


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## bluemtn (Aug 3, 2008)

I'm glad to hear that you had fun, and it's a good experience (especially in first tournament) to get matched with someone heavier and a bit more experience. You did great, and I'm glad to hear that you had fun.  Best wishes on your next one that's coming up!


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## Steve (Aug 3, 2008)

masherdong said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> Here is a vid of me participating in my first grappling tournament.  I was the only one in the Master's(35+) No-Gi Novice(< 6 mo exp) Lightweight (145 lbs - 160 lbs) Division.  So, by default, I won that division.  Then, they said just so that I can compete against someone, they stuck me in the Master's Beginner's (6 mos - 2 yr exp) Light Heavyweight division which I believe starts at 180.  So, I went up against this guy who was about 25 lbs heavier than me and had a little over a year of experience.  It looked liked he choked me out but in actuality, he had my neck cranked, which is why I tapped.  I didnt get choked!  Look carefully, his arms were not in the right place.  Towards the end you can see how he comes down on my neck.
> 
> Oh well, I lost.  I guess it should not matter on size or strength because if my technique was better I should of still been able to beat him.  Anyways, I had fun and had a great experience despite the loss.  Enjoy clip and as always, I welcome feedback.


Nice job.  Thanks for posting the video.  Getting out there is half the game.  You fought your conditioning up to the tournament, your adrenaline, and your nerves all before you even considered the match against this guy, so kudos to you!

Just to explain (I'm sure this was explained to you by your coach, but to anyone here who might be curious), cranks as submissions are often illegal in BJJ tournaments, but because your arm was in, it was legal and considered a choke, crank or not.  That, at least, is the way the CBJJ and all of the tournaments I've been around are judged.  Not taking anything away from you.  This is only meant as an explanation.  You'll learn the tools to get out of that in the future.  He didn't really have his arms locked correctly, and to lock in the choke, he would've ideally been out of your half guard.  What he did was overcome his lack of technique with his weight and strength, which is why it ended up being a crank.  

And one suggestion, if you're going to pull guard, make sure you pull guard.  Get good grips and jump guard, pulling your opponent to the ground.  You sort of laid down, which is much riskier.  I've seen guys do this successfully, but they all have a strong open guard game.

I'll look forward to seeing your footage in September.


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## masherdong (Aug 4, 2008)

> You are right mounted, just goes to show you I do not know the proper terminology either. Well at anyrate you did great and glad you had fun.


 
Oh, ok.  That makes sense now.  I was like, why wouldnt I want to be in guard?  Isnt that where you want to be?  Ok, it's cleared up now.


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