I dont want to take a ton of time away from my Sunday evening, but I have some BIG news. After taking an extended break following my completion of Pavel's Beast Tamer Challenge, I have decided to set my next goal.
My next goal is as follows: Compete in the IBJJF No-Gi World Championships in Long Beach, California.
This tourney is the Mac Daddy of all BJJ/Grappling competitions. There is no bigger or more prestigious event in the world.
A couple challenges associated with this decision:
1) I havent competed in over a year.
2) I only have 7 weeks until the competition.
3) I dont know how I am getting to California.
4) I have never competed at Brown Belt Level.
So, why am I throwing myself to the wolves? In short, because I THRIVE under pressure. I have won or placed top 3 in all the advanced divisions of the NAGAs and Grappler's Quest on the east coast. I have competed all my life. The only way I am going to motivate myself to live up to my potential is to step into the most challenging conditions I can find.
At this point, I need to be the underdog, the competitor that has nothing to lose. I dont want to show up to a tourney where I am EXPECTED to win.
Here's what I have on my side:
-I have some of the best grappling coaches in the country at MMA Institute (Rick McCoy, Jake Young, Mark Strickland)
-I have competed at high level competition before and beaten competitors that were better than me on paper
-I am strong, injury free, and have been training semi-consistently.
-My body responds very rapidly to training stress
So, I will be posting about my training with the hopes of holding myself accountable and helping fellow competitors understand how I prepare for high level competition. Lets get this thing going...looking forward to training tomorrow, bright and early! Let the training begin!
